Her interest in German novelists, poets, and dramatists that began in her mid-teens continued through the years of studying English Literature at Presidency College and Jadavpur University. This was reinforced to a great extent by her teachers at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata where she was pursuing her German language courses till the C2 level alongside her academic studies. After completing her Masters’ Programme the recent graduate decided to pursue her love for the German language and become a teacher of German as a Foreign Language at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and has been in this profession since 2000 till this date. Since 2011 she also has been working as a project officer for German educational cooperation, in particular as part of the PASCH initiative.
Even though translating is not her main professional focus, Amrita Dhara took the opportunity to professionally translate a few contemporary German texts into Bengali and English as part of the cultural programmes of the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan on the works of the artist Günther Uecker and the “Städteschreiber” project (2006). For her, this was an enriching experience, which prompted her to continue on the journey of translation of German lyric poets and authors of youth fiction.
When Romit Roy's professional life was a piece of textile, it would be woven from words and notes. In addition to his work as an associate professor for the German Language at the Center for Modern Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies (CMELLCS) in the West Bengal city of Santiniketan, the specialist of German studies deals with classical Indian and Western music in different ways. For instance, he transcribes works by poet, philosopher, and musician Rabindranath Tagore from Indian into the Western notation system, and he composes music for orchestra, film, and theater.
Romit Roy attended musical training with the sitar master Prof. Debu Chaudhuri in New Delhi and with Dr. Harold Joseph, former conductor of the Delhi Symphony Orchestra. Romit Roy began his German studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he graduated with a master's degree in the German Language (1987) and a master's degree in German Studies (1990). Several scholarships and study visits in Germany, including a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), led him to more than one university in Germany.
The long list of his presentations and lectures includes titles on Theodor Adorno, Rabindranath Tagore, classical Indian and Western music, and various translation-related topics. His scientific publications and translations range from philosophical topics to literary discourses, such as those on Heinrich Heine, up to issues related to translation theory. Romit Roy is also broadly positioned as a lecturer for MA and BA students, teaching German as a foreign language, regional studies, translation theory, and literature.
Selection of translated titles:
Christian Kravagna: Political Emotions, Emily Jacir and the Art of the Diaspora
He has been translating prose and poetry from German to Bengali since 1997 and has participated in numerous translation projects and bilingual programs for authors. Subroto Saha’s compilation of 223 poems by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1950-2015) has been recognized by the publisher Suhrkamp Verlag and the author as the most comprehensive and successful collection.
In 2013, 2016, and 2018, he was honored with an invitation to participate in the international translators’ meeting at the Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB), and in 2019 he took part in the first international meeting of poetry translators JUNIVERS at LCB as well as in the translators’ forum at Leipzig Book Fair. As a participant of the Merck Social Translating Project 2018, organised by Goethe-Institut Korea, he is currently completing the translation of the novel Die Welt im Rücken by Thomas Melle. In 2018, under his direction, the first TOLEDO translation expedition took place in Kolkata as part of the Cities of Translators project of the German Translation Fund and the Robert Bosch Foundation.
Kamal Pruthi is also a lyricist who not only writes songs in German but also composes, sings and teaches them to school students and teachers. As an adjunct faculty for the German language he is part of the academic staff at Shri Vishwakarma Skill University in Gurgaon. In 2016 and 2019 he received the Rex Karmaveer Chakra Award in bronze and in silver. He took part in an international translators' conference and in an international theater forum both taking place in Germany. His translations also show a large variety, spanning from children’s books, films and serials to plays and dictionaries. He also translates into English and German as well as into languages spoken in India.
Selection of translated titles:
Vaclav Havel: Drei Theaterstücke (From English to Hindi)
Loriot: Sketche und zwei Theaterstücke (From German to Hindi and English)
Samuelle Beckett: Catastrophe (Theaterstück) (From English to Hindi)
She is the co-translator of Herta Müller’s Der Mensch ist ein groβer Fasan auf der Welt (Kaanch ke Aansoo) and Atemschaukel (Bhookh ka Vyakaran). She is also involved in a translation project between Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Bergische Universität, Wuppertal.
Selection of translated titles:
Herta Müller: Der Mensch ist ein großer Fasan auf der Welt (as co-author)
New Delhi, India
Target Language: Hindi
Nidhi Mathur is a PhD research scholar at the Center of German Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts in German Studies at Doon University in Dehradun. In the year 2017 she completed her M. Phil. with her thesis entitled “Die Analyze der Mensch-Tier-Beziehung in Hermann Hesses Kunstmärchen”. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in the area of German folklore. The working title of her work is “Mensch und Tier - Eine kritische Analyze der Mensch-Tier Beziehung in Grimms Kinder- und Hausmärchen”. She translates literary texts from German to Hindi.
