Poetry at Sangam
Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.
Professor Neerja Mattoo is an eminent writer, translator and teacher who has taught in Kashmir for over three decades. Respect for her cuts across the polarised divisions in the Kashmir valley. Her published works include four anthologies of Kashmiri short stories, the most recent being The Greatest Kashmiri Stories Ever Told. Her book The Mystic and the Lyric: Four Women Poets from Kashmir has been critically acclaimed. She has been a recipient of a Fellowship from the Ministry of Education and a Visitorship at Oxford from the British Council.
She lives in Srinagar, Kashmir.
Naseem Shafaie is a major modern poet in Kashmiri. While following in the tradition of the great women Kashmiri lyric poets, the 16th century Habba Khatoon and the 18th century Arnimal, she brings a modern sensibility and a strong feminist content to her lyrics. She speaks with authority, asserting her identity as a sensitive, thinking woman. Her poetry is also suffused with the pain and suffering of Kashmiris, particularly women during the past few decades of militancy. Translating her sensitive, allusion-laden poems is challenging.
Translating from one language to another is always a daunting task. The first requirement, obviously, is that one should not only be thoroughly familiar with the two languages, the one from which you are translating and the one into which you are translating, one should also have read much literature in the two languages so that one is aware of the exact meaning and nuance of each word and its usage in different contexts. A thorough knowledge of the myths and references alluded to in the original text is essential so that they can be transferred to the translated version with a degree of accuracy.
The only qualification I thought I had before attempting this task was that I knew the two languages fairly well – one was my mother tongue and the other was the language and its literature which I taught for several decades. Still, it was not an easy task, I have to admit, but I was fortunate enough to be able to refer back to the authors – the original writers in Kashmiri – and get their approval.
I do the translation very faithfully as I do not want to impose anything on the original; I want to be as obedient to the text as much as possible.
I, Neither Shadow Nor Reflection
The Heart Is The Resting Place Of Mourning
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