Rahul Bose starred in the web series adaptation of the best-selling Bengali novel (Rabindranath Ekhane Kokhono Khete Ashenni), which has enthralled readers in Bangladesh and India. Award-winning translator V. Ramaswamy has now translated it into vivid English, bringing its haunting, unforgettable tale to a whole new audience.

The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the eminent translator in an exclusive chat. Excerpts..

What is the most difficult aspect of translating a book?

V. Ramaswamy- The text can sometimes be opaque. Or seems like a field of thorny grasses that you have to traverse. You may be unable to properly grasp what is expressed. That may happen with a cerebral thought, or a deeply felt emotion, or when the writing is in dialect. But if the translator is committed to transparently understanding the original work and conveying that accurately, s/he will surely overcome the difficulty.

People often think that when translating a book, meanings get lost in translation. Is that the case?

V. Ramaswamy- There is always a loss in translation or reproduction. But it is not so much the meanings that get lost, as much as contexts, as well as affects and effects. However, a creative translator can strive to minimise that. I would like to mention that there can also be a gain in translation! 

What things did you keep in mind when translating this book?

V. Ramaswamy- Honestly speaking, nothing. I select books and translate, and Tagore Never Ate Here was another book. But it was the first crime thriller I worked on, so there was always a kind of levity. It was a happy experience.

Since the book was a bestseller, did that cause any extra pressure for you?

V. Ramaswamy- No, I felt no extra pressure; rather, I was pleased to be translating Tagore Never Ate Here. As I translated, I felt happy to be making available an interesting thriller in a Bengali setting to readers in English.

What prompted you to take up translation in Bengali?

V. Ramaswamy- It was accidental, actually, but I suppose this faculty had been cooking inside me. And the writing of the first author I translated, Subimal Misra, resonated with my social activist background, so I persisted. And then I decided to translate voices from the margins.

I decided to translate Tagore Never Ate Here on a lark, in jovial memory of reading pulp fiction as a teenager.

You have translated works by eminent other authors, Subimal Misra, Manoranjan Byapari, Adhir Biswas, Shahidul Zahir, Mashiul Alam, Swati Guha, Shahaduz Zaman, and Ismail Darbesh. What was the experience of translating this book?

V. Ramaswamy- I experienced it like a juvenile reader of crime fiction, with all the suspense, fears, and thrills – very different from my engagement with the texts I otherwise translate!

What is your advice to young translators?

V. Ramaswamy- If you are bilingual or multilingual and have an urge to share particular works in a language with readers in another language, just do it!  And you may discover that you have a gift of translation, and thus embark on a journey that will only be rich and deeply satisfying.