On Translations
Translation Theory and Practice (ed. Niaz Zaman); Dhaka: Academic Press and Publishers Limited; 2004; pp. 145; Tk. 200. The Wonders of Vilayet by Mirza Sheikh I'tesamuddin (translated by Kaiser Haq); Delhi: Chronicle Books; 2008; pp. 182; Rs. 425. Selected Poems Shamsur Rahman (translated by Kaiser Haq); Dhaka: Pathak Shamabesh; 2008; pp.88; Tk. 350. Niaz Zaman's edited volume of twelve articles on translation 'theory and practice' was born out of a 2003 PEN Bangladesh workshop/seminar on the topic. It is an uneven product. The rationale for reprinting pieces such as Lars Hulden's 'Translating the Kalevala' and Salvador Ortiz-Carboneres' 'Translating Nicholas Guillen' from PEN International volumes is lost on this reviewer. No explanatory note, for example, is provided on what is the Finnish 'Kalevala.' And here it might be pertinent to ask of PEN Bangladesh exactly what it thinks its role is in terms of providing support to besieged writers. It stayed notably silent during, and subsequent to, the murder attempt on Humayun Azad, and it continued to be mute as Taslima Nasrine was hounded out of India. Where is PEN Bangladesh's voice during such times? The most interesting articles are the ones that focus on translations from Bengali to English, an emerging field of activity in Bangladesh. In this respect both Niaz Zaman's and Kabir Chowdhury's (his in Bengali) essays are data-laden and informative. Niza Zaman makes a convincing plea for greater recognition of the translator's toil as well as for more translation courses in our universities, while one of Kabir Chowdhury's articles reprints a fascinating Bengali translation by Bishnu Dey of Eliot's 'Gerontion.' By far the best pieces in the collection are Rimi Chatterjee's 'Translation' (though the source for this piece is not given), and the ones by Fakrul Alam and Syed Manzoorul Islam on translating Tagore. The latter two provide interesting counterpoints to each other, with Fakrul Alam setting forth in a closely-argued manner his translating principles for Tagore's works vis-a-vis other notable translators of the poet. However, it may be said that this particular comparative method, with other translators being at a distinct disadvantage in not being able to rebut critiques leveled at them, does invariably tend to present Fakrul Alam's own translation strategies in the best possible light. S M Islam, in an all-too-short piece, exquisitely points out the dangers of "fragmentation" in translating Tagore at the level of word, phrase, and sentence. Chatterjee, who teaches at Jadavpur University, with enviable fluency dissects the various problems of translating from Bengali to English within a framework that ranges from Macauley to current India. Despite the caveats, this is a book that engages with a topic seldom written on by Bangladeshis, and Niaz Zaman deserves full credit for bringing it out.
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