Bangalore: Strong opinions emerged about Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, during the launch of ‘Nanu Malala,’ the Kannada version of her autobiography ‘I am Malala’ here on Sunday.
Releasing the Kannada translation by B S Jayaprakash Narayan, renowned writer Boluvaaru Mohammed Kunhi said, “On reading the book, questions about whether a 16-year-old can write about different cultures and international relationships so well arise.”
Kunhi, however, immediately clarified that it was his personal opinion and did not want to spark a controversy by saying so.
Praising Narayan for the translation, he said the noun-verb agreement was one of the main challenges that authors faced while translating works from other languages into Kannada.
“He has done it perfectly,” Kunhi added. Excerpts of the book read out on the occasion make her nostalgia evident as she says that even as there is one-foot distance between the houses in Britain, it feels like a mile.
Unlike back home, Malala recalls that the neighbours could come asking for a cup of rice or a few tomatoes. G B Harish, writer and critic, said the book had a vivid description of her family members and their way of thinking.
While saying that the book was translated well to attract the Kannada readers, he said the translator had also adopted a poetic form of writing in a few paragraphs of the book. Poet Siddaiah drew parallels to challenges that were faced by dalits in the country.
“One must understand that it is not just the one who faces discrimination is demeaned but also that the one who is discriminating the other person who is losing humanity. We are with Pakistan in the fight for ensuring that everyone must get their basic human rights,” he added.
