Interview: Sukrita Paul Kumar, guest editor, Indian Literature

What circumstances did you find ‘Indian Literature’ in when you became editor? For one, a few issues were pending publication, weren’t they?

At the end of the year 2022, when I took on the editorship of Indian Literature, it was entirely with the spirit of accepting a challenge… a stupendous one at that! Not a single issue had been published in the year 2022 (perhaps due to the disruption caused by the pandemic), which meant that six issues of the journal of about 200 pages each needed to be brought out to clear the backlog. I know if I had paused to reflect on what such a commitment entailed, I would not have dared to plunge into it. All I thought was, that the journal – perhaps the only one in the country – dedicated to literature of India from different languages had to be pulled back on track. Thousands of unopened emails from subscribers, contributors and others, sent over three to four, called out for attention. More people were required urgently to be identified and motivated to help deal with the Herculean task. I needed someone for editorial assistance, for copy editing, designing and proofing etc of the several issues to be put together. I had to take the risk and depend on my good sense to choose from the large number of scholars, editors and other people I was familiar with to hasten the process. To start with, a system for efficient selection of content had to be worked out by accessing mails that carried a massive number of submissions. A lot more had to follow!

The list of writers and translators featured in the magazine is perhaps the most varied in terms of Indian region and culture that I have seen. The range of themes is not only urban, but also rural. And what is at stake for the protagonists in the short stories, and for the narrators in the poetry you published, is often life-and-death, not just ivory-tower stuff. Moreover, there are contributors from around the country, and especially in translation. How do you propose to nurture this diversity?

We are delighted to have tens and tens of submissions from different regions/linguistic zones of India. Moreover, there were thousands of email and physical submissions waiting to be attended to when I joined. The problem is normally that of quality translation. The content is sometimes sensed to be good even if the translation may be not ready for publication. A lot many times, ample editing is required before the piece is ready for the press. Sure, hard work happens but with pleasure! The journal is in English and we try for as much material from different languages as possible. There are issues of cultural translation to be tackled with. Idiomatic language from say, Oriya or Urdu or any other Indian language may get totally flattened in English translation. The effort is to keep the loss small.

Indeed, the diversity of Indian literature needs to be conserved and nourished. We keep harping on the need for more translations and hope that the journal will encourage more of them. You may notice that we reach out for inclusion of tribal literatures also.

You are keen on publishing more translations into English in Indian Literature. What sort of writing would you like to see brought over?

We are, it must be acknowledged at the outset, a multilingual society with a rich baggage of cultural diversity in this country. Naturally, an enchanting criss-cross of literary traditions has evolved over many centuries. How can we treat literature here as a product of mono-culture? How can we dismiss or ignore the amazing stories/poems/plays etc from different Indian languages constantly being created side by side? It is through translated material that we build bridges of understanding the confluences and divergences amongst different regions/linguistic zones in the country. Having been a keen researcher and teacher of Indian literature in different languages as well as of comparative literature, I have always felt an ardent need for translations from bhasha literatures in order to connect with the literary cultures of many Indian languages that I do not know. I believe Indian Literature is a singular journal in India that can cater to such a need… that of bringing literatures from many languages together through translation. Yes, as the editor, I am on the look out for good translations, especially from relatively lesser known languages. This in itself is a challenge!

Your question regarding what sort of writings in translation are sought, well any form of creative writing – even critical essays – would be welcome. IL is and could be a dynamic and growing repository of critical thinking and creative writing across Indian languages.

You’ve published works that engage forthrightly with the tricky subjects of caste and religion. What considerations shaped your choices?

Religion and caste are both central to the Indian context, across region and language, and literature here is bound to reflect this reality. Why should we ignore or not pay attention to them? Since the journal is literary, what we are concerned with is that the themes are executed with a sensibility that apart from arousing awareness about social justice, ethical consciousness, we believe, there should also be an aesthetic and an honest representation of reality. The writer’s sensitivity to caste discrimination and religious sentiments, especially of the “other”, will generally not allow a degenerative effect on the reader. Literature makes us confront the truth that we live in but with a consciousness that inevitably creates a discerning witness in one. We welcome literatures from the margins as well. The idea is to unravel the not-so-visible reality of our society irrespective of caste, creed or religion.

