Conversations on Dante 12: Sukanta Chaudhuri on Dante in Bengal

Conversations on Dante is a new set of podcast episodes from the Leeds Centre for Dante Studies at the University of Leeds. In each episode, we sit down with researchers from a range of disciplines to discuss some of the work which is helping to shape our understanding of Dante, his context and works, and his place in the cultures of the world. In this episode, Sukanta Chaudhuri discusses the ways in which Bengali culture has engaged with Dante and with Italian culture more broadly, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day – in translations, commentaries and rewritings of Dante’s works. He discusses some of the challenges of translating Dante into Bengali, and of presenting Dante to a Bengali audience. Sukanta also reflects on his own experience as a translator, and on how Dante’s account of his relationship with Florence resonates with modern experiences of the city of Kolkata. Sukanta Chaudhuri is Professor Emeritus at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He is editor of a series of translations of Italian literature at Jadavpur University Press, which includes a translation of Dante’s Comedy into Bengali by Alpana Ghosh (Inferno published in 2017, and the remaining cantiche forthcoming): Narak (নরক) – Jadavpur University Press / যাদবপুর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় প্রকাশনা (jadunivpress.com)