The chasm between the rich and diverse “regional” literature and the mainstream English literature has always been large. Still, the rise in the number of translations in recent years is steadily filling that gap. Simultaneously, there’s been an increase in translation-specific initiatives and awards in the past decade that have further encouraged translators and translations. Our article today looks at women translators in India, both past and present, who are helping create a more inclusive and multilingual discourse. While I’ve tried to be as thorough as possible, please let me know if I’ve missed anyone in the comments below. Let’s begin!
List of Women Translators in India
Disclaimer: Most translators listed here are Indian or of Indian origin, but we’ve also included a few non-Indians who translate into Indian languages.
Abhirami Girija Sriram
(Malayalam to English)
Abhirami Girija Sriram is an editor and translator based in Chennai. She specialises in translating Tamil and Malayalam literature into English. She has translated works like C. Ayyappan’s Branthu for The Oxford India Anthology of Malayalam Dalit Writing and co-translated K.R. Meera’s Jezebel. Currently, she serves as the chief sub-editor at Frontline magazine.
Alladi Uma
(Telugu to English and English to Telugu)
Next on our list of women translators in India is Alladi Uma, a translator and academic based in Hyderabad. She collaborates with M. Sridhar to translate Telugu literature into English. Their translations include feminist and Dalit narratives, such as works by Volga and Chalam. Alladi Uma has also taught American, African-American, and Indian literature at the University of Hyderabad.
Amrita Nilanjana
(Bengali to English)
Amrita Nilanjana is a translator and theatre critic with a Master’s and MPhil in English Literature from Calcutta University. She translated Ritwik Ghatak’s plays from Bengali to English. Amrita has also taught English Literature at Delhi University and advocates for artisan communities in India.
Amritbir Kaur
(Punjabi to English and English to Punjabi)
Next on our list of women translators in India is Amritbir Kaur, a teacher, translator, and owner of The Literary Jewels, a bookseller and publisher based in Ludhiana. She’s translated Selected Stories of Amrita Pritam from Punjabi to English and several books from English to Punjabi.
Anila Dalal
(English and Bengali to Gujarati)
Anila Dalal is a Gujarati literary critic and translator. She has translated several Bengali works into Gujarati, including novels by Sunil Gangopadhyay, Bimal Kar, and Mahasweta Devi. She also translated Rabindranath Tagore’s essays and songs. Dalal has received multiple awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 1993.
Anita Gopalan
(Hindi to English)
Anita Gopalan is a translator and recipient of the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant. She has translated Geet Chaturvedi’s The Memory of Now and Simsim. Her translations have been featured in prominent literary outlets like AGNI, World Literature Today, and Words Without Borders. She also holds a fellowship in English literature from the Indian Ministry of Culture.
Anju Makhija
(Sindhi to English)
The next name in our compilation of women translators in India is Anju Makhija, a poet, playwright, and translator. She co-translated the 16th-century Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif’s works from Sindhi to English, including Seeking the Beloved. She has also authored several poetry collections and plays and co-edited anthologies on Partition and women’s literature. In 2011, Makhija received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize. Read our interview with Anju Makhija here.
Recommended Reading: All About Mumbai City in This Collection of Plays by Anju Makhija
Arshia Sattar
(Sanskrit to English)
Arshia Sattar is a translator and author best known for her English translations of ancient Sanskrit texts. She has a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilisations from the University of Chicago. Her notable works include translations of Valmiki’s Ramayana and Kathasaritsagara. Sattar has also written extensively on Indian mythology and literature.
Aruna Chakravarti
(Bengali to English)
Next on our list of women translators in India is Aruna Chakravarti, an academic, author, and translator. She has translated several notable Bengali works into English, including Saratchandra Chattopadhyay’s Srikanta and Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Those Days. She served as the Principal of Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, and also won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996 for her translation of Srikanta.
Ashitha
(English to Malayalam)
Ashitha was a writer and translator known for her short stories, poems, and translations. Through her translations, Ashitha played a key role in popularising haiku poetry in Malayalam. She received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 and many other accolades throughout her career.
Baran Farooqi
(Urdu to English)
Tenth on our list of women translators in India is Baran Farooqi, a professor of English at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and a translator of Urdu literature into English. Her notable works include the translation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s The Colours of My Heart and Khalid Jawed’s The Paradise of Food, for which she won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2022.
