Abhijit’s Sketchnotes No 13

1. Why reading translated books is important

Abhijit's Sketchnotes No 13 — Abhijit’s Sketchnotes No 13

When I was growing up, I read a lot of Russian literature translated into English or Bengali. More recently I read Gulzar’s translations of Tagore in Hindi. They have been set to music by Shantanu Moitra. <listen here> I wrote about the experience of spending a day with Gulzar Saab watching him record that translation. It was a fanboy moment for me. That is when I discovered that Gulzar Saab can read Bengali. (He translated the Bangla poem to Hindi while using the Urdu script). He writes in a note book or on pieces of paper. He turned 86 on 18 Aug 2020.I wrote about my meeting with Gulzar saab hereToday I want you to listen to this interview with Arunava Sinhawho has translated 45 Bengali novels into English. He has recently translated an intriguing story called Tiger Woman written by Shirsho Bandopadhyay (I ordered the book, waiting to read it). You can read a review here. It is a historical novel with a tragic love triangle as the core story thread.When you read a translated book, it enables you to understand other unfamiliar worlds. The most difficult part of the translation is the dialogue, says Arunava. You have to translate not what you see (read), but the words as you “hear it in your head”.

Here is the interview that was sent to me by Dr Anjan Ray. Thanks

https://valleyofwords.org/podcast/arunava-sinha/

The cover design of the book is brilliant. What do you think?

Do you agree that reading translations can expand our world view?

2. Have you heard of ‘fake podcasts’?

There are markets dedicated to fake handbags and watches and sneakers. But what is the difference between say ‘fake currency’ and ‘counterfeit currency’? Hint: All counterfeits are fakes, but all fakes are not counterfeits. Recently I was intrigued to read about ‘fake’ podcasts. So what makes a podcast fake?Podcast creators distribute dozens of shows with the same names as popular podcasts such as ‘Serial,’ and ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ to be distributed across the podcast ecosystem. Digiday says

‘… copycats appear too, in many cases with nearly identical metadata and cover art. The fake shows appear designed to trick listeners into listening to them, so they can be monetized through ads injected automatically…’

Do you think that these podcasts should be called “fake podcasts” or “counterfeit podcasts” … yes, what do you think? Leave a comment and tell me why

3. Why do we dread hearing that phrase?

‘I have some feedback for you’… think of what that phrase can do.You curl up expecting the worst. The word feedback is value-neutral. It could be appreciative or corrective. Corrective feedback helps us become more successful. How do we do this in a manner that makes it easy to accept – without sugar coating and diluting the feedback.I had a professor who was hard to please. He set high standards and made us work much more than any other professor in the institute. He was less than generous with his grades. Yet, all of us thought he was very fair and was good at heart. I wonder what was his secret.This article talks about the ‘Five-One rule’Do share a tip you use to give feedback to people – especially when it is not complimentary. Have you worked with someone who gave you the toughest feedback but made you feel motivated enough to act on it? Leave a comment and tell us how it was done. By the way, I would value your feedback about the newsletter.

4. How long does it take to be funny for 5 min?

Atul Khatri used to be the CEO of a software firm. Then one day in his forties he decided to give it up to be a stand-up comedian. If you have watched Shah Rukh Khan host some of these film awards shows, then you may know that many of the witty one-liners are written by stand up comedians like Atul Khatri. Play to Potential is a podcast by Deepak Jayaraman where he speaks about career transitions that people navigate. This episode with Atul Khatri takes a look at how Atul moved from selling software to doing stand up comedy part time and then finally choosing comedy as his second career. How long does it take to write jokes that last five minutes on stage? Just take a guess and leave your response before you listen to the answer. Atul speaks of the Sindhi community in Hong Kong who have moved from selling tailored suits to VCRs, DVDs and now crypto machines. It is a lovely example of a community that has adapted to the changing times.

You can email me at abhijitbhaduri@live.com and I promise to respond.

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Comments

One response to “Abhijit’s Sketchnotes No 13”

Nagendra Prasad

September 1, 2020

1) Why reading translated books is important – Agree fully that reading translated books open up an entirely another world and many a time it is worth it. Problem with translated books is that many a time it is problematic to think in one language and express it in another language. We often see the difficulties and discomfort of students who have done their education in vernacular medium and then trying to express themselves in English for example. That holds true for any two set of languages. The translation has to do justice to the thinking and expression of the author who wrote in a particular language. This is probably one reason apart from non familiarity of the nativity in which the plot is set that makes a reader averse to reading translations. However great novelists such Saratchandra Chattopadhyay have selected plots of their novels which are universal and the translations found an echo with audiences through out India in their language in which the original Bengali novels of Sarat are translated.2) 3. Why do we dread hearing that phrase? – It is a human tendency to dread feedback basically because humans generally doesn’t like to change. Feedback by implication means change as if the same thing is to be continued there is no need for feedback in the first place. Whether feedback has potential for betterment becomes besides the point.I think that is the reason normally the word feedback is dreaded. In Hindu epic Ramayan Maarichi told Ravana. Two kinds of human beings are very rare in this world. One who is capable of telling sincerely what is good for the other. The other rare human being is the one who takes such feedback in an appropriate manner and striving to change himself.4. How long does it take to write jokes that last five minutes on stage? – It may take a life timebecause to spontaneously express either in writing a joke or to talk something which makes audience split into laughter is a life time of hardwork for the performer in terms of his acquired experiences, communication and so on.

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