Classic literary works, created by all-time great poets in many languages, are not known to large sections of readers allover the world. They are available to such readers only when a translation of the work in a language known to them is made available. When some interested readers find the translated work very interesting and desire to read the original, even by making efforts to learn the language of the original work, it is indeed a difficult task. To start with, they have to obtain both the books, shift their attention frequently between the two books, and even after all these efforts the reader may not get the full essence of the work.
"Kannada Mahabharata" (Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari) written by Sri Gadugina Naranappa, better known as Kumaravyasa Bharata, can be a case in example. Kannada readers know that it is an excellent creation and read wherever Kannada language is spoken. But its existence itself is not known in some parts of the world.
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There was a blog post in Roundtheclockstories, some fourteen years ago, titled "Alert Young Brains". Please click here to read it. While discussing the efficiency of brains of children it was noted that a three year baby's brain would have formed about 1000 trillion connections, which is twice as much as an adult has! After the child reaches the age of ten, a process known as "Pruning" takes place and the brain sheds half the connections. It is precisely for this reason that children are capable of learning complex rules of grammar and many languages simultaneously and quickly. Providing proper facilities to children between the ages three to ten will enable them to learn many things which would stand them in good stead in their future lives.
There is a lot of discussion about the language in which children should learn in the formative years. What should be the medium of instruction in the early years of the child's education? Lot of noise is made about learning in "Mother-tongue". What is mother-tongue? In the era of migration from one part of the world to another part of the world for education and making a living etc., there are many cases where a mother does not even speak her own language! Husband and wife speak a third language at home, and a child born in such a family would believe that the third language itself is its mother-tongue. There is nothing wrong with this reality, but in the context of learning, reading and appreciating the valuable literature in the language of their ancestors, there will be a vacuum.
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The vacuum referred above is visible in our own experiences. Moving away from a place where one's mother-tongue is spoken, getting married to a person from another background and language, communicating in a mutually known language which is neither's language happen routinely. Children born in such families understand the languages of their parents, to different extents, but do not know reading or writing that language. You read a book to them, they understand. But they cannot read on their own.
Side-by-side books or Bilingual books address this issue in a exemplary manner. They may even motivate the next generation to learn the language of their parents. These books provide the same work or story in both languages simultaneously. It can be in one language on the left side (usually the original) and another language (usually the translation) on the right side. Alternatively, it can be one para or stanza of the original followed by its translation and so on. These formats help the readers to compare and understand the background, sentence structure, grammar and usage of words.
The next issue is one of "who reads them"? Children are the obvious first group. We have read Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe, and stories of Oliver Twist and Tom Sawyer in our childhood. We did not know the background and culture in which those works were written. Had we known the full background of those works, our understanding would have been much sharper. The next group would be of those who know the language and understand it when spoken, but don't know reading or writing. Those learning a new language would be the next group. There are countries where Permanent Residency or Citizenship is given to immigrants who know the language of that country. Bilingual books facilitate easy learning of such required languages.
Such books help learners through improved comprehension, establish cultural connection, ease of learning and saving time as well. There is also something known as "Three Book Rule". Timothy Ferriss, an American entrepreneur, investor and author suggests reading of three books on any topic by three different authors to get a clear perspective about it. Dual language books help in achieving such objectives.
A play titled "Madhavi", written in Kannada as a follow-up of two blog posts in Kannada on this blog site, was released two months ago. Many readers who understand the language of the book, but cannot read it, have requested an English translation of the same to enable them to understand its contents. This has led to the idea of exploring a Dual language edition of the book.
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Dr Rohan Narayana Murty, founder and CTO of Soroco, a technology company did his PhD in USA from Harvard University. Son of Sri N R Narayana Murthy and Smt Sudha Murty, Dr Rohan gave a generous gift of 5.2 million US Dollars to the Harvard University Press to bring out books covering greatest Indian literature works to readers allover the world. Through "Murty Classical Library of India" Harvard University Press has brought out many Bilingual books that have spread the rich Indian literature of various Indian languages through English translations.
Kumaravyasa Bharata, picture given above, is one of them. Raghavanka's Harischandra Kavya is another. There are many such books of various other Indian languages as well, thus familiarising the rich Indian literature to the corners of the world. Interested people can further explore the vast treasure through Murty Classical Library of India.
