Srinagar, Aug 13: English translation of Kashmiri poetry collection My Pain, My Affliction by Dr Rafeeq Masoodi was released here today.
The book is translation of Masoodi’s Kashmir poetry collection ‘Panun Doad, Panin Dag’ which was first published in 2013. The event was attended by various dignitaries from different walks of life. The dignitaries included former Justice (Retd) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani who also presided over the function. The chief guest was Rafiq Raaz, former director of AIR Srinagar.
The book has been translated by Professor Mohammad Aslam, former HOD Department of English, KU.
Talking to Greater Kashmir on sidelines of the event, Masoodi said that after many deliberations and suggestions from colleagues and other academicians, he decided to translate the book into English.
“English is a universal language and I thought by translating it, the book will reach a larger audience,” he said.
“I don’t claim to be a poet but through this book I wanted to express myself in a way that I hope many of my readers will relate to. It is a collection of poems that I wrote in Kashmiri and was published in 2013. The plan for the translation was years old. Finally we realised it and now it is available to readers. We were in talks with various publishers but finally Kashmir-based publishing house ‘Ink Links’ was roped in to publish it,” Masoodi said.
The event was organised by Majlis Un Nisa in collaboration with Ink Links Publishing house under the patronage of Adbi Markaz Kamraz.
Speaking at the event, Professor Mohammad Aslam said that translation is a tricky task as every language has its own essence. “It is for readers to decide if justice has been done with the translation. I have been translating books for over three decades but it is always a big challenge to keep the originality and ethos intact in the translated version,” Aslam said.
“An author or translator can always do better and I hope that I have done justice to it. I have ensured that the essence of Kashmiri language and the feeling within the words has been reflected in an exact way on the translation,” Aslam said.
Other speakers also congratulated the author for the translation and launch of the English version of the book. They said that it will help Kashmiri poetry reach a larger audience.
During the event, a song composed by Raja Bilal on the poetry of Masoodi was also screened. Mementos were also presented to the author of the book by the organisers.