Do not make awards your goal, says Deepa Bhasthi

Booker Prize–winning translator and writer Deepa Bhasthi, on Wednesday, cautioned young writers and translators against creating works with the sole intention of winning awards, calling it “an injustice to the act of creation”.

Speaking after presenting the Karnataka Rajyotsava Awards instituted by Gulbarga University at a ceremony held at the Mahatma Gandhi Hall, Ms. Bhasthi recalled a striking phone call she had received soon after winning the International Booker Prize for translation.

“A very young translator called me and said, You are the first Indian to win the International Booker for translation, and I want to become the first young translator to win it. How can I achieve it? I was amazed that someone could think like that. Creating works for awards would amount to an injustice to your very creation. Awards recognise contributions, but if you create a work for an award, the work will suffer. The high fades in a few days, and after that, you are alone,” she said.

Bridging visibility gaps

Responding to comments by one of the awardees that literary works from the Kalyana Karnataka region seldom reach English translators, Ms. Bhasthi acknowledged the gap in visibility for works emerging from Kalyana Karnataka but said that it was misplaced to expect translators from southern Karnataka to shoulder the responsibility of translating them into English.

“For several reasons, I myself do not have access to much of the literature produced in this region. That is not the failure of the writers here. It is rather our limitation as translators if those works do not reach us. The gap exists and we need to bridge it, though I do not know how,” she said.

Emphasising that authentic translation must arise from cultural familiarity, she added, “I do not carry the smell of this soil. Only those who belong to this land, who understand its linguistic rhythms and cultural texture, can do justice to translating these works”.

Ms. Bhasthi firmly rejected the suggestion that writers must abandon their dialects and switch to Standard Kannada for wider reach. “A writer must never give up the core flavour of their language. Dialect is identity,” she said.

Referring to Vaddaradhane and Kavirajamarga, the earliest Kannada literary works emerged from the region, Ms. Bhasthi said that contemporary writing from Kalyana Karnataka rarely receives the attention it deserves. “Maybe such writers exist, and we simply do not know of them,” she observed.

Dismissing the idea that a work becomes more valuable when translated into English, Ms. Bhasthi said, “Every language has intrinsic worth. A local or regional work does not gain value merely because it is translated into English”.

Linguistic pluralism

Eminent literary critic H.R. Vijayashankar, chief guest of the event, highlighted Karnataka’s contributions to India’s federal imagination, citing the works of Kuvempu and D.R. Bendre. Stressing the richness of Kannada’s many dialects, he said, “Pluralism is the strength and beauty of Kannada. Developing a Standard Kannada is fine, but abandoning our diverse dialects is not”.

Dalit leader D.G. Sagar, also a guest of honour, spoke at length about the caste discrimination in the light of his own childhood experiences and the uncompromising struggles he waged against it.

Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Prof. H.T. Pote, Director of the University’s publication wing, said Gulbarga University was the only university in Karnataka that independently identified and honours regional talent through its own Rajyotsava awards – a tradition started by former Vice-Chancellor H.M. Nayak. “State-level awards rarely consider talent from Kalyana Karnataka. This platform fills that void,” he said.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Shashikant S. Udikeri presided over the function. Registrars Prof. Ramesh Londonkar (Administration) and N.G. Kannur (Evaluation), Syndicate member Sridevi Kattimani, and Academic Council member C. Sulochana were among those present.

A total of 26 individuals who have made notable contributions to literature, culture, folk arts, and other fields were felicitated.