Barnita Bagchi
(Bengali to English)
Barnita Bagchi is a literary scholar, translator, and feminist historian. She is a Professor of World Literature in English at the University of Amsterdam. Educated at Jadavpur University, Oxford, and Cambridge, she has translated Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag from Bengali to English.
Recommended Reading: Sultana’s Dream: Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Satire on Male Oppression
Bhargavi Rao
(Telugu to English and English to Telugu)
Bhargavi Rao (1944–2008) was a prominent translator and writer in Telugu literature. She is best known for translating the works of Girish Karnad from Kannada to Telugu, including the acclaimed play Taledanda. Rao received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 1995. Her work also includes the anthology Noorella Panta, featuring short stories by 20th-century women writers.
Bhuvana Natarajan
(Bengali to Tamil)
Bhuvana Natarajan was a translator and short story writer. She translated over 20 books from Bengali to Tamil, including works by Rabindranath Tagore and Sunil Gangopadhyay. Natarajan received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2009 for her translation of Pratham Pratisruti by Ashapoorna Devi into Tamil, titled Muthal Sabatham. Her short stories were also published in various Tamil magazines.
C Vijaysree
(Telugu to English)
C. Vijayasree was a Professor of English at Osmania University, Hyderabad, and a noted translator and scholar. She is best known for co-translating Volga’s The Liberation of Sita. Her work focused on postcolonial literature and women’s writing. She was Vice-Chair of the Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies.
Chandramathi
(Malayalam to English)
Chandramathi, also known as Chandrika Balan, is a writer, translator, and critic who writes in both English and Malayalam. She has published 20 books in Malayalam, including short story collections, essays, and translations. Her work includes translating medieval Malayalam poetry into English. Chandramathi has received several awards for her literary contributions, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the Katha National Prize, and the Padmarajan Puraskaram.
Daisy Rockwell
(Hindi and Urdu to English)
Daisy Rockwell is an American translator, writer, and painter. She is renowned for translating Hindi and Urdu literature into English. Her notable translations include Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, which won the International Booker Prize in 2022 and works by Bhisham Sahni and Khadija Mastur. Rockwell holds a PhD in Hindi literature from the University of Chicago. Read our interview with Daisy Rockwell here.
Deepa Gahlot
(Hindi and Marathi to English)
Deepa Gahlot is a film critic, author, and translator. She has translated several plays by Paresh Mokashi and Manav Kaul. Gahlot is also known for her writing on cinema and theatre and has written books on Indian film history. She has received awards for her contributions to theatre and cinema criticism.
Deepalakshmi J
(Tamil to English)
Deepalakshmi J. is a translator and writer who translates Tamil literature into English. She is the daughter of the renowned Tamil author D. Jayakanthan and has translated his works, including The Heroine and Other Stories. She is also a business writer and content marketer and contributes columns on gender and socio-political issues to various publications.
Dhanashree Halbe
(Malayalam to Marathi)
Dhanashree Halbe is a Marathi writer and translator. She has translated over ten books from Malayalam to Marathi, including works by authors like M.T. Vasudevan Nair and Lalithambika Antharjanam. Halbe has also written more than 15 books and hundreds of short stories. She received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2000 for her translation of the Malayalam novel Awespchi Mule by T. Shiva Shankar Pillai into Marathi.
Dhiruben Patel
(English to Gujarati)
Twentieth on our list of women translators in India is Dhiruben Patel (1926–2023), a distinguished Gujarati writer, novelist, playwright, and translator. She wrote over 50 books, including novels, short stories, and plays. Her notable works include the novel Agantuk, for which she received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2001. Patel’s contributions to Gujarati literature span various genres, for which she was also awarded the prestigious Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and the K. M. Munshi Suvarna Chandrak, and she also translated works into Gujarati from English.
Fathima E.V.
(Malayalam to English)
Fathima E.V. is a writer and translator known for her translation of Subhash Chandran’s A Preface to Man from Malayalam to English, which won the V. Abdulla Translation Award in 2017 and the Crossword Book Award in 2018. She also co-translated M. Mukundan’s Delhi: A Soliloquy, which won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2021. She currently serves as an Associate Professor at KMM Govt. Women’s College, Kannur.
