The poster girl from Dhanbad: Jinoy Jose P. reviews Sarah Joseph’s ‘Budhini’
The Hindu
History meets mystery in ‘Budhini’, in this vivid translation from the original Malayalam
Translation, said Günter Grass, is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes. While we encounter enough examples of the first part of the comment, rarely do we come across a translation that transforms the original in such a way that nothing changes. Most translations end up taking away the essence of the original, producing an emaciated clone. Sangeetha Sreenivasan’s translation of Budhini, the latest novel from Malayalam writer Sarah Joseph, is a happy exception. It is a translation that dutifully sticks to the original in its tone, tenor and texture, but is also able to stand on its own as a novel in English. Joseph is not an easy writer to translate. Her prose is complex, courtesy the curious variant of mid-Kerala Malayalam she employs in most of her works, especially in novels such as Aalahayude Penmakkal, Maattaathi and Othappu.Sitting MP and DMK ally IUML’s candidate K. Navas Kani registered a remarkable victory from Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday. While Mr. Navas Kani polled 5,09,664 votes, O. Panneerselvam, Independent candidate supported by the BJP, bagged 3,42,882 votes, AIADMK candidate Jayaperumal secured 99,780 votes and Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate Dr. Chandra Prabha Jeyapaul bagged 97,672 votes. As many as 6,275 voters pressed NOTA button.
Hailed as the “hrudayavanta” (man with a kind heart), cardiologist C.N. Manjunath registered a resounding victory by beating the three-time MP, D.K. Suresh, and sending ripples across Bengaluru Rural seat, a bastion strongly controlled by Mr. Suresh and his brother Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.