Arshia Sattar on her new book Vasanta, a collection of Sanskrit plays in English - The Hindu
The HinduIn the literary world, translation is god’s work. In her latest, Vasanta: Stories from Sanskrit Plays, translator and writer Arshia Sattar revisits Sanskrit plays by Kalidasa, Vishakhadatta, Mahendravarman, Harsha and Shudraka, among others, and transforms them into short stories, shifting gears not just between languages but also formats. In this interview, she talks about her choice of stories, about retaining the essence of classical literature and the true ‘voice’ of its characters, and why they continue to be relevant. I don’t think there’s a difference between translating new stories into English and translating classics, and that’s because I believe that all translations should be in a contemporary idiom. The collection in ‘Vasanta’ presents not just a shift in language but also in format, adapting Sanskrit plays into English stories.
Discover Related