Introducing Gaddar to non-Telugu speakers

Vasanth Kannabiran shares why translating Gaddar’s works was a challenge

‘Gaddar is a life force’, is how Vasanth Kannabiran describes the balladeer in the book ‘My Life is a Song: Gaddar’s Anthems for the Revolution’, her translation from Telugu to English that is published by Speaking Tiger Books. Gaddar and Vasanth are ‘fellow travellers’ in a journey that defied odds and traversed through adverse situations. Vasanth is a poet, writer and campaigner for women’s rights. Gummadi Vittal Rao, known as Gaddar, is an artist-activist and has been the cultural face of the Naxal movement. His songs stem from his observation of the plight of the downtrodden, and his repertoire, over the years, embodied the spirit of awakening. Through the book — the first-of-its-kind selection of his songs — Vasanth introduces Gaddar to non-Telugu speakers. A job, she says, was not an easy one at all.