Vishes Kothari’s new translated book, ‘The Garden of Tales:
Vishes Kothari’s new translated book, ‘The Garden of Tales:
The Best of Vijaydan Detha’, was published during an event at Kunzum in Delhi on February 22, 2022, in honour of International Mother Language Day. As the title suggests, ‘The Garden of Tales: The Best of Vijaydan Detha’ is a compilation of short folktales about men and women from Detha’s hometown of Borunda in Rajasthan.
Detha initially wrote these stories in Rajasthani, which Vishes Kothari has recently translated into English. At the occasion, Kothari spoke with journalist Poonam Saxena about translations and the beautiful world of Rajasthani mythology.
Speaking on his experience with Detha’s writing and the inspiration behind his decision to translate the book, Kothari stated, “These are well-known folktales that we have all heard since we were young. But it was thanks to my father that I was first introduced to Detha’s art. I first purchased books to read for pleasure. However, I just so happened to come across Detha’s stories in the Ashoka University curriculum while I was a teacher there.
I found this to be fascinating. Few translations of Detha’s writings were available, and publishers were searching for Indian literature. Thus, I was in the right place at the right moment by coincidence. When asked why he selected Detha’s writings, Kothari said, “In the 1950s and 1960s, when nobody discussed regional languages and everything was primarily
