READING BETWEEN THE LINES: AN APPRAISAL OF CHEMMEEN THROUGH THE LENS OF TRANSLATION

Translation studies have become the need of the hour and its development will take place as programmes in world literature expand and the vital role of translation in the propagation of world literature will continue to be highlighted. The etymology of the word „translation‟ suggests that meaning is picked up bodily from one culture, transported across a frontier, expresses it across the chasm which separates a language from the other and deposited unaltered on the other side. Edward Sapir has rightly said that different languages represent different world views, that it is not simply a question of rephrasing when one moves into another language. The paper will begin by evaluating the Sahitya Academy award winning novel Chemmeen of the Jnanpith winner and Malayalam literary stalwart Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai with a kaleidoscopic view of linguistic provenances. Languages develop over time and words accrue significance. The main challenge faced by the translators is how far they are able to convey the same meaning without causing any damage to the subtle linguistic nuances and cultural flavor to a target language. The intended study likes to throw light upon the role of translation in the field of comparative literature and how it enables us to “read between the lines”. Albeit the medium of expression remains same in translation, it undergoes a tremendous change vis- a -vis contexts when there arises the need of precision, elaboration, addition of facts for the clarity of facts, etc. in a target language from the source language.