Fehmida Zakeer
(Malayalam to English)
Fehmida Zakeer is a writer, translator, and journalist based in Chennai. She translates Malayalam literature into English, including B.M. Zuhara’s memoir The Dreams of a Mappila Girl, which was shortlisted for the Valley of Words Literary Prize in 2023. Zakeer’s writings and translations have appeared in various literary journals and anthologies.
G. Kamalamma
(English to Malayalam)
G. Kamalamma (1930–2012) was a Malayalam writer, translator, and educator. She wrote over 30 books, focusing on language, literature, socio-cultural topics, and biographies. Kamalamma was also known for her translations from English and Sanskrit into Malayalam. For her literary contributions, she received various awards, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children’s Literature in 1965.
Gauri Ayyub
(Urdu and Japanese to Bengali)
Gauri Ayyub (1931–1998) was a writer, translator, social worker, and activist based in Kolkata. She is known for her short stories, translations, and numerous articles on social issues. She translated two poetry books on translated Urdu poetry, especially the works of Ghalib and Meer, with her husband, along with a translation of a Japanese travelogue by the poet Matsuo Bashō.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
(Bengali and French to English)
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is a renowned scholar, literary theorist, and translator. She is best known for her translation of Jacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology into English, which brought Derrida’s deconstructionist theories to a wider audience. Spivak has also translated works by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi, including Breast Stories and Imaginary Maps. She is a University Professor at Columbia University, where she focuses on comparative literature and postcolonial studies.
Recommended Reading: Nationalism and the Imagination by Gayatri C. Spivak
Gita Krishnakutty
(Malayalam to English)
Gita Krishnankutty is a noted translator of Malayalam literature. She has translated important works like M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Kaalam and N.P. Mohamed’s The Eye of God into English. Her translation work has been critically acclaimed and recognised through accolades like the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2001, the Katha Award for Translation and the Crossword Award.
Indira Boro
(Assamese to Bodo)
Indira Boro is a Bodo writer, translator, and academic. She is also a Professor and Head of the Department of Bodo at Bodoland University. In 2022, Boro received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize for her translation of Jayanti Gogoi’s Assamese novel Hirimba into Bodo. She has also written and translated several other works in the Bodo language.
Indira Chowdhury
(Bengali to English)
Indira Chowdhury is a historian, author, and translator known for her translations and work in oral history. Chowdhury translated the works of Bengali writer Ashapurna Devi into English, including The First Promise (Prothom Protishruti). She has also authored The Frail Hero and Virile History, which explores gender and history in colonial Bengal. Chowdhury is also involved in archiving and documenting Indian history, particularly through oral history projects. She played a key role in starting the Urban History Documentation Project at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, in 1993.
Indira Devi Chaudhurani
(English and French to Bengali)
Indira Devi Chaudhurani was a prominent Bengali writer, translator, and musician. She was the daughter of Satyendranath Tagore and niece of Rabindranath Tagore. Indira Devi is best known for her literary contributions in Bengali and for popularising Rabindra Sangeet, being a skilled musician herself. She also translated some of Rabindranath Tagore’s works into English.
J Devika
(Malayalam to English and English to Malayalam)
Thirtieth on our list of women translators in India is J. Devika, is a historian, social critic, translator, and Professor at the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Devika has translated several important works of Malayalam literature into English, including works of KR Meera and Sarah Joseph and books like Manasi’s Subversive Whispers and The Cock is the Culprit by Unni R. She is also known for her work on gender, politics, and social reform in Kerala through scholarly articles and translations.
J. Bhagyalakshmi
(Telugu to English and English to Telugu)
J. Bhagyalakshmi is a noted Telugu writer and translator and has written and translated over 45 books, including poetry collections, short stories, and literary criticism. She was the Director (Media) at the Ministry of Rural Development and Chief Editor of the magazine Yojana in the Indian Information Service. She also taught at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication and edited numerous books during her tenure in the Publications Division.