Do you also plan to carry interviews with writers? Would these be long-form? What would these interviews aim to record and preserve?

By all means, the writer’s voice matters. Often, the writer has ideas to share that do not find a home in his or her writings. I do believe that the writer can be motivated to speak of them in an interview. We have already had a tradition of including interviews in IL. But I am planning a series of substantial conversations with poets and creative writers on the art of fiction/poetry, on the perennially intriguing question of what is the writer’s creative process, on the aesthetics of contemporary times etc. Literary critics, philosophers and academics in general deal with such questions in an erudite and theoretical style, while the writer’s voice emerges from experience and practice. This has to be elicited and valued. I have commissioned some interviews already with some established writers in different languages. We hope to document these voices to serve as reference material for sure, but also see them as ideas that could inspire further debates on the subject. Each voice is bound to be distinct and worthy of the attention of scholars as well as general readers.

What are other ways in which the journal would be enhanced?

There’s a constant churning of ideas amongst the editorial team, for the pooling of fresh thoughts and suggestions. One of the concerns we all share is to put together material for the representation of oral traditions in our country. The fascinating richness of these traditions that abound in songs as well as narratives get ignored when the written and the published dominate as superior and sophisticated. We wish to have IL destabilise this hierarchy. That is why we are particularly interested in looking for critical essays that can help build indigenous theories to examine and understand oral traditions embedded within our cultural prosperity all around.

Also, as mentioned earlier, I am clear that we need to publicly discuss problems in translation and in that, equip ourselves as well as the practitioners of translation with more tools and ideas to facilitate quality in translation. We propose to publish articles and panel discussions in IL on the subject.

The idea is not to constrict the narrative to only the language of words: Just as words can construct pictures, photos or images can tell stories. One complements the other. In fact our forthcoming issue will have a feature called graphic tales, not a photo feature this time. These are line drawings alongside notes, offered as a commentary. All these are various forms of creative expression, aren’t they?

A potentially messy aspect of editing a lit mag is working with a writer to make their submission publication worthy. Please share any advice you have for budding editors of literary magazines.

As an editor, first and foremost, one needs to understand the psychology of writers and translators on the one hand and on the other, one has got to be self-reflexive. There is the question of ego to deal with; you have to learn the art of negotiating with one who has perhaps spent hours on choosing what may be perceived as the right words, which you might not find appropriate. One needs to ask oneself: who’s right, I or the writer? Then comes the question of dealing with the writer. The logic for the changes/corrections has to be convincing. At times, extraordinary patience may be required to get the point across. If it is a translator, there are sometimes more issues to settle regarding the interpretation of the text. All in all, to challenge the competence of the other, it is important to maintain a posture of humility along with having competence on the subject. One learns a lot on the job! The editor’s eye is the third essential eye that gives primacy to the text and she learns the art of intervention for that purpose. You can make enemies but also a lot of friends in the bargain, because, ultimately, the text gets to be better and is published in the name of the writer/translator.

Indian Literature has been in print for over 60 years – its archive of past issues is massive. Though conservation of the archive is not under your charge, may I ask if the archive is preserved well? Do you plan to use it as a resource?

A few evenings ago, I requested my admin assistant in the office to show me some of the oldest issues of Indian Literature, so that each week we could select some quotable quote by an eminent author of an earlier generation and run it on social media. One of the first one s found was something from Mulk Raj Anand’s talk reproduced in a 1962 issue of IL. Apart from this, now and then, we may even pick some forgotten story/poem/essay for re-publication in some current issue. The old issues are accessible and after just a little dusting, we can use them as a resource.

Are there plans for IL to go online?

No, not at the moment, at least.

