Antaryātrā: Translating Hindi Poetry into English
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Antaryātrā: Translating Hindi Poetry into English
Translation is not merely the transfer of words from one language to another; it is the migration of emotion, culture, and consciousness. Antaryātrā — The Inner Journey is born from this understanding. It is not a literal translation of Hindi poems into English, but an act of transliteration and trans-creation, where meaning, rhythm, and cultural essence travel together.
The original Hindi poems of Antaryātrā are rooted in lived experience — love tempered with restraint, patriotism shaped by duty, social concern voiced through empathy, and spiritual inquiry expressed through silence rather than sermon. Translating such poetry into English demands sensitivity to both linguistic structure and emotional cadence. The challenge lies not in vocabulary alone, but in preserving the inner music of the poem.
Hindi poetry often carries cultural markers — idioms, folk memory, devotional undertones, and regional rhythms — that resist direct equivalence in English. In Antaryātrā, the approach has been to retain the semantic core while allowing the English language to breathe naturally. Where rhyme is lost, resonance is preserved; where meter shifts, meaning deepens.
As both poet and translator, I occupy a unique position. The act of translation becomes an inward dialogue — a re-listening to one’s own voice across languages. This dual authorship allows fidelity not only to words, but to intention. The English versions seek clarity without dilution, simplicity without loss of depth.
Antaryātrā thus stands as a bridge — between Hindi and English, between regional consciousness and global readership, and between inner reflection and outward expression. It affirms that Indian poetry, when translated with care and responsibility, can speak across borders without losing its soul.
In this journey inward and outward, translation becomes an ethical act — one that honours both the source and the seeker.