Jaya Mehta
(Hindi and English to Gujarati)
Jaya Mehta is a renowned Gujarati poet, critic, and translator. Educated at SNDT Women’s University, she later served as a professor there. Mehta has written rationalist poetry, novels, works of criticism, and edited various literary compilations. Her poetry collections include Venetian Blind and Akashma Tarao Choop Chhe, while Kavyazankhi and Ane Anusandhan are examples of her critical works. She has also translated many works into Gujarati, including those of Rabindranath Tagore and Ernest Hemingway, earning the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 1992.
Jayasree Kalathil
(Malayalam to English)
Jayasree Kalathil is a writer, translator, mental health researcher, and activist. She is acclaimed for her translations from Malayalam into English, notably The Diary of a Malayali Madman by N. Prabhakaran and Moustache by S. Hareesh, the latter winning the JCB Prize for Literature in 2020. She has also won the Crossword Books Jury Award for Indian Language Translation.
Jenny Bhatt
(Gujarati to English)
Jenny Bhatt is a writer, literary translator, and critic. She has penned the story collection Each of Us Killers, which won a 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award, and translated Ratno Dholi: The Best Stories of Dhumketu from Gujarati to English, which was shortlisted for the Valley of Words Book Award. Bhatt founded the Desi Books (2020-2023), a platform that highlighted South Asian literature. She also teaches creative writing at Writing Workshops Dallas and has been involved in other literary education initiatives. Read our conversation with Jenny Bhatt here.
Joba Murmu
(Hindi and Bengali to Santali)
Joba Murmu is a Santali writer and translator. Her works include the short story collection Olon Baha (The Written Flower), which won the Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2017, and Sereng Anjle, a translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali into Santali. A teacher by profession, Murmu has a postgraduate degree in Santhali literature and has also written several scripts for Santhali films, including Tore Sutam and Sagen Sakam.
K. Srilata
(Tamil to English)
K. Srilata is a poet, fiction writer, translator, and academic based in Chennai. She taught Literature and Creative Writing at IIT Madras. Her debut novel, Table for Four, was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009. She is also a co-editor of the anthology The Rapids of a Great River: The Penguin Book of Tamil Poetry, along with Lakshmi Holmstrom and Subashree Krishnaswamy.
Keerti Ramachandra
(Kannada, Marathi and Hindi to English)
Keerti Ramachandra is a teacher, editor, and translator proficient in Hindi, Marathi, and Kannada. She has translated Vishwas Patil’s A Dirge for the Dammed, which was shortlisted for the Crossword Prize in 2015, and a fictionalised biography of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose titled Mahanayak. Keerti has received several awards for her translation work, including the Katha A.K. Ramanujan Award in 1995 and the Katha Award in 1997 and 2000.
Kundanika Kapadia
(English and Bengali to Gujarati)
Kundanika Kapadia was a renowned Gujarati writer, novelist, and essayist. Born in Limbdi, Gujarat, she played an active role in the Quit India Movement in 1942. She is best known for her novel Saath Pagla Akashma, which earned her the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985. Kapadia’s writing is known for its feminist perspective and the exploration of women’s issues within a Gujarati cultural context. She also wrote many essays and short stories that challenged the assigned traditional roles of women in a patriarchal society.
Lakshmi Holmström
(Tamil to English)
Lakshmi Holmström (1935–2016) was an Indian-British writer, literary critic, and translator known for her translations of Tamil fiction into English. Over her 30-year career, she translated works by major Tamil contemporary writers, including Sundara Ramaswamy and Ashokamitran. Holmström’s major translations include the works of Mauni, Pudhumaipithan, C. S. Lakshmi, Bama, and Ambai. Her translation of Karukku by Bama won the 2000 Crossword Book Award, and she shared the 2007 Crossword-Hutch Award for her translation of Ambai’s In a Forest, A Deer. Moreover, she received the A.K. Ramanujan Book Prize in 2016 for her translation of Sundara Ramaswamy’s Kuzhandaigal, Pengal, Aangal to Children, Women, Men.
Leela Devi
(English, Malayalam and Sanskrit to English and Malayalam)
Fortieth on our list of women translators in India is Leela Devi, a Kerala-based writer, translator, and teacher who wrote extensively in English, Malayalam, and Sanskrit. She authored and translated over 300 books with her husband, V. Balakrishnan. Her translations include works like the classic Malayalam novel Marthandavarma and the Sanskrit devotional work Narayaneeyam.
