Sankar's milestone work now in English ~ Life Stylzz

04:06

His most well-known book was Chowringhee. Bengali cineastes still remember the movie by the same name,

the plot of which was adapted from Sankar's book by Satyajit Ray. The film had Uttam Kumar as the lead. Mani Sankar Mukherji, better known as Sankar, says that though late, the publication of his Kato Ajanare in English hints at a 'good beginning'.

"The book was inspired by my experiences as a young intern at an English barrister's (Noel Barwell) office in Kolkata. I finished writing it in 1955 and it was first published in 1956." Doesn't 2011 seem a bit late for a book, published first in 1956? When asked about this half-a-century delay, Sankar was quick to blame it on 'artistic arrogance'. "I wanted only a certain publishing house to come out with the English version.

So when Penguin approached me, I said yes." The author also stressed on the fact that translations are important for a book, written in a vernacular language, to gain readership. "Translations have been common ever since the Gitanjali was translated almost a 100 years ago. So it is not a new trend that Bengali authors are following. Agreed that a bit of the meaning is lost in translation but some books are so universal that the basic meaning gets retained. How else would Gabriel Garcia Marquez's books would have been so popular the world over, or for that matter any cult book written in languages other than English." Sankar is currently busy penning his series on Vivekananda, the initial parts of which have gained immense popularity. He is also working on the little known aspects of Aurobindo's life and cementing a biography out of it.