The reading passion of literary lovers is gradually increasing in Bangladesh. Apart from the literature of Bangladesh, they are also getting interested in foreign literature as well.
To satiate the readers' interest and needs, translated books are playing a big role and have become an essential part of Bengali literature.
According to the publishers, the demand of translated literature is increasing at a significant rate in the last 10 years and it has increased by almost 50% in the last five years in Bangladesh.
A clear picture of this increase in demand can be seen at this year's Amar Ekushey Book Fair.
While talking to the people associated with translated literature at the fair on Sunday, it was found that translated books are among the top list of choice of the bookworms.
Apart from thriller and drama, a large portion of the book lovers were seen searching for translated books at the fair.
Bhumi Prokash's publisher Zakir Hossain said the demand for translated literature is increasing well in Bangladesh. But among these, the demand for thriller translation is increasing the most.
However, the industry lacks of skilled translators, the publishers lamented.
Moreover, the publishers also talked about the difficulty of getting the copyright of the original book as Bangladesh being a third world country.
Zakir Hossain said: “The biggest problem we face is taking the copyright of the book. There is also a shortage of skilled translators. Filling this gap is really difficult for our publishers.”
“Some authors agree to give the ownership but demand a huge amount of money for it which becomes difficult for the publishers; therefore, many people translate books which are not copyrighted,” other publishers said.
“The Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Bangla Academy and related parties should come forward to generate quality and skilled translators to fulfill the demand of the book lovers,” they added.
The manager of Sheba Prokashoni, Muminul Islam said they have been working on translated literature since 1970. The readership of translated literature has increased significantly in the last 10 years.
“It has increased by almost 50% in the last five years,” he said.
According to him as well, the biggest challenge of translation literature is the shortage of skilled translators.
“Previous standard books were written in such a way that translation becomes harder, which is why, the young translators refuse to translate them. They show their most interest in translating contemporaries,” he said.
