The Write Path: Reading Like a Writer

(I love this quotation. Found it on Pinterest)

I remember co-writing a short story with my cousin for a story competition conducted by Nandan (a children's magazine we used to read) and then discussing a suitable title for that story. The stories published in Nandan used to have funny titles so we, two little girls, were thinking on similar lines. It was a silly story, I am sure of that. And obviously, we didn't get any prize for our writing skills.

It does not mean that I have always wanted to be a writer. Writing (or translation) was never on my mind as a career. One thing that has been constant in my life that I have always loved to read. And I never thought that I was doing something special. I just enjoyed reading. I remember once someone said, ‘Kuchh aur na mile to ye baithkar advertisements bhi padh legi.’ 

But one thing that I realized later was that reading voraciously can steer you toward the path of writing.

I read for pleasure, to be honest. The book has to be entertaining, however, I have evolved as a reader over time. I have learnt to experiment with the genres. While I enjoy the book as a reader, the writer in me cannot help but think about the craft of writing or analyze it critically. And sometimes I read a book for the sheer beauty and crispness of the writing, even if the story is not very entertaining. 

Recently I was reading a book called ‘Night and its Longings’ by Philip Cioffari. It's a mystery with a hint of romance: about the disappearance of a woman, Vera. And her husband, feeling helpless, reaches out to the woman’s ex-lover seeking help.

It was 82 chapters long, painfully slow for this genre. An impatient reader that I am, I began to lose interest after 42 chapters. But I managed up to 42 chapters because the writing was so beautiful —the imagery, thoughts, emotions…

So basically, now I read like a writer. Beautiful writing makes me feel so good. It tells me not to fall in love with my own writing; I have a long way to go. I need to learn and grow. 

Reading a well written book is kind of studying the craft of writing. And it took me a long time to understand that. I've come to realise that no creative writing course can teach you what reading a good book can. 

2023 was very enriching for me as a reader, writer and as a translator. I feel thrilled and thankful for my latest translation, which is ‘Ramrajya’ by Ashutosh Rana. It's an amazing book and translating it was such a wonderful, fulfilling and enlightening experience. 

I did a Bookish Question and answer post recently. There was a question:

Favourite New Authors 2023?

And my prompt answer was: Madhulika Liddle, Arunava Sinha and Jerry Pinto. 

They are not new (I already had their books on my shelf), in fact they are very experienced and prolific but I read them for the first time only last year and I am so glad. Neat and crisp sentences. Engaging writing style that flows so smoothly.

Cobalt Blue by Sachin Kundalkar, translated by Jerry Pinto and Woman to Woman by Madhulika Liddle are particularly brilliant. 

Also, Simsim by Geet Chaturvedi, translated by Anita Gopalan is so beautiful. One of my favourites.

Now that I am a translator, I naturally feel drawn towards translations. Not that translations are new to me. Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is one of my favourite writers, and I grew up reading his books and stories in Hindi. Of course they were translations. But I didn't realize that at that time. Now I feel bad that those books never mentioned the translator, and I didn't care.

So, now my reading pattern and choices are slightly different. I want to read, rather study, all those books on my TBR, for that's one of the most effective ways to grow as a writer and translator.

Would like to quote Arunava Sinha from his recent insightful interview (on the website of Himalayan Retreat): 

‘You won't always find a word to word equivalent. But translators read. Writers need to read maybe a thousand books for each book they write. Translators probably need to read five thousand. Just read hugely. Both in the language from which and into which you’re translating. You will find words, expressions, and phrases popping and jumping out at you. If you don't read (almost maniacally), it's not going to work.’

Written for: The Write Path Blog Hop, hosted by Swarnali Nath

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