JHINUK MAZUMDAR
Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) has taken up a project to translate the Gitanjali into Mizo to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
The Rs 1.5-lakh joint venture between the RBU and Mizoram University will take off in November with March 2011 deadline. The initial print volume is 2,000 copies.
“Tagore has been translated into 20 European languages and nine Asian languages but unfortunately not in any of India’s north-eastern languages,” said Subir Dhar, the director of RBU’s School of Languages and Culture, who is at the helm of the project.
“The interesting part is that we will translate from both the Bengali and English versions of Gitanjali and not just from the English text, which is the base book for several translations,” he added.
The departments of English and Mizo of Mizoram University will collaborate with RBU on the project.
Mizoram University is hopeful of the project. “Though it is in the initial stage, there’s a possibility of including this translation in the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It will open up the scope of studying writers from other regions and not only those of Mizoram,” said Margaret Zama, the head of the department of English, Mizoram University.
Giving translation studies a boost, RBU has decided to offer a one-year postgraduate diploma course in ‘translation and transcultural studies’ from August this year.
“The course will be more practical than theory. Students will be encouraged to do translations and evaluate translations,” said Dhar.
Graduates can opt for either translation or transcultural studies after passing an entrance test. There will be 50 seats in this UGC-sponsored course, which, the RBU authorities believe, will open up job avenues for the students in the publishing, hospitality and tourism industries.
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