Of the many English language books published in India in late 2020 and early 2021, two are of particular significance to Ashoka University. Exile from Ayodhya (Bee Books, Kolkata, 2020) and Fragments of Happiness (Speaking Tiger, New Delhi, 2021) share a unique feature. Both have been translated from their original versions for publication in English by students of Ashoka, during their time at the University. It would not be an exaggeration to state that these two books represent remarkable accomplishments. Students having their books published by mainstream trade presses, especially when in college, is not exactly an everyday affair.

Exile from Ayodhya has been translated from Bengali by Pratiti (ASP 2021), a fourth-year history major. It is a translation of a travelogue by writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, who set out to trace the path Ram took from Ayodhya as he went into exile with Sita and Laxman. The second text, Fragments of Happiness, is a translation of renowned Hindi novelist Shrilal Shukla’s Seemayein Tootati Hain (1973). Translated by Niyati Bafna (UG 2020), an Ashoka alumna and English major, the book follows the tumultuous lives of ordinary people, as they learn about their own power and helplessness when faced with adversity. These, as well as a number of other works of translation awaiting publications or currently in progress, originated with academic courses at Ashoka University.

The creative writing programme at Ashoka, offered by the first university-housed department of creative writing in the country, is unique on many accounts. One of these is that it offers two full courses in translation – usually from a student’s mother tongue to English. These courses, besides the creative writing thesis in which the minor culminates, give students the opportunity to translate entire books between their preferred languages. So far, the work that has come out of these courses has not only led to the publication of several translations,

including the ones mentioned above, but have also paved the way for more such publications – in print, digital and audio formats – to follow.

Forthcoming publications include Vighnesh Hampapura’s (ASP 2021) translation of a collection of Kannada short stories by Vasudhendra, to be published by Penguin Random House, and of Kannada short stories by Kuvempu, to be published by Bee Books as a Kindle edition; Himadri Agarwal’s translation of Prabhat Ranjan’s Hindi novel Benaras Talkies, to be published by Penguin Random House, and of Urdu short stories by Rashid Jahan, is slated for publication by Bee Books as a Kindle edition; Sakshi Agarwal’s (UG 2020) translation of a Hindi play by the playwright Abhishek Majumdar for performance on stage, of short stories by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, published by Bee Books as a Kindle edition, and of Hindi texts into English for audio publications by Storytel India; and Ritambhara’s (ASP 2021) translation of Hindi texts into English for audio publications by Storytel India.

Students who take creative writing in general and translation courses in particular are propelled by a love of books and writing. Along the way, they rekindle their relationships with their mother tongues, beginning to both read and write fluently in the languages each of them grew up in as children. In the process, they are adding to both their own engagement with the multiple literatures of India and the pool of translated literature in the country.

Indeed, an increasing number of students across the University have been taking up courses in translation. This includes students who are majoring not just in English literature, but also in other humanities and social science subjects. When the current Spring Semester ends, there will be as many as 21 newly completed works of translation, many of them of entire texts, from different languages of India. A large number of these will be sent out to publishers for their consideration. In the next few years, we can expect to see many students of Ashoka contribute to the growing corpus of translations of the literatures of India.

Arunava Sinha is Professor of Practice in Creative Writing. He translates classic, modern, and contemporary Bengali fiction, non-fiction, and poetry into English.