Bangla translations of world-famous literary classics like The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, Robinson Crusoe will never seem to lose their appeal among the Bengali readers.
However, English translation of Bangla books is not in great demand among the visitors and book lovers at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair.
Publishers and booksellers at different book stalls told this correspondent that Bangla translation of international bestsellers; including best novels and must-read classics have high demand among literary enthusiasts.
Afroz Jahan, a publisher of Muktochinta publication, told Dhaka Tribune that more than 100 copies of the Bangla translation of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist was sold out.
"Novels written by popular Bangladeshi writers have drawn much attention among readers. People look for Bangla translations of internationally acclaimed writers like Paulo Coelho and Kahlil Gibran just as much."
Anwesha Mamtaz, who translated Dark Places by American writer Gillian Flynn for the book fair this year, told Dhaka Tribune: "I personally like to translate fiction. Transferring the essence and emotions of a language to a different target audience can be quite challenging."
"I think books for children, teenagers, and young adults should be prioritized, as it will help to build up their reading habits. Most of us grew up with the Bengali translated version of Tintin, or the classic translations of Sheba Prokashoni which opened up a whole new world to us," she said, adding, if more and more books are translated, young readers will be able to enjoy globally recognized literary pieces as English readership is still not that significant in terms of numbers in Bangladesh.
English translation of Bangla books has, in general, a very specific group of customers.
Jubayer Hossain of Prothoma bookstore told Dhaka Tribune that people who read English books, and the expatriate community who live abroad — often ask for English translation of Bangla books.
Prothoma published an English translation of Shahidullah Kaiser’s famous novel Sareng Bou. The English version titled "Seaman’s Wife" is translated by Syed Najmuddin Hashim.
The University Press Limited brought out The Unfinished Memoir, a translated version of Oshomapto Attojiboni, which is a memoir of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
On Wednesday, a total of 154 new books were unveiled at the book fair.
