Hi, everyone. Following is an interview I did with Suri Translations. I talk a little bit about my background, my love of reading, my writing process, and more.

You can also read the full interview here.

Interview with Suri Translations

Tell us a bit about your background. How did you get into writing and translation?

I grew up with books, the Nancy Drew mysteries being my first literary obsession. And the obsession with books never waned. In school, I began writing short stories for English assignments.

Though I loved writing, it never occurred to me to pursue it seriously. The need to get a good education, then a steady job blinded me to other options. So I never wrote outside of school. Years later, I rediscovered my love of writing.

Having always been a daydreamer, I started putting some of those dreams on paper. By this time, I had taken a break from my corporate job, and realised I wouldn’t get a better chance than this to give writing a real shot.

Translation wasn’t on my horizon at first. I wanted to write and publish original stories.

But several factors pushed me in the direction of translation—I thought it would help hone my skills, I could tap into a ready-made reader base, and I could also, maybe, help the authors’ work reach a wider audience. Eventually though, I wish to concentrate on my own ideas and stories.

Which Indian literature did you grow up reading?

To be very frank, I didn’t read a tonne of Indian literature while growing up except for the little I studied in school.

Mainly it was the works of Tagore, Premchand, Jaishankar Prasad, and Tulsidas.

To date, Kabuliwala remains one of my favourite short stories.

What made you decide to translate several of Munshi Premchand’s short stories to English?

Eidgah and Nirmala were my first introductions to Premchand. I’m a voracious reader, so stories and books tend to fade from memory over time. But on rare occasions they stick, and when they do, I try to take notice.

While Premchand is not perfect by any means—for instance, he’s not immune to the prejudices of the time—his progressive ideals, compassion, and humanity make his stories compelling and universal.

Not only are his works unforgettable, they also continue to be relevant. So when I decided to try my hand at translation, it was a no-brainer who I would choose. It also helps that Premchand’s works are in the public domain 🙂

Tell us a bit about your translation of Raja Hardaul. What was the process like? What drew you to this story?

My plan and hope is to translate Premchand’s entire body of work. As I was going through his extensive list of short stories, Raja Hardaul caught my eye, partly because of Orchha’s role in India’s history, and partly because of the legend surrounding the Orchha king.

With its overarching themes of self-sacrifice and duty, the story seems intrinsically Indian. As far the process goes, it is one that I follow religiously.

I start by reading the original story, then type out a rough draft. Followed by several rounds of editing and proofreading. For Raja Hardaul, I also read up on Orchha’s history as part of my research.

[If you speak Serbian or have any Serbian friends, be sure to check out our Serbian translation of Raja Hardaul, based on S.U. Ramesh’s English translation.]

Do you have any upcoming projects that you’d wish to share? How can our readers learn more about your work?

I’ve two short stories that are available for pre-order now. The Separation: Algyojha (Short Stories by Premchand), and The Price of Milk: Dudh Ka Daam (Short Stories by Premchand)

I’m also in the middle of translating Premchand’s full length novel Nirmala, which should be out sometime next year. Readers can find out more about my work on my website, or by following me on my Amazon page.

Anything else you wish to share with our readers?

I haven’t selected the next short story for translation. If your readers have any suggestions, I’d be happy to consider them.