Home> Ahmedabad> News Friday , September 01, 2006

I feel enriched, says translator of Gandhi’s biography

Tridip Suhrud’s English translation of Narayan Desai’s voluminous biography of Gandhi is slated
for release in 2008
Swapna Anesh Pillai
Ahmedabad, August 31: The fact that institutions and universities around the world are
introducing Gandhian Studies as a subject, speaks volumes about the universal appeal of the
remarkable icon, his philosophies and principles. It also speaks about Gandhi’s relevance when
it comes to solving modern-day conflicts. However, some great works on Gandhi, penned in
regional languages need to be translated into English so that it can be accessed by the global
community.

My Life is My Message, an English translation of Narayan Desai’s famous biography on Gandhi,

Maaru Jeevan Ej Maari Vaani, is one such attempt in that direction. Desai’s voluminous and
complete biography of Gandhi is being translated and edited by Dr. Tridip Suhrud, a teacher of
Gandhian Studies at Ahmedabad’s DA-IICT. The four volumes of the biography will be published
by Orient Longman and is expected to hit bookstores in two years, by October 2, 2008.

While the original Gujarati book was released on October 2, 2003, the work on its English
version began just two days later. ‘‘I am fortunate that Narayanbhai chose me over many others
for translating this beautiful book. I think I have emerged out much richer in terms of the
knowledge and experience I have gained out of this effort,’’ says Suhrud, who finds translation
‘‘an immensely pleasurable job’’. ‘‘Most Indians are bilingual, even trilingual. So the process of
translation goes on in our lives,’’ he avers.

A well-planned approach and ‘‘generous help’’ from libraries at Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat
Vidyapeeth, DA-IICT library, National Gandhi Museum, Delhi, that supplied him the reference
books mentioned in the original biography, made translation in these three years so far a not-so-
difficult job. ‘‘I had to take care that if Narayanbhai’s book had used English books as reference,
I did not end up re-translating it. Hence I have used the original excerpts referred to in the
Gujarati book,’’ he says.

He also read books written in English by Desai, to make sure he communicated certain words in
the same sense in which the author captured it. ‘‘For example, Ahimsa. As I observed, in one of
Narayanbhai’s earlier books, written in English, Gandhi uses Ahimsa not just as ‘non-violence’,
but even as ‘love.’ So while translating the book, I had to understand in what sense has
Narayanbhai used the term Ahimsa. And if I have used it right, it is like getting authentication for
the book from Gandhi himself,’’ he says.

In awe of the Mahatma’s ideas and thoughts right from childhood, Suhrud’s study at DA-IICT is a
treasure trove of books and essays on Gandhi from across the world. ‘‘A crucial figure in the
history of world thought, what I find attractive about him is that he was not a pure philosopher.
He spanned an entire spectrum of human concern — be it establishing a university, promoting
khadi, working for rural upliftment or contributing to politics,’’ he elaborates.

That scholarship does not come from a university, is the ‘‘greatest truth’’ he has discovered
during the work. ‘‘Though Narayanbhai never went to school, he spent his entire life in
understanding Gandhi and what Gandhi expected from him. No modern-day university will teach
you that. Greatest learnings come from life’s experiences,’’ he says.