Three Percent Podcast #209: Arunava Sinha on South Asian Literature in Translation

Arunava Sinha—professor, journalist, translator of over 100 works, including The Laboratory by Rabindranath Tagore—discusses his new venture, Chowringhee Press, his career in translation, the literary scene in India writ large, and provides a list of books to check out if you’re looking for entryways into South Asia’s diverse literary scene (see below). Books published by Chowringhee Press:I Murdered Mine, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, translated from the Hindi by Sakshi AgarwalPremchand X Ray + Sen, Munshi Premchand aka Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava, translated from the Hindi by Sayari DebnathWriting Death—Ego: A Novel, Rajalekshmi, translated from the Malayalam by Dhiya SonyThe Laboratory, Rabindranath Tagore, translated from the Bengali by Arunava SinhaFinalists for the JCB Prize for Literature:Jasmine Days, Benyamin, translated from the Malayalam by Shahnaz HabibThe One Legged, Sakyajit Bhattacharya, translated from the Bengali by Rituparna MukherjeeImaan, Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by Arunava SinhaThe Nemesis, Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by V. RamaswamyThere’s Gunpowder in the Air, Manoranjan Byapari, translated from the Bengali by Arunava SinhaMoustache, S. Hareesh, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree KalathilAnti-Clock, V.J. James, translated from the Malayalam by Ministhy S.The Paradise of Food, Khalid Jawed, translated from the Urdu by Baran FarooqiSong of the Soil, Chuden Kabimo, translated from the Nepali by Ajit BaralSanatan, Sharankumar Limable, translated from the Marathi (via Hindi) by Paromita SenguptaMaria, Just Maria, Sandhya Mary, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree KalathilDelhi: A Soliloquy, M. Mukundan, translated from the Malayalam by Fathima E.V. & Nandakumar K.Fire Bird, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Janani KannanA Lonely Harvest‌, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan VasudevanThe Story of a Goat, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by N. Kalyan RamanTrial by Silence‌, Perumal Murugan, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan VasudevanI Named My Sister Silence, Manoj Rupda, translated from the Hindi by Hansda Sowvendra ShekharTomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree, translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell (also featured on the Two Month Review)Valli, Sheela Tomy, translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree KalathilThis episode’s music is “Looking for a Ghazal” by Sarathy Korwar.You can subscribe to the Three Percent Podcast at Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.And be sure to follow our sister podcasts: Two Month Review (Apple, Spotify) and Mining the Dalkey Archive (Apple, Spotify) for more book and industry talk! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit threepercentproblem.substack.com