Leela Nambudiripad
(Sanskrit to Malayalam)
Leela Nambudiripad, also known by her pen name Sumangala, was a Malayalam author of children’s literature. She produced a rich body of work with titles such as Neypaayasam and Mithayippoti. Leela Nambudiripad also translated the Panchatantra and Valmiki Ramayan into Malayalam. Her contributions were recognised with several awards, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children’s Literature in 1979 and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for Children’s Literature.
Leelawati Mohapatra
(Odia to English)
Leelawati Mohapatra is a translator and writer. She co-translated The HarperCollins Book of Oriya Short Stories and Ants, Ghosts and Whispering Trees: An Anthology of Oriya Short Stories from Odia to English alongside K. K. Mohapatra and Paul St-Pierre. Her debut novel, Hanging by a Tail, was published in 2008.
Maitreyee Siddhanta Chakravarty
(Assamese to English)
Maitreyee Siddhanta Chakravarty is a freelance translator, editor, and Assamese language consultant. She is best known for her translation of Arun Sarma’s Assamese novel The Hour Before Dawn, which was shortlisted for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award. She has also translated Arun Sarma’s On a Wing and a Prayer.
Malathi Chendur
(English to Telugu)
Malathi Chendur (1928–2013) was a prolific Telugu writer, novelist, and translator. She began her literary career in 1949 and went on to write 26 novels in Telugu. Chendur was also a renowned translator, translating over 300 books from various languages into Telugu. She received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for her novel Hrudaya Netri. Additionally, Chendur wrote a popular weekly column, “Pramadaavanam,” in Andhra Prabha, which ran for nearly five decades.
Mamta Sagar
(Kannada to English and English to Kannada)
Mamta Sagar is a Kannada poet, playwright, translator, and academic based in Bengaluru. She has published four collections of poems, including Kaada Navilina Hejje (1992), Nadiya Neerina Teva (1999), and Hiige Haaleya Maile Haadu (2007), along with four plays. Her work spans critical essays on gender, language, and culture, compiled in her collection Mahila Vishaya (2007). She is a faculty member at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, where she teaches creative writing.
Mani Rao
(Sanskrit to English)
Mani Rao is a poet, translator, and independent scholar known for her contributions to contemporary poetry and translation of Sanskrit texts. She has authored twelve books of poetry, including Echolocation and New & Selected Poems. Rao has translated key Sanskrit works such as Bhagavad Gita and Kalidasa for the 21st Century Reader, acclaimed for their accessibility and modern relevance. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Religious Studies.
Manjari Joshi
(Russian to Marathi and Hindi)
Manjari Joshi is a well-known newsreader, journalist, translator, and writer. She gained prominence as a Hindi newsreader on Doordarshan during the 1980s and 1990s. Manjari has translated numerous Russian-language books into English and Hindi, and her works have been published by institutions like the Sahitya Akademi and the National Book Trust. She is also the daughter of renowned Hindi poet and journalist Raghuvir Sahay.
Maya Pandit
(Marathi to English and English to Marathi)
Maya Pandit is an academic, translator, and activist known for her work in translating Marathi literature into English. She has translated works such as Urmila Pawar’s The Weave of My Life: A Dalit Woman’s Memoirs and Baby Kamble’s The Prisons We Broke. Pandit is a former professor of English at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad. Her work has played a key role in introducing Marathi Dalit literature to English-speaking audiences and in highlighting the intersectional issues of caste and gender.
Meena Kandasamy
(Tamil to English)
Meena Kandasamy is a poet, fiction writer, translator, and activist. Her work often explores themes of caste, gender, and resistance. She has published three poetry collections, including Touch (2006) and Ms Militancy (2010), and three novels, including The Gypsy Goddess (2014) and When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife (2017). As a translator, she has worked on Tamil classics, including the love and erotic poetry of the Thirukkural, in her feminist translation titled The Book of Desire (2023). Kandasamy’s writing is known for its bold and radical stance against oppression.
Ministhy S
(Malayalam and Hindi to English)
Fiftieth on our list of women translators in India is Ministhy S., an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and an accomplished translator. She has translated notable Malayalam works into English, including K.R. Meera’s The Poison of Love, which was longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in 2017, and The Unseeing Idol of Light, which was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Jury Awards in 2018. Ministhy has also translated works by V.J. James, such as Anti-Clock and Nireeswaran, with the former being shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature in 2021.
