Vrinda Varma, Assistant Professor, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), has been chosen for a grant instituted by PEN America for literary translation.
Ms. Varma translated Alingam, a Malayalam novel by S. Girish Kumar based on the life of dramatist Ochira Velukutti, into English. Mr. Kumar is Assistant Professor of Malayalam at Sree Vivekananda College, Kunnamkulam, Thrissur. The award carrying a purse of $4,000 will be given away at an event to be held in New York on April 29.
A description on PEN America’s website says “Alingam is a fictionalised biography that provides a rare perspective on gender, class, caste, and religious conflicts and reveals fascinating historical insights into the evolving folkloric and dramatic traditions of 1930s Malayalam theatre... Ms. Varma has translated this richly textured historical fiction with careful attention to subtle details, bringing Velukkutty’s distinct voice and attitude to glorious life in the English.” Ochira Velukkutty (1905–1954) was a unique dramatist in the early days of Malayalam theatre, who played the female heroine role in the play Karuna over 7,000 times in a seven-year period.
