Translation as a Cultural Event, a Journey, a Mediation, a Carnival of Creativity

Reflection on the issue of reception of Russian literature amongst the reading public in India reminds us that India has always been a multiconfessional, multi-ethnic and multilingual country. From Kashmir in the North to Kerala in the South, India can be characterised by a rich tradition of highly developed multiple literary cultures. Translational activity has been an essential corollary of this diversity. This essay attempts to investigate the translation and reception of Russian literature in post-colonial India. It discusses the engagement of the Indian intelligentsia with Russian literature through translation, which developed in post-independent India, riding on the high tide of nationalist fervour promoting ideas of an egalitarian society. Translations of Russian writers like Lev Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, Fedor Dostoevsky, Anton Chekhov and Maksim Gorky and others enjoyed great popularity in post-colonial India. I examine Marathi-, Malayalam-, and Hindi-language texts. These works are considered by-products of translational activity, which is also a journey, a mediation and a carnival of cultural mutualities.