Mitra Phukan
(Assamese to English)
Mitra Phukan is an author, translator, and columnist from Assam. She is known for her novels The Collector’s Wife and A Monsoon of Music, both of which explore the socio-political and cultural fabric of Assam. Phukan is also a well-regarded translator of Assamese literature into English, having translated the works of noted authors such as Jyanpeeth Award winner Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya. She contributes regularly to prominent newspapers and magazines and is also a classical vocalist of the Hindustani genre.
Mudra Joshi
(Gujarati to English)
Mudra Joshi is a translator and writer who has worked on translating Gujarati literature into English. She is known for her translation of Devangi Bhatt’s The Many Lives of Pauloma Chattopadhyay, originally titled Vasansi Jirnani in Gujarati, an engaging narrative and exploration of magical realism. Mudra Joshi also contributes to various literary platforms, blending her love for storytelling with her translation work.
Muna Gurung
(Nepali to English)
Muna Gurung is a writer, translator, and educator based in Kathmandu, Nepal. She holds an MFA from Columbia University, where she also served as a teaching fellow. Gurung’s translates Nepali literature into English, notably Night, a chapbook of poems by Nepali poet Sulochana Manandhar. Her fiction, non-fiction, and translations have been featured in various online and print publications. She is also actively involved in the literary community through her role as an educator at The Open Institute and as the founder of KathaSatha, an initiative dedicated to fostering storytelling and writing in Nepal.
Neerja Mattoo
(Kashmiri to English)
Neerja Mattoo is an academic, writer, and translator from Jammu and Kashmir. She is known for her translations of Kashmiri literature into English, including works by Habba Khatoon, Lal Ded, and other prominent Kashmiri poets. Mattoo has also authored books on the cultural and social history of Kashmir and has served as a professor of English at Government College for Women, Srinagar. Her work has largely contributed to the preservation and dissemination of Kashmiri literary heritage.
Neeta Ramaiya
(English to Gujarati)
Neeta Ramaiya is a Gujarati poet, children’s writer, and translator from India. She has authored numerous poetry collections, such as Dakhla Tarike Stree (1994), which reflects her feminist perspectives and works in children’s literature like Dhamachakdi (1986) and Khil Khil Khil Turuk Turuk (1998). Moreover, Ramaiya has translated various literary works into Gujarati, including the poetry of Canadian poet Margaret Atwood. She has also served as the Director of the Centre for Canadian Studies at SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.
Nita Kumar
(Hindi to English)
Nita Kumar is an accomplished academic, translator, and historian. She holds the position of Brown Family Professor Emerita of South Asian History at Claremont McKenna College, California. Kumar is known for her translations of Hindi literature into English, including Geetanjali Shree’s Mai: Silently Mother, for which she received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2002. Her work spans various genres, including history, anthropology, and literature, and she has made significant contributions to the study and understanding of South Asian culture and history.
Nivedita Menon
(Hindi and Malayalam to English)
Nivedita Menon is a feminist scholar, author, and translator best known for her critical work in gender studies and political theory. She is a professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, and her notable works include Seeing Like a Feminist and Recovering Subversion: Feminist Politics Beyond the Law. Menon has also translated texts from Hindi and Malayalam into English, including Mahasweta Devi’s Breast Stories. Her translations got her the A.K. Ramanujan Award for Translation in 1994.
Nileena Abraham
(Bengali to Malayalam, Malayalam to Bengali)
Nileena Abraham, born on July 27, 1925, in Pabna (now in Bangladesh), is a distinguished writer and translator. She holds master’s degrees in Bengali, Political Science, and History. Abraham has made significant contributions to literature through her translations, translating Bengali literature into Malayalam and vice versa, receiving the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989 for her translation of Pathummayude Adu and Balyakalasakhi by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer into Bengali. She worked as a professor of Bengali at Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, and held the Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji Professorship of Bengali.
Nirupama Dutt
(Punjabi and Hindi to English)
Nirupama Dutt is a poet, journalist, and translator based in Chandigarh. She writes in