Under the title Sufi Motives in Goethe`s West-Östlicher Diwan, she analysed motives of Sufi Poetries in the work of the author. Under the title Puntila and His Man Matti on Hindi Stage, she focused on the adaption and presentation of Bertolt Brecht`s famous play. Pratima Shekhawat looks back on a long experience in professional theatre and has not only translated English and German plays into Hindi but has also written own works: Her play Hamar Bubuji ki Chattri was performed by theatre group Act One, New Delhi, and in 2000 she wrote a Hindi serial Khabrein Khabardar for DD News.
Currently, the academic with a focus on German literature is doing his PhD in the area of science fiction. The working title of his work is “Being and Becoming in Contemporary German Science-Fiction: Isomorphic Paradigms and Posthumanism”. Apart from his academic work he has also been associated with German to Hindi translation.
Equipped with a Bachelor of Arts in German studies the graduate of English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad continued his studies at JNU where he gained his M.A. in German Literature in 2014. The title of his M.A. thesis is “Ein Porträt der Wohlstands-Kids der 90-er Jahre anhand der Romane von Christian Kracht FASERLAND und Florian Illies GENERATION GOLF: Eine Inspektion‘‘ (A Portrait of Prosperity Kids of the 90's based on the novels by Christian Kracht Faserland and Florian Illies Generation Golf‘‘). He completed his M. Phil in 2016 from JNU with the thesis entitled “Varanasi als Text: Auseinandersetzung mit der Stadt Varanasi in ausgewählten Werken der Hindi- und der deutschen Literatur” (Varanasi as Text: The City Varanasi in selected works of Hindi and German Literature.)
The PhD scholar at the Centre of German Studies, JNU, works on his PhD thesis with the title ''Erinnerungsliteratur und Rekonstruktion der Vergangenheit'' (A Study of Selected Narrative Texts in German and Hindi), ''Memorial Literature and Reconstruction of Past'' (A Study of Selected Narrative Texts in German and Hindi). Hindi literature has been part of his M. Phil Thesis and also of his PhD Thesis.
Marathi
Mumbai, India
Target Language: Marathi
Jayashree Hari Joshi studied German at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and taught German after receiving her MA.
She has been working at the Goethe Institute since 1996, was a program officer for twenty years, and since 2016 has been the director of the institutes' library in Mumbai. In her doctoral dissertation, she compared the alienation effect in epic theatre and in the Rasa theory of ancient Indian dramaturgy.
In addition to the Indian languages Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit, she is fluent in English and German. She has translated German poems and plays into Hindi, Marathi and English. She also writes poetry in Marathi, which is regularly published. She has translated plays, poems, short stories novels and children's and youth literature from English and German into Hindi and Marathi. Her book reviews and essays on literary topics appear regularly in printed or digital form in various national newspapers and magazines. Jayashree Joshi lives in Mumbai.
Selection of translated titles:
Selected Poems of Ulrike Draesner, translated into Marathi with Aruna Dhere. Rohan Prakashan, 2019
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar: Das Uhreninstitut (saatleri ayarlama enstitüsü). Popular Prakashan, 2017
Oya Baydar: Das Judasbaum-Tor (erguvan kapısı). Popular Prakashan, 2017
Thomas Endl: Nikolaus und Nikolina. Pratham Books, 2012
Klaus Baumgart: Leni und Twiek. Pratham Books, 2008
Siegfried Lenz: Zeit der Schuldlosen. Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1989
Equipped with multiple language skills Milind Sant shares his knowledge since 2015 to present with students at R.A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, where he teaches the German language. Besides German and his mother tongue Marathi, he masters the languages English, Hindi and Urdu. Whereas he gained an academic diploma and certificates from Mumbai University in several Indian languages, he later studied German in successive language courses at Goethe-Institut Mumbai (between September 2011 and May 2012). A member of Goethe Society India graduated from Mumbai University with a Bachelor's degree in History (2009) and with a B. Ed. in History and Environmental Education (2018). Milind Sant also gained a Masters's degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi in German Language (Translation and Interpretation). His translation of two research articles on Albert Camus has been published in a book titled “Albert Camus: Navya Kshitijancha Shodh”.
Following her university education, the linguistically gifted graduate completed her German teacher training and certifications at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Pune. Scholarships granted by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Institute for International Communication (IIK) as well as the Goethe Institute led her to Germany, where she attended advanced training, language courses and a course on literature and deepened her language and literary skills.
Selection of translated titles:
Franz Kafka: Ein Bericht für eine Akademie, and various prose texts
Professional activities among others include teaching German Language courses as a Teaching Associate and teaching Lyrik nach 1945 as part of the course “Trends in Literature since 1945” at the Department of Foreign Languages at Savitribai Phule Pune University. The list of publications comprises scientific articles, such as an article on German love poems - ''Liebeslyrik ohne Grenzen. Eine Analyse der Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen ausgewählten Liebesgedichten von Ulla Hahn und Kavita Mahajan'' in the online publication of the publisher Grin Verlag, München, as well as Marathi translations of literary works by German authors. A self-written German poem was published in the literary magazine Außer.dem (ed. p.l.o.t. e.V., Munich, Germany).
