Abdus Selim's endeavor to translate a drama adaptation of Alice in Wonderland by Jason Pizzarello into Bangla provides Bengali readers with some insightful thoughts. Selim has translated quite a good number of plays from English to Bangla and vice-versa. This is for the first time, however, that he has experimented with a play specifically written for children. Even after skimming through it, one realizes how effortlessly he does his job, both linguistically and thematically. The diction he uses, while translating, is facile and reader-friendly and the loyalty to the source language text he retains is indeed commendable.
Based on the children’s classic by Lewis Carroll, the play, Alice in Wonderland, is a reimagining of Wonderland, with an unexpected twist-ending. When Alice tumbles down a rabbit hole, she is immersed into a fantastical, wacky land. Filled with zany characters, Alice in Wonderland is the perfect play for both the young and the old. Though it is a play, Selim, without distorting the tone and flavor of the original, has given it a story-like narrative. While translating the episodes full of humor and riddles, he has prioritized cultural context over literal translation of the out-of-the ordinary vocabularies used or coined by Lewis Carroll himself. For every translated sentence, the translator has given importance to its cultural ambience, taking into consideration what the phrases really signify, not necessarily what they literally mean. His translated words make sense not only in the target language but also in the context of the target culture.
Legacies of both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass continue through a number of their adaptations for stage, screen and even theme parks. Adapted for the New York Broadway, in this one, Jason Pizzarello has actually combined Wonderland with Looking Glass, amazingly assimilating the key episodes and dialogues of Lewis Carroll.
Translation usually requires equal fluency in both languages. A translator’s job is to both transform and interpret the source text into the target language. Abdus Selim, an experienced translator of our time, has put his years of experience in translating this drama. Reading through his translation enables a reader to explore the original text in a new light. The translation does not feel like a text alienated from the original; it rather reads like an organic whole. Prakiti Parichay also deserves a special accolade for publishing it and giving our readers an opportunity to read this wonderfully crafted writing in Bangla. Furthurmore, Sabyasachi Hazra who has contributed some brilliant sketches to the publication has taken the book closer to the original books, in which marvelous illustrations were done by Lewis Carroll’s friend Sir John Tenniel.
This translated play should be performed on stage both for children and adults. We can hope to see this play spread some happiness in our post-quarantine life.
Tabassum Maisha Mona is a student of Political Science, Dhaka University.
