Uneasy Translations: Self, Experience and Indian Literature
interweaves the personal journey of an academic into reflections around
self, language and translation with an eye on the intangibly available
category of experience. It dwells on quieter modes of being political,
of making knowledge democratic and of seeing gendered language in the
everyday. In an unusual combination of real-life incidents and textual
examples, it provides a palimpsest of what it is to be in a classroom;
in the domestic sphere, straddling the 'manyness' of language and, of
course, in a constant mode of translation that remains incomplete and
unconcluded. Through both a poignant voice and rigorous questions,
Kothari asks what it is to live and teach in India as a woman, a
multilingual researcher and as both a subject and a rebel of the
discipline of English. -She draws from multiple bhasha texts with an
uncompromising eye on their autonomy and intellectual tradition. -The
essays range from questions of knowledge, affect, caste, shame and
humiliation to other cultural memories. Translation avoids the arrogance
of the original; it has the freedom to say it and not be held
accountable, which can make it both risky and exciting. More
importantly, it also speaks after (anuvaad) rather than only for or
instead, and this ethic informs the way Kothari writes this book,
breaking new ground with gentle provocations.
