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Pune’s Sujata Deshmukh bags Sahitya Akademi award for best translation
Deshmukh was announced as the winner for her Marathi translation of the book Gauhar Jaan Mhantat Malaa of Vikram Sampath’s English book My Name is Gauhar Jaan.
Book editor and translator Sujata Deshmukh has bagged the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award for 2017 in the best translation category. Deshmukh was announced as the winner for her Marathi translation of the book Gauhar Jaan Mhantat Malaa of Vikram Sampath’s English book My Name is Gauhar Jaan.
The announcement was made after the executive board of the Sahitya Akademi met at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, to approve selection of 24 books. “The books were selected on the basis of recommendations made by the selection committees of three members each in the concerned languages in accordance with the rules and procedure laid down for the purpose,” a note released by Sahitya Akademi said.
Speaking to Hindustan Times over the phone, Deshmukh said Gauhar Jaan was a great yesteryear singer and author Vikram Sampath had studied the singer with indepth research. He wrote an excellent biography of Gauhar Jaan. She is the only singer whose record was maintained by Britishers, Deshmukh added.
“The job of a translator was to understand the soul of the writer while translating it. It should read as the original book, not as a translation. And for this, you need to understand both the languages well,” said Deshmukh.
This book took her six months to translate when she was the book editor for Rajhans Prakashan. Now, Deshmukh is the book editor for Menaka Prakashan.
Deshmukh said that the original book appealed to her since it shows Gauhaar Jaan’s struggle to become famous and the way she carried herself. The description of her fight shows through Vikram’s great research and presentation, added Deshmukh.
