Translating Social Differences in Select IWE (Indian Writing in English): A Bilingual Perspective

Abstract

In the way of handling the Indian situation in their own ways in IE, particularly, in creative writing it is for sure that this genre of writing is conceived on the ground of bilingualism. In the case of Indian English creative writing the leading figures (Anand and Singh) to the contemporary one (Ghosh) brings experimentation of different Indian regional languages in their creative works, which provides authenticity to the theme corresponding to its language. The question arises as to how writers become more proficient in the other language and what accomplish the attitude show their creativity in that language. As Iyengar puts it: ―Indian writing in English is, but one of the voices, in which, Indian speaks. It is a new voice, no doubt, but it is as much Indian as the others‖ (196:3). When a work of art is created in bilingual mode, it would have to satisfy certain parameter of intelligibility, acceptability, appropriateness. Intelligibility is not an absolute criterion, but is participant and context dependent. Braj B. Kachru in his paper, ―The Indianness in Indian English‖, explains that ―the term intelligibility may be used in a wider sense to imply an Indian bilingual‘s capacity to use English effectively for Social Control‖(1965:394). This genre of literature has foreign readers as well as Indian bilingual readers who have some proficiency in English. For the latter one, things are easy, but for the previous one, footnotes and the other hints are required to know the Indianness of the English language. The Indian expressions in other tongue are defined by the appropriate transformation of Indians into Westerns. The Westernization of Indian sensibility provides a big scope for its bilingual readers. Kachru poses an important question in this context; ―One might ask who is to judge the appropriateness and acceptance of such innovations? The actual non-native user or an idealized native speaker? The answer is not easy‖ (1990:28).Writing in some other language presents a different situation where the native expressions are influenced by the other tongue, which creates the concept of otherness. In creative context, the sense of otherness is expressed through the various strategies of translation. In addition to this, Indian English Literature or Indian and World Literatures, as a major discipline has been taking shape in major academic institutions (JNU, EFLU) of India. Translation, resonating the role of Indiannism by the various regional writers of India has been sought to present in Abstract: This paper sets out to address the assimilation of translation and nation as transnational, results in to idea of transculturation. Translation as an art has been taken different paradigm shift. As for creative writing in English, translation is performative nature of cultural communication. Beginning with some remarks on Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable (1935) and Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan (1956), two novels that examine translation as a core of creative writing, this paper proceeds to analyse how Amitav Ghosh uses language to mediate a sense of cultural translation in his writing. Focusing on Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies (2008), is further analysed in terms of transcultural narrative. This strange case of creation has been looked through Bhabha’s concept of ‘transnational translational’. The key is how translation work in practice rather than theory as each writer has his own regional expressions experimentation with English. Translation is implicit in the processes of cultural transformation and change, is used as a metaphor for Indiannism in this context.