Suhit Bombaywalal is an independent journalist. He lives in Mumbai.

What circumstances did you find ‘Indian Literature’ in when you became editor? For one, a few issues were pending publication, weren’t they?

At the end of the year 2022, when I took on the editorship of Indian Literature, it was entirely with the spirit of accepting a challenge… a stupendous one at that! Not a single issue had been published in the year 2022 (perhaps due to the disruption caused by the pandemic), which meant that six issues of the journal of about 200 pages each needed to be brought out to clear the backlog. I know if I had paused to reflect on what such a commitment entailed, I would not have dared to plunge into it. All I thought was, that the journal – perhaps the only one in the country – dedicated to literature of India from different languages had to be pulled back on track. Thousands of unopened emails from subscribers, contributors and others, sent over three to four, called out for attention. More people were required urgently to be identified and motivated to help deal with the Herculean task. I needed someone for editorial assistance, for copy editing, designing and proofing etc of the several issues to be put together. I had to take the risk and depend on my good sense to choose from the large number of scholars, editors and other people I was familiar with to hasten the process. To start with, a system for efficient selection of content had to be worked out by accessing mails that carried a massive number of submissions. A lot more had to follow!

The list of writers and translators featured in the magazine is perhaps the most varied in terms of Indian region and culture that I have seen. The range of themes is not only urban, but also rural. And what is at stake for the protagonists in the short stories, and for the narrators in the poetry you published, is often life-and-death, not just ivory-tower stuff. Moreover, there are contributors from around the country, and especially in translation. How do you propose to nurture this diversity?

We are delighted to have tens and tens of submissions from different regions/linguistic zones of India. Moreover, there were thousands of email and physical submissions waiting to be attended to when I joined. The problem is normally that of quality translation. The content is sometimes sensed to be good even if the translation may be not ready for publication. A lot many times, ample editing is required before the piece is ready for the press. Sure, hard work happens but with pleasure! The journal is in English and we try for as much material from different languages as possible. There are issues of cultural translation to be tackled with. Idiomatic language from say, Oriya or Urdu or any other Indian language may get totally flattened in English translation. The effort is to keep the loss small.

Indeed, the diversity of Indian literature needs to be conserved and nourished. We keep harping on the need for more translations and hope that the journal will encourage more of them. You may notice that we reach out for inclusion of tribal literatures also.

You are keen on publishing more translations into English in Indian Literature. What sort of writing would you like to see brought over?

We are, it must be acknowledged at the outset, a multilingual society with a rich baggage of cultural diversity in this country. Naturally, an enchanting criss-cross of literary traditions has evolved over many centuries. How can we treat literature here as a product of mono-culture? How can we dismiss or ignore the amazing stories/poems/plays etc from different Indian languages constantly being created side by side? It is through translated material that we build bridges of understanding the confluences and divergences amongst different regions/linguistic zones in the country. Having been a keen researcher and teacher of Indian literature in different languages as well as of comparative literature, I have always felt an ardent need for translations from bhasha literatures in order to connect with the literary cultures of many Indian languages that I do not know. I believe Indian Literature is a singular journal in India that can cater to such a need… that of bringing literatures from many languages together through translation. Yes, as the editor, I am on the look out for good translations, especially from relatively lesser known languages. This in itself is a challenge!

Your question regarding what sort of writings in translation are sought, well any form of creative writing – even critical essays – would be welcome. IL is and could be a dynamic and growing repository of critical thinking and creative writing across Indian languages.

You’ve published works that engage forthrightly with the tricky subjects of caste and religion. What considerations shaped your choices?

Religion and caste are both central to the Indian context, across region and language, and literature here is bound to reflect this reality. Why should we ignore or not pay attention to them? Since the journal is literary, what we are concerned with is that the themes are executed with a sensibility that apart from arousing awareness about social justice, ethical consciousness, we believe, there should also be an aesthetic and an honest representation of reality. The writer’s sensitivity to caste discrimination and religious sentiments, especially of the “other”, will generally not allow a degenerative effect on the reader. Literature makes us confront the truth that we live in but with a consciousness that inevitably creates a discerning witness in one. We welcome literatures from the margins as well. The idea is to unravel the not-so-visible reality of our society irrespective of caste, creed or religion.

