Chaplin to Anita Nair: Smitha Meenakshi opens the world to Malayali readers

Indian English writer Anita Nair's 'Idris: Keeper of the Light' was waiting to be translated into Malayalam. The publishers tried out several translators but none could match the writer’s expectations, until Smitha Meenakshi came along. The trial run of two episodes impressed Anita Nair so much that she called up her publisher and insisted that Smitha Meenakshi would be translating her works from now on.

The Malayalam poet has found a niche among the new generations of Malayalam translators. She has translated Anita Nair’s 'Idris: Keeper of the Light,' 'Alphabet Soup for Lovers' and 'A Cut-like Wound.' She has also translated Charlie Chaplin's 'My Autobiography', Arundhati Roy's 'The Shape of the Beast', Jose Saramago's 'Small Memories,' Pallavi Iyer's 'China Smoke and Mirrors' and Rabindranath Tagore's 'The Crescent Moon.'

The writer who introduced about 20 works to the Malayalis in conversation with Onmanorama.

How did you decide to be a translator?

I had done some translation for a Malayalam women’s publication before 1994. You could say that was the start of my translation career. Then I joined a bank and later shifted to Delhi after marriage. I quit the bank after my second child was born in 2005. As he was growing up, I felt like doing something. That is when Dr Premkumar, a teacher, asked me if I can translate some textbooks for Dr Mahesh Mangalatt. I did.

Then I came across an advertisement for Olive Books for translators. I applied along with a translation of a Maupassant story. They liked it and they sent me a book to translate. Though I completed the work they could not publish it for some reason.

Dr Prem Kumar contacted me again with an offer to translate another book. I agreed even before asking about the book. That is how I translated Pallavi Iyer's 'China: Smoke and Mirrors' into Malayalam. I completed the work before the deadline.

Then I translated Jose Saramago's 'Small Memories.' I have translated almost 20 books from English to Malayalam.

How do you pace your work? You work on a deadline?

The publishers would give me a deadline for some books. Nowadays nobody insists on a date. They just ask me when can I complete the work. I would give them an estimate. It is my job now after all. Charlie Chaplin’s autobiography is 550 pages. I translated that within three months.

I do not want to recreate a work. I respect the original work. I do not want to leave out anything that the writer has created. I do not want to omit anything. Some translators tend to rewrite the original work.

Initially, I would start translating only after reading the work in full. Now I am so busy that I translate from page to page. If I am in doubt, I would start reading from the beginning again. Still I read the first chapter and understand what the book is about before venturing to translate it.

Which was your most gratifying work so far?

Charlie Chaplin's autobiography. Some of the passages in the book moved me to tears. I was stuck at several points. That work had a tremendous impact on me.

Do translators find the recognition they deserve in Kerala?

Most of the readers do not care who the translator is or how different is the translation from the original work. Even I started looking at these details only after becoming a translator.

You said you became confident of becoming a translator only after working with Anita Nair. Why?

Anita Nair has a habit of going through the translation of her works before publication. She was not satisfied with the translation of 'Idris' by others. That was when the publishers put me on the job. I translated two chapters and she was impressed. She said that Smitha Meenakshi would be translating all her works from now on. She directly asked me to translate 'Bhuvana.' We often speak to each other over phone. I have interviewed her for English and Malayalam publications. When a writer puts in a good word, a translator becomes confident.

What about your association with Arundhati Roy?

I translated Arundhati Roy's 'The Shape of the Beast' into Malayalam as 'Mrigaroopam.' That was an anthology of interviews. That book gave me a lot of knowledge. I read it very carefully before translating it. Indian writers often use difficult words and phrases when they write in English. Arundhati Roy, however, writes even complex ideas in simple language. That was very helpful.

How do you cope with the barriers of the language?

I have not faced such difficulties. It takes an effort when you have to write about a particular period. I read up about the world wars and the rise of Hollywood to translate Chaplin's autobiography. When Saramago writes, a sentence can take up an entire page. It was touch work translating him.

You are a poet. What are the differences you feel between original writing and translations?

Translation is nothing but careful reading. All you do is to recreate the original work in another language. A translator is not required to contribute her creative side.

I was always a voracious reader. I could be a good translator because I am a good reader, rather than a good writer. I am not comfortable being called a poet. It was not very easy living in Delhi after I quit my job. I was kind of solitary. I played into stock markets for some time. Then I quit that and focused on my writing. I was 36 then. That was the time of Orkut. I used the platform as well as some online portals. That was also the time of the blogs. Many people asked me to start a blog. I also worked with an NGO for some time.

Your first book?

That was a time when almost everyone was bringing out their poetry. My poems were complied into 'Irupathanjamathe Manikkoor' by Saikatham Books. That book received the Avaneebala award in 2015.

You were one of the pioneering bloggers in Malayalam

I started out with Sereena, Devasena, Dona Mayoora and the other early bloggers. All of us used to read what the others had written and give feedback. We used to encourage each other. As Facebook took over blogs were ignored.

How did you become a writer?

I used to write as a school student. I have received a few prizes too. I continued the habit even when I was in college. In fact, engineering was not my favourite subject. I was more interested in law, history or chemistry.

My mother wanted all her children to become doctors. When I passed the entrance test, I chose chemical engineering because I did not want to become a doctor. All my siblings are doctors.

My mother used to read a lot yet there was not much encouragement for reading or writing at home. My father was a teacher. When I joined the TKM College, reading became my passion.

What is your goal?

I want to become active in writing. I want to write a novel.

About your family?

My native place is at Pambadi near Kottayam. I completed the engineering course and took up a job in the field for two years. Then I went to Coimbatore in 1994 to join a bank. After marriage, I shifted to Delhi with my husband. Husband P Somaraj is a deputy secretary in the cabinet secretariat. I have two children, Aparna and Siddharth.