Selection of translated titles:
Bertolt Brecht: various poems
Hermann Hesse: Wanderungen
Mentor and Translator
Pune, India
Target Language: Marathi
In 2021 she took part in the advanced training course Teaching and Learning German at the Goethe-Institut. A number of fellowships, including those from Goethe-Institut and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), led her to Germany, where she deepened both her language skills and her skills in teaching German. Ashani Ranashinge is also active in translating German literature, both in Sri Lanka and in Germany. As one of the participants of the Social Translating Project organised by Goethe-Institut Korea, she translated the novel Die Welt im Rücken by Thomas Melle and exchanged ideas with other participating translators from Asia and with the author during her work on the translation. Her expertise is in demand within her academic environment as well as in several free projects, for instance in the field of children's and youth literature or theater translation.
Selection of translated titles:
Patrick Süsskind: Das Parfum
Tatiana de Rosnay: Sarahs Schlüssel
Sheila Hocken: Emma und Ich
Thomas Melle: Die Welt im Rücken
Tamil
Banasthali, Rajasthan, India
Target Language: Hindi, Tamil
As an Erasmus Mundus Fellow, Dr. Hamsavaihini Singh spent three months at the Contemporary India Study Center, Aarhus University, Denmark (2015, 2016). Awarded as the best translator into Tamil by the Goethe-Institut New Delhi and the German Book Office (GBO) she took part in the translation workshop at Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB). She works as a guest lecturer and speaker for the German language at several universities in India, but also in Germany and other European countries. In addition, she is significantly involved in the organization of study trips, international seminars, conferences and workshops in connection with language, education and literature. In addition to numerous publications, including as editor on topics of education and literature, Dr. Hamsavaihini Singh has translated a number of works by German-speaking authors.
In 2010, Hema Mahesh returned to India and continued her professional activity at the spot where it all began: Goethe-Institut Chennai. Translations of texts and articles in German, English, French and Tamil form an essential element of her work. She has published three books, including her translation of the book “The White Woman in the Tree” by Dirk Angelroth from German into English. Most recently she worked on the translation of Tamil and German poems into the other language respectively as part of the project “Poets Translating Poets” organized by Goethe-Institut Mumbai. Her translation of a compilation of short stories by Tamil writer Chudamani Raghavan into German is expected to be published in March 2021.
Selection of translated titles:
Dirk Angelroth: Die weiße Frau im Baum (from German into English)
After Lalitha completed her diploma in Civil Engineering from Government Polytechnic For Women Chennai in 1968, she worked at Chennai Telephones for more than three decades – from 1969 till 2000. The book lover gained Großes Sprachdiplom at Goethe-Institut Chennai in 1993 and does literary translations from German to Tamil.
Selection of translated titles:
Roland Schimmelpfennig: Vier Himmelsrichtungen, Vorher Nachher
Selection of translated titles:
- Heinrich Böll: Das traurige Gesicht
- Erich Fried: Selected poems
- Bertolt Brecht: Die Dreigroschenoper
- Franz Kafka: Selected short stories
Besides his studies, he also took part in many other co-curricular activities that took place at the Department of Foreign Languages. He for instance organized the fest Eur Asia-2017, coordinated several seminars and workshops held at the department and attended various programs related to social services, humanities and languages. The book lover also took part in a leadership training program organized by Aligarh Muslim University.
In the same year, the young student took also part in the seminar “No Future without Education” organized by Alumni Portal Deutschland in New Delhi. In the course of the program, he was also a member of the group discussion on “How to Achieve Quality Education for All by 2030” and interacted with different German Educators and Organization's Representatives. After graduation, he worked as a Customer Service Representative with Concentrix in Gurugram. Besides his mother tongue Urdu and German language, Sadique Raza Khan masters English and Hindi.
In addition, he was involved in the editing of the handbook of comparative literature (Handbuch der Komparatistik)for the publisher Metzler Verlag and in the revision of a book on the poetry of Paul Celan: “Jean Firges: Schwarze Sonne Schwermut. Melancholy as a creative and destructive force in the life and poetry of Paul Celan”. As part of various scholarship programs, including those of the Goethe-Institute or the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he had the opportunity to bring in his experience and knowledge in the fields of German literature and translations from German and to share it with others.
Selection of translated titles:
Elisabeth Langgässer: Glück haben
Irmtraud Morgner: (excerpts of the novel) Leben und Abenteuer der Trobadora Beatriz nach Zeugnissen ihrer Spielerfrau Laura