Do you also plan to carry interviews with writers? Would these be long-form? What would these interviews aim to record and preserve?

By all means, the writer’s voice matters. Often, the writer has ideas to share that do not find a home in his or her writings. I do believe that the writer can be motivated to speak of them in an interview. We have already had a tradition of including interviews in IL. But I am planning a series of substantial conversations with poets and creative writers on the art of fiction/poetry, on the perennially intriguing question of what is the writer’s creative process, on the aesthetics of contemporary times etc. Literary critics, philosophers and academics in general deal with such questions in an erudite and theoretical style, while the writer’s voice emerges from experience and practice. This has to be elicited and valued. I have commissioned some interviews already with some established writers in different languages. We hope to document these voices to serve as reference material for sure, but also see them as ideas that could inspire further debates on the subject. Each voice is bound to be distinct and worthy of the attention of scholars as well as general readers.

What are other ways in which the journal would be enhanced?

There’s a constant churning of ideas amongst the editorial team, for the pooling of fresh thoughts and suggestions. One of the concerns we all share is to put together material for the representation of oral traditions in our country. The fascinating richness of these traditions that abound in songs as well as narratives get ignored when the written and the published dominate as superior and sophisticated. We wish to have IL destabilise this hierarchy. That is why we are particularly interested in looking for critical essays that can help build indigenous theories to examine and understand oral traditions embedded within our cultural prosperity all around.

Also, as mentioned earlier, I am clear that we need to publicly discuss problems in translation and in that, equip ourselves as well as the practitioners of translation with more tools and ideas to facilitate quality in translation. We propose to publish articles and panel discussions in IL on the subject.

The idea is not to constrict the narrative to only the language of words: Just as words can construct pictures, photos or images can tell stories. One complements the other. In fact our forthcoming issue will have a feature called graphic tales, not a photo feature this time. These are line drawings alongside notes, offered as a commentary. All these are various forms of creative expression, aren’t they?

A potentially messy aspect of editing a lit mag is working with a writer to make their submission publication worthy. Please share any advice you have for budding editors of literary magazines.

As an editor, first and foremost, one needs to understand the psychology of writers and translators on the one hand and on the other, one has got to be self-reflexive. There is the question of ego to deal with; you have to learn the art of negotiating with one who has perhaps spent hours on choosing what may be perceived as the right words, which you might not find appropriate. One needs to ask oneself: who’s right, I or the writer? Then comes the question of dealing with the writer. The logic for the changes/corrections has to be convincing. At times, extraordinary patience may be required to get the point across. If it is a translator, there are sometimes more issues to settle regarding the interpretation of the text. All in all, to challenge the competence of the other, it is important to maintain a posture of humility along with having competence on the subject. One learns a lot on the job! The editor’s eye is the third essential eye that gives primacy to the text and she learns the art of intervention for that purpose. You can make enemies but also a lot of friends in the bargain, because, ultimately, the text gets to be better and is published in the name of the writer/translator.

Indian Literature has been in print for over 60 years – its archive of past issues is massive. Though conservation of the archive is not under your charge, may I ask if the archive is preserved well? Do you plan to use it as a resource?

A few evenings ago, I requested my admin assistant in the office to show me some of the oldest issues of Indian Literature, so that each week we could select some quotable quote by an eminent author of an earlier generation and run it on social media. One of the first one s found was something from Mulk Raj Anand’s talk reproduced in a 1962 issue of IL. Apart from this, now and then, we may even pick some forgotten story/poem/essay for re-publication in some current issue. The old issues are accessible and after just a little dusting, we can use them as a resource.

Are there plans for IL to go online?

No, not at the moment, at least.

Suhit Bombaywalal is an independent journalist. He lives in Mumbai.