Its literature has inspired the world through centuries. The dynamic of her character so evolves that she begins to transgress borders of all kinds and once that begins there is no stopping her or the story! There is of course a central story in which many other stories find their way - starting with an old woman who seems to have no interest any more in living but who actually surprises all by reinventing herself and her life anew. It is not a straight single linear story, but, rather a whole world of diversity and unity of Nature and Human and even the Inanimate that breathes life into this work. Ret Samadhi has been translated by Daisy Rockwell into Tomb of Sand.Ĭan you tell us a bit about the writing process and how Tomb of Sand came into being? My relationship with Daisy and her work has been of growing enrichment - once we found our rapport and trust with each other, we dialogued further and further and a fine honed text has been birthed. Daisy has done just that, or else so many, new readers, including those from the Booker world, would not have enjoyed the novel so much that it has got to be shortlisted. The translator is no good if her work does not enliven the translation in its new cultural and linguistic milieu. Yes, I stand by that - a translation is not a shadow of the base text, but a transcreated work. How has your relationship been with the translated version, the translator herself and is there a place for enrichment of prose when it gets translated? You had mentioned in an interview about how a good translator is not merely translating your work but is creatively transposing it. Additionally it brings into wider purview a larger non-English South Asian scene and that is so exciting, so important. It indicates clearly that there is much lying here which is hitherto unknown and encourages the endeavour to explore these regions. It is hugely important because in shedding light on one Hindi work, it also lights up the larger canvas of Hindi Literature.
How important do you think this moment is when one thinks of Hindi post-colonial literature? Excerpts:Ĭongratulations on making it to the shortlist! This is a tremendous achievement.
In an interview with News18, the 64-year-old talks about the importance of languages in a person’s consciousness and why she finds it abhorring when one is pitted against the other. Her previous novels such as Mai and Khali Jagah have been translated into different languages as well. Shree is no stranger to literary stardom. The Hindi novel, Ret Samadhi has been translated into English as Tomb of Sand by Daisy Rockwell. In a historic moment, Geetanjali Shree became the first Indian author to get her work shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.