The story Pet Mein Chhupi Kahaniyaan belongs to the folktale genre, in which a friend comes to the rescue of another friend— but what is the threat? This story has ‘stories’ as anthropomorphized characters which take on animal forms to seek revenge on their wrongdoer. The consequences of sleeping on a story could be ghastly. But it is also a story of friendship saving the day.
Rooted in facts about elephant migration, told from the perspective of elephants, and accessible to readers as young as 6-7 years when read aloud to them, Mari ka Safar is thoughtfully crafted. It successfully employs storytelling to create awareness about elephant migration and arouse empathy towards elephants. Additionally, a note at the end of the story explains and emphasizes the need to protect elephant corridors.
n the former, young readers are taught to empathize with the challenges of moving places and leaving behind familiar settings, and the opportunities of growth that are brought to the forefront, along with themes of sporting spirit and its role in self-confidence.
The simple current of the tale rolls on highs and lows, stalling on expressions emphasizing, ‘All for a Roar’, drifting into a tide of speedy actions affected by the roar and finally, the soothing efforts towards a cordial transformation. From the first word to the end, the author, Nandini Nayar, excels in maintaining a velvety flow of words lending a readable quality to the text. Young readers would read aloud the story effortlessly.
In all, there are thirteen stories of animals, people, bees, birds, thieves and disappearing words, some realistic as well as some imaginative. Most of the stories are brief and crisp, dealing with amusing topics—all quaint, intrinsically funny, fantastic and elementary.
This being said, we need to think of translation differently from the dominant western paradigms, which are steeped in the grammar of “target language”, “source language”, and “fidelity”. In the multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic milieu of India, where every individual speaks more than one language, we need to think of translation and the publishing and reviewing of translation beyond the readily available vocabulary of ethno-nationalism. In addition, there is a need to recognize translation as rooted in its moment of production, encapsulating characteristics symptomatic of history wherein, in Walter Benjamin’s words, “past comes in constellation with the present”.’