Katha Books
Encyclopedia
Katha Books, also known as Katha Vilasam, is a publishing house owned by Katha NGO
, that has done pioneering works in the field of translating Indian literature
written in the regional languages, community and child welfare
. It was founded in 1988 by Geeta Dharmarajan. Today it is a leading name in translation genre in Indian publishing, and produces stories from Indian folklore and mythology, translated into English and Hindi from 21 regional Indian languages Katha is "exclusively devoted to translating regional Indian writers into English."
, author of famous novel Novel MAKAAN is also an outstanding short story writer. Some of his stories included in collection of his short stories 'MAFIA' are considered masterpieces of Urdu stories. His novel Makaan
is better known for denial of Sahitya Academy Award. Now, in the collection of short stories translated by Katha the name of Paigham Afaqui has been noted in the Introduction of the book but none of his stories are included in the collection. It indicates that Katha is controlled by similar people who control Sahitya Academy.
. and has "firmly put translation onto the Indian publishing agenda with the 'Katha Prize' Stories series". Also known as Katha Award for Creative Fiction, stories written in the regional languages, including Bangla, English, Konkani, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu, and English are considered, given in 30 categories in all, and the highest award, the 'Katha Chudamani Award' given for lifetime literary achievement to writers of exceptional merit, honours the writer with a citation, a cash award and with publication in English of their significant works.
The other prize associated with this are the A K Ramanujan Award (for translators), Kathakari Award (to a writer who retells oral folk tales) and the Kathavachak Award (to a writer who uses oral traditions to write a modern day story). Around 10 volumes of Katha Prize Stories have been published so far. The award are also marked by the week-long 'Katha Utsav' (Katha Festival), where story-tellers from many parts of the world take part
Katha NGO
Katha is a registered non-profit and non-governmental organization based in Delhi that works in the field of community development, child welfare, education and literature. It was founded by Geeta Dharmarajan in 1988. It connects grassroots work in education, urban resurgence and story...
, that has done pioneering works in the field of translating Indian literature
Indian literature
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
written in the regional languages, community and child welfare
Child welfare
Child protection is used to describe a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and young people who are underage and to encourage family stability...
. It was founded in 1988 by Geeta Dharmarajan. Today it is a leading name in translation genre in Indian publishing, and produces stories from Indian folklore and mythology, translated into English and Hindi from 21 regional Indian languages Katha is "exclusively devoted to translating regional Indian writers into English."
Criticism
While Katha is doing excellent works it seems to be prone to literary politics - at least it can be observed in respect of Urdu. Paigham AfaquiPaigham Afaqui
Paig̲h̲ām Āfāqī , also written Paigham Afaqi pr Paigham Afaqui is the literary name of Akhtar Ali Farooquee , an Indian writer, known particular for his Urdu novels and short stories....
, author of famous novel Novel MAKAAN is also an outstanding short story writer. Some of his stories included in collection of his short stories 'MAFIA' are considered masterpieces of Urdu stories. His novel Makaan
Makaan
Makaan is a Urdu novel by Paigham Afaqui that was first published in 1989 and first published in English in 2002.It is now well recognized as an important Indian novel and a step forward in Indian fiction and a significant part of Indian literature....
is better known for denial of Sahitya Academy Award. Now, in the collection of short stories translated by Katha the name of Paigham Afaqui has been noted in the Introduction of the book but none of his stories are included in the collection. It indicates that Katha is controlled by similar people who control Sahitya Academy.
Katha Awards
Initiated in 1990, these awards have gone a long way in promoting the best of fiction in Indian LiteratureIndian literature
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
. and has "firmly put translation onto the Indian publishing agenda with the 'Katha Prize' Stories series". Also known as Katha Award for Creative Fiction, stories written in the regional languages, including Bangla, English, Konkani, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu, and English are considered, given in 30 categories in all, and the highest award, the 'Katha Chudamani Award' given for lifetime literary achievement to writers of exceptional merit, honours the writer with a citation, a cash award and with publication in English of their significant works.
The other prize associated with this are the A K Ramanujan Award (for translators), Kathakari Award (to a writer who retells oral folk tales) and the Kathavachak Award (to a writer who uses oral traditions to write a modern day story). Around 10 volumes of Katha Prize Stories have been published so far. The award are also marked by the week-long 'Katha Utsav' (Katha Festival), where story-tellers from many parts of the world take part