Passage to Mabrur
PASSAGE TO MABRUR (1) There are various trials before one is able to obtain mabrur (the accepted haj) throughout the…
SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA
Translations: South & Southeast Asia features 32 literary translations in 15 languages from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore across the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Curated by guest co-editors Bilal Tanweer and Pauline Fan, these texts appear in four issues, in both the original language and English translation. Each issue is introduced with an Editorial in epistolary form, where Bilal and Pauline reflect on the art, aspirations and problems of literary translation. Each translation is prefaced by a translator’s statement, discussing their translation approach and the particular challenges encountered in the featured works.
All stories
Two Capital Cities & Uttara
Two Capital Cities When fireworks rain down from the sky, elephants walk in procession with majestic gait, a long strand…
Baji Shahnaz
Baji Shahnaz Really, sometimes I think fathers are remarkable beings. Under the harsh sun of their lives, they wither away…
Editorial Issue 2
Dear Bilal, A thought that recurred to me as I read through the works featured in our second issue is…
The Testament of Professor Roolvink
Translated from Malay to English by Ali Aiman Mazwin Translator’s note When I was asked by the author to choose one of his…
Two Poems
Translated from Urdu to English by Umair Kazi Translator's note It seems a fair assumption that preparation and prior study, or at…
Leima’s Winter
Translated from Manipuri (Meeteilon) to English by Akoijam Malemnganbi Translator's note The most striking feature of this poem is its ability to embed…
Comb of Chastity
Translated from Chinese to English by Christina Ng Translator's note This poem is from Dan Ying’s poetry collection 发上岁月 (The Years in My…
The Golden Land that Bled to Death
An Excerpt from a War Diary from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War
The Capital of Literary Bengal
Translated from Bangla to English by Rafee Shaams Translator's note Mozid Mahmud’s essay is a reminder of a tendency in Bengali literature to…
Editorial Issue 1
Tunnel & (Non)happening
Translated from Sinhala to English by Vivimarie VanderPoorten Translator's note Sinhala is a diglossic language while English is not, so one of the…
Run, Boy, Run!
Translated from Bengali to English by Shabnam Nadiya Translator's note Dipen Bhattacharya is a bit of an anomaly in the Bangladeshi writing sphere:…
Karejwa
Translated from Hindi to English by Vidit Singh Translator's note Karejwa is set in Benaras on the day of the apocalypse. In order to keep the local-global…
Ennui on Locomotive 46
Translated from Malay to English by Adriana Nordin Manan Translator's note The most compelling aspect of Johan Radzi’s writing is its thoughtfulness. His writing doesn’t appear…
City’s Clocks & Postman
Translated from Seraiki to English by Muhammad Abdul Sami Translator's note Rifat Abbas’s poetry conflates urban imagery, oral traditions and contemporary social issues.…