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Felicitation of Rev. Dr. Valson
Thampu
The English Literary Society and
the Student’s Union Society felicitated Rev. Dr Valson Thampu on the
7th of September. Our Principal was recently awarded the
Crossword Translation Prize for his exemplary translation of Sarah
Joseph’s novel in Malayalam titled “Othappu,” to which he gave the
English sub-title The Scent of the Other Side’.
Rev. Dr Thampu courageously took
on the responsibility of translating a novel which deals with a
contemporary Christian community and its complex social issues. The
novel centres around Margalitha, a Malayali nun, and her struggle to
find a deeper engagement with God and humanity, and tracks the
reactions of the Christian community to what they consider a
transgression of one’s faith.
The felicitation ceremony began
with the President of the Students Union Society, Aditya Kakati,
honouring Rev Dr Thampu with a bouquet of flowers, which was
followed by the Vice Principal’s address. The Vice Principal, Dr.
Clement Rajakumar spoke fondly of Rev. Dr. Thampu’s amazing
willpower to excel; be it in playing a game of tennis or in academic
pursuits.
The Vice Principal speech was
followed by a speech given by the Secretary of the Staff Council,
Dr. A. D. Mathur, who commended Rev. Dr. Thampu, on behalf on the
Senior Members, for taking on the task of translating such a
challenging and insightful novel.
The President of the English
Literary Society, Taarini Mookherjee, introduced the novel and its
themes and spoke of how the translation upholds the spirit of the
novel. She then read out two excerpts from the novel which she
personally enjoyed, and expressed her gratitude to Rev. Dr. Thampu
for making this piece of Malyali literature accessible to the rest
of India and the world.
Rev. Dr. Thampu was then called
upon to say a few words. He spoke of his journey, both personal and
academic. He praised Sarah Joseph’s work, and lamented that the
adulation and acclaim she received was not commensurate with her
true genius. Thus, he said that he took up the translation in
pursuit of literary justice and in order to showcase the creativity
of Indian vernacular literature.
Rev. Dr. Thampu has already
taken on another extremely interesting project of translating
simultaneously a novel that is being written. He spoke of his
enthusiasm for carrying his work further and to establish a platform
for “Vernacular Voices”. In order to facilitate this, he plans to
set up a centre for translation in St Stephens College and
encouraged Senior members and Junior members alike to join him in
this endeavour.
Sarah Farooqui, a Third Year
English Honours student gave the Vote of Thanks, and on behalf of
all the Junior Members congratulated Rev. Dr. Thampu on his
achievements and wished him all the very best for his future
projects.
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