A blast from the past.
The Bengalis deserve Roddur.

On Friday, 12 December 1997 19:00:00 UTC+11, Arindam Banerjee wrote:

Kakoli Bandyopadhyay <kakoli@centuryinter.net> wrote in article <348CA842.4D5B@centuryinter.net>...

You misunderstood my question. My question is why is it apparent to you that adding on
to his original song (adding a few words here and there to express the original is one thing,
but adding several lines is what I am objecting to; you may ignore my objection, but I will
protest anyway!)would make the quality better???

I expect people to read my whole post before making a reply.
Maybe I expect too much. Please read my earlier post again - the latter part.

Tagore is considered a mediocre poet by Khushwant Singh and many others.

Hey, hey, hey! Don't make me roll in laughter! What does Khuswant Singh know?

He knows how to increase circulation.
He showed that by his editorship of the Illustrated Weekly of India. He probably read
Tagore translations and concluded they would not sell.
KS is considered to be our greatest writer in the English language, after maybe
Nirad Chaudhuri (his old friend). He has considerable influence, and so is not to be
taken lightly.

He admitted that he didn't read Tagore in Bengali, he read a few translations only. Tagore's works have passed the test of time, do I now have
to judge him by what Khuswant Singh tells about him?

Only to a limited number of Bengalis, true.
The point is how many non-Bengalis or for that matter many English-speaking Bengalis find Tagore meaningful to their lives.
You certainly do not have to go by KS's views, but as I have repeatedly mentioned
you are not my target audience (if indeed I have one).

The quality of Radice's work is undoubtedly very good and well
appreciated! Some of
Tagore's own translations are also very good. Arabindo Bose did a fantastic job
of translating some Tagore songs! Not all translations are bad!

Certainly not good enough for KS and Co.

You are taking it personally. I didn't say that you are unimportant or your work is
not worth publishing. I only say that I think it is unwise to add
several lines to
the original version.

Why unwise? After all I am doing it just for my pleasure and trying to
share it with others who may be interested. You are taking me too
seriously, thank you so much (I am not being sarcastic).

As a hard core Tagore fan and an avid poetry
reader, can I not
express my views without underestimating somebody's efforts?

Of course you can.

Again, you think I am trying to prevent you from posting Tagore's work.

Pardon, a transcreation is a joint effort. The result is not purely Tagore's work.
Tagore also helped himself quite freely to many Scottish and English songs and made such modifications as suited him. He was progressive.
Now who can say which is better, Auld Lang Syne.. or Purano shei diner kotha..

You are wrong!
Once again, I have nothing against you, I don't know you; all I am
saying is, it is
not prudent to think that you can add on to Tagore's work to improve its quality!

The idea was never to "improve" Tagore's quality, but to maintain it as far as possible in a different medium. Tagore's lines will remain Tagore's lines,
no matter what anyone does. If in Bengali I had added extra lines, you would have had just cause for complaint. For then the original work would be compromised
unless the specific changes made were mentioned.

Even

if you remained true to his original, your work would have been equally good!

Thank you! Thank you! In many of my transcreations, I have been perhaps
more to your taste, but so far as quality is concerned, I am the primary judge.

As a reader

of your translation, this is my opinion. You don't care - that's fine,
but I will say it anyway!

For the last time - poetry, especially lyrics, is untranslatable.
I am transcreating. The term "transcreation" is attributed to the esteemed Prof P Lal.

These lines were not necessary. I am not fighting with you. Yes, Visva Bharathi still has
the copyright of Tagore's work. In one way it's good, otherwise in the next two decades
his poems and songs will change so much that the original flavor will be lost.

I do not agree at all. Vishwa Bharathi has been doing a great disservice
by locking up Tagore. They are in fact criminals. So what if the original flavor goes away - what does that mean anyway - the lines will remain,
like Shakespeare's lines remain. Are we regretting the fact that the plays are not enacted they were in Shakespeare's time?

And believe
me, nothing is killing the Bengalis, they are thriving as ever!

Endless is the night, no hope of (penetrating) morning light,
For Bengalis by railway lines, feeding on promises by swines.

(Pretty lousy lines, they just show how little I am without mounting on great Tagore's shoulders.)

Their intellectuals are a regressive lot, chained to 150 year old dogmas.
I am afraid that with your support for Vishwa Bharati's policy you have
shown this regressive quality.
The irony is that they think they are progressive! It is not a wonder that Bengali stage and movies are dying if not dead. Modern Bengali songs
are hopeless. Bengali culture in the fifties and sixties was so vibrant, now.

If your target audience is non native speakers, they won't know the difference! It is your duty
as a Tagore translator to convey his works to them being as much true to him as possible.

So I have been. I think you are nitipicking too much. And if you had
based your thoughts after reading my explanations we could have progressed. As it is, this is my last post on this topic.

Thanks once again for your attention,

Arindam Banerjee
Disclaimer: My opinions do not involve my employer.

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