Experiences of Urdu Literature Translators

The Urdu literature is very undoubtedly a very rich source of mental enlightenment. However, outside the Indian subcontinent nobody, not even the literature enthusiasts know much about it. The learned people already know that the experience of Urdu literature is worth sharing. So now, many people are trying to translate pieces from the Urdu literature.

The Urdu prose is not hard to translate. So many people are doing it. A good trend is that many writers themselves translate it. The best example of this trend is the famous writer Quratul Ain Haider. Quratul Ain Haider produced a plethora of novels while being in Pakistan. Afterwards she decided to shift back to India in 1960. There too she kept on producing excellent Urdu literature.

One of her most famous novels is the ‘Aag ka Darya’. She herself produced an English translation for this novel, which is now known as the ‘River of Fire’. Other than Quratul Ain Haider, works of Manto have also been translated. Manto has always been a controversial character here, though. However, the short stories or the Afsana of Manto is very much liked in the west.

The most famous Urdu poetry is very hard to translate, especially the poetry from the 18^th and 19^th century. This is because the diction of the poetry is too much tied to each other. However, Faiz has the distinction of being a poet whose work has been vigorously translated. These translations are truly worth reading and sharing because the meanings of the poetry have remained intact.