This is a literary mystery. The acclaimed best novel of the last century ' One Hundred Years of Solitude', originally written in Spanish by the Noble laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez was translated into Hindi by two leading Hispanist lady professors. One of them was awarded her Ph.D degree from the JNU on her Hindi translation.But alas, the translation is not available in the market. The publishers claim it is out of stock. The grapevine in the literary and academic circles is that it was withdrawn. It has never happened before.
I also translated it independently for a monthly Hindi magazine 'Aha Zindagi' in 2009 edited by the present editor of Amar Ujaja Hindi daily.Yashwant Vyas. It was serialized for 50 odd months and I was paid Rs 700 per installment. It was fun to translate and send 700 odd words every week to meet the deadline, and an honour for both the language and the translator, as well as the book, of course. But, alas the translation is not available in the market. Its 58-page excerpts have been included in my creative writings anthology 'Media Lekhan: Srijan', published by Kalpaz.
The novel was conceived by Marquez in 1946 when he was just 18. He slept over the idea for 21 years to write it and published in 1967. One day, while travelling, he got a flash like Eureka and rushed back home. Told his wife that he was locking himself in a room, not to disturb him except for food. His wife asked him, what if it was not published , if readers didn't like it. Marquez was confident. He replied, they would. And they did. No wonders, it continues to be a bestseller in India. I feel sad for Hindi readers. I hope and prey that its Hindi translation will hit the stands sooner than later. The ball is in Rajkamal's court.
He was awarded a Noble prize for literature in 1982.It was said in the citation that '100 Years…. was considered to be his best work. But both the translations are not available to readers. One translation was published by the best known Hindi publishers Rajkamal, but it was withdrawn. The reasons are best known to the people concerned. My concern is for a common reader like me. If it was withdrawn because of the quality of translation, then why the other translation done by Manisha taneja was not published.
There are many questions associated to this mystery. Who has the translation copywrite. I belived some -Spain based publisher of original Spanish version has rights in all languages. Colombian ambassador in India told me that they would be more than happy, if it is published in Hindi. But some publisher will have to take an initiative.
It is a great piece of literature for more than one reason. It has been etched like a miniature painting. Every sentence describes the character or ambience. Take for instance an excerpt from page 39 of the English translation done by Gregory Rabassa:
But Jose Arcadio didn't return, nor did they come with the snake-man, who, according to what Ursula thought, was the only son, who could tell them about their son, as the gypsies were not allowed to camp in town or set foot in it in the future, for they were considered the bearers of the concupiscence and perversion. As evident, Spanish is prone to long sentences and even long sentences. One of The Marquez's story The last voyage…. runs in one sentence through many pages. The novel is set around the Buendia family who creates a new city called Macondo. It is an imaginary city where people have forgotten their past and are trying to come with terms about the new life. The novel is comical and cynical in turns. It is a great case study for any serious student of literature. Translating it more difficult than Cervantes' 'Don Quixote' presumably the first novel written in any language.
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