By Debamitra Mishra
The English rendition of the Odia novel ‘Utkalamani’ originally written by the legendary novelist Gopinath Mohanty witnessed its big release in Bhubaneswar on 29th August 2023. The book has been adapted into English as “Utkalamani- The Gem Of Utkal” by translator Aditya Nayak.
The book was launched by Dr. Aurobindo Behera, retd. IAS (chief guest), Dr. Basant Kumar Panda, Director, centre of excellence of studies in classical odia (guest of honour), Dr. Sangram Jena, vice president, odisha Sahitya Academy (guest of honour) and Pradosh k. Mohanty, former chief income tax commissioner (chair).
Talking about his experience, Aditya tells Odisha Diary exclusively, “The book ‘Utkalamani’ written by renowned novelist Gopinath Mohanty was originally written in Odia. It was published by Bidyapuri, a publishing house based in Cuttack in the 1960s. It was based on the reminiscences of Ramachandra Barik, a loyal personal companion of Gopabandhu Das who had served him for long eighteen years. His experiences narrated to Gopinath Mohanty was meticulously recorded by the latter.
I highly admire Gopinath Mohanty’s other novels such as Paraja, Mana Gahirara Chasha, Danapani, and even shorter works of fiction like Janakamma and Apahancha.”
Mention some of the crucial responsibilities of translation Adity says, “The major responsibility of a translator is to produce a text in another language which would be readable. However, one shouldn’t try to improve the original and erase the cultural nuances imbedded in the original in an attempt to placate and imagined foreign reader. In other words the integrity of the original should never be lost sight of.”
The event was graced by personalities like Prof. Omkar Mohanty, Dr. Nivedita Mohanty, Prof. Jatindra Nayak, Jugabhanu Singhdeo, Dr. Asit Mohanty, Dr. Jahan Ara Begum, Prof. Namita Mohanty, Kapilash Bhuinya, Prof. Madhusmita Pati, Prof. Shipra Gupta, Shiba Prasad Swain and Jagdish Mohanty, Prof. Asim Parhi.
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