Katha Books
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Geeta Dharmarajan |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Books |
| Website | Katha Books |
Katha Books, also known as Katha Vilasam, is a publishing house owned by Katha NGO, that has done pioneering works in the field of translating Indian literature written in the regional languages, community and child welfare[1][2]. It was founded in 1989 by Geeta Dharmarajan.[3][4][5] Today it is a leading name in translation genre in Indian publishing, and produces stories from Indian folklore and mythology, translated into English and Hindi from 21 regional Indian languages [6][7][8] Katha is "exclusively devoted to translating regional Indian writers into English."[9]
CRITICISM
While Katha is doing excellent works it seems to be prone to literary politics at least it can be observed in respect of Urdu. Paigham Afaqui, author of famous novel Novel MAKAAN is also an outstanding short story writer. Some of his stories included in collection of his short stories 'MAFIA' are considered masterpieces of Urdu stories. His novel Makaan is better known for denial of Sahitya Academy Award. Now, in the collection of short stories translated by Katha the name of Paigham Afaqui has been noted in the Introduction of the book but none of his stories are included in the collection. It indicates that Katha is controlled by similar people who control Sahitya Academy.
Katha Awards
Initiated in 1990, these awards have gone a long way in promoting the best of fiction in Indian Literature.[10] and has "firmly put translation onto the Indian publishing agenda with the 'Katha Prize' Stories series"[11] . Also known as Katha Award for Creative Fiction, stories written in the regional languages, including Bangla, English, Konkani, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu, and English are considered, given in 30 categories in all, and the highest award, the 'Katha Chudamani Award' given for lifetime literary achievement to writers of exceptional merit, honours the writer with a citation, a cash award and with publication in English of their significant works.
The other prize associated with this are the A K Ramanujan Award (for translators), Kathakari Award (to a writer who retells oral folk tales) and the Kathavachak Award (to a writer who uses oral traditions to write a modern day story).[12] Around 10 volumes of Katha Prize Stories have been published so far.[13][14]. The award are also marked by the week-long 'Katha Utsav' (Katha Festival), where story-tellers from many parts of the world take part [15]
See also
References
- ^ The Hindu Literary Review, September 2005
- ^ Literacy in communities - Slum haven UNESCO.
- ^ India Findouter
- ^ Moontime and Mayil Ravana: Young readers and their parents are hungry for homespun stories Archana Venkat, The Hindu, Business Line, Aug 11, 2006.
- ^ Katha Translating India, by Rita Kothari. Foundation Books, 2006. ISBN 8175963050.p. 102.
- ^ Translation as reclamation: It is boom time for translation in India SUBASH JEYAN, The Hindu, Sep 04, 2005.
- ^ Gap years in India: discover a land of wondrous variety The Independent, 14 August 2006.
- ^ A Katha of success: Geeta Dharamrajan on how the publishing house Katha came into being at The Hindu, Jan 04, 2007.
- ^ A Katha of success, The Hindu, January 2007
- ^ Katha Awards NDTV Reading Room.
- ^ A niche for Indian writing in France The Hindu, May 20, 2001.
- ^ Katha Awards Katha website.
- ^ Katha awards given away, Prize Stories collection out Express News Service, Indian Express, February 14, 2003.
- ^ Katha Award presented The Hindu, Jan 03, 2004.
- ^ Katha, a platform for traditional story-tellers Shveta Puranik / CNN-IBN, Jan 08, 2006.
- Katha NGO, Profile at The Times Group (Times Foundation)