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Rosy D’Souza’s Kannada Translations Grow From Passion and Place
Rosy D’Souza translates books into Kannada because she loves reading.
Kannada was not her first language, because she comes from a Konkani family and grew up where Tulu was commonly spoken.
She learned to love Kannada books through school libraries, newsstands, and supportive teachers.
She first experimented with translating the philosophical writings of Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Later, she translated the prison diaries of freedom fighter H. Y. Sharada Prasad.
She also translated the biography of former prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda into Kannada.
She believed Kannada readers should be able to read the biography in their own language.
D’Souza also writes poetry inspired by the sea, mountains, and forests of coastal Karnataka.
Her next major translation will cover resistance to the Emergency.
Rosy D’Souza is a Karnataka Sahitya Akademi awardee known for translating biographies and other works into Kannada.
Although her background is Konkani and she grew up in a Tulu-speaking area, Kannada books and teachers shaped her love of reading.
Her translations include H. Y. Sharada Prasad’s Prison Diaries and H. D. Deve Gowda’s biography, Furrows in a Field.
D’Souza says personal commitment and love for a work, rather than academic ambition, motivate her translations.
Her next major project is a Kannada edition of Sugata Srinivasaraju’s The Conscience Network, about resistance to the Emergency.
- Who
- Rosy D’Souza, a Karnataka Sahitya Akademi awardee and Kannada translator.
- What
- She discussed her translation work, her relationship with Kannada, and her upcoming Kannada translation of The Conscience Network.
- Where
- Her work is connected to Karnataka, including coastal Karnataka and Bengaluru’s Kannada literary sphere.
- When
- Why
- She translates works because of her passion for reading, personal commitment, and belief that important works should be available to Kannada readers.
Key facts
- Translator
- Rosy D’Souza
- Award
- Karnataka Sahitya Akademi award
- Native background
- Konkani; she grew up in an area where Tulu was the lingua franca
- Notable translation
- Furrows in a Field, a biography of H. D. Deve Gowda
- Other translation
- Prison Diaries by H. Y. Sharada Prasad
- Poetry collection
- Mannina Bisupu, meaning “warmth of the soil”
- Upcoming project
- A Kannada edition of The Conscience Network by Sugata Srinivasaraju
Quotes
Rosy D’Souza
Karnataka Sahitya Akademi awardee and Kannada translator
“The love of reading began with Kannada books. Being in a small town, you read what you have in your school library, in the news stand, etc. I was also blessed with a lot of good Kannada teachers.”
indianexpress.com
“I am not an academic. I just do it out of my passion and love for reading. When I do a translation, it is because I love that work.”
indianexpress.com
H. D. Deve Gowda
Former prime minister of India whose biography D’Souza translated into Kannada
“Idhu hrudayakke, adhu buddhige [This (the Kannada version) is for the heart, that (English version) is for the mind].”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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