India publishes first Bengali translation of Taras Shevchenko's verses
Photo: Mridula Ghosh's Facebook page
To mark the 211th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's birth, India has released a collection of selected poems by the Ukrainian poet. This edition is the first translation from the original Ukrainian into any South Asian language.
Translator Mridula Ghosh reported this.
Jadavpur University Press has published the collection, with contributions from the National Taras Shevchenko Museum staff, who provided access to archives and digital resources. The book features Shevchenko's illustrations.
Photo: Mridula Ghosh's Facebook page
"This is the first translation from the original Ukrainian into any South Asian language. In this difficult time, the National Shevchenko Museum is doing everything to keep the fire burning. My attempt would not have been successful without access to archives and digital resources for illustrations," Mridula Ghosh wrote.
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and historian Serhii Plokhy wrote the foreword to the collection.
Photo: Mridula Ghosh's Facebook page
For reference:
Bengali is one of the 23 official languages of India. It is spoken by more than 215 million people. This language has official status in the states of West Bengal (Bengali speakers make up more than 85% of the state's population) and Tripura (more than 67%).
Notably, at the International Book Fair 2024, held from December 4 to 14 in Baghdad, the Arabic-language book "Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko – A Legendary Personality" was presented.
