On the occasion of International Mother Language Day, Vishes Kothari's new translated book titled 'The Garden of Tales: The Best of Vijaydan Detha' was launched at an event at Kunzum in Delhi on February 22, 2022. As the title suggests, 'The Garden of Tales: The Best of Vijaydan Detha' is a collection of short folktales of men and women from in and around Detha's village Borunda in Rajasthan. These stories were originally written in Rajasthani by Detha and they are now translated into English by Vishes Kothari. At the event, Kothari was seen in conversation with journalist Poonam Saxena-- as the two discussed translations and the magical world of Rajasthani folklore.
Talking about his encounter with Detha’s work and what lead him to translate the book, Kothari said, “These stories are popular folk stories which we all have listened to in our childhood. But introduction to Detha’s work happened because of my father. Initially I bought books for leisure reading. But when I was teaching at Ashoka University, I happened to find Detha’s stories in the university's curriculum. This fascinated me. Publishers were looking for Indian literature and a very small amount of Detha’s work was available in translation. So I happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
