A Study of Translations of 'Jibananda Das’s ‘Banalata Sen’

Abstract

Jibanananda Das (1899-1954) is the most versatile Bengali poet of all time. Jibanananda was the poet who marks the transition to Bengali Modernist poetry. In his. poems he relied largely on images and symbolical means to express a complexity which grapples with the realities of modern life. In case of Das's poetry, almost all of them got proper recognition after his death. The third volume of verse that Das published in his lifetime, 'Banalata Sen' (1942), brought him the reputation of an original and exciting voice in Bengali poetry. Many translations have been done on 'Banalata Sen' by various poets and critics in the two Bengals and also abroad. The life (reputation) and after-life (criticism) of the poem created the urge to produce the best translation possible. Translation Studies shows that exact translation is not possible and equivalence is a dream. The present study examines the translations on 'Banalata Sen' done by various translators and compares them to find out the ones closest to the original. With the help of Translation Studies almost exact translation has been traced that did capture the poem if not exactly but almost exactly. "Translations of 'Banalata Sen' ", is a chapter discussing the translations done of the poem. The chapter, "Theory of Translation", states what Translation Studies is all about and how it helps in assessing translations. The fourth chapter is "Criticism of the Translations". The "discussion of these translations thus shows that exact translation is not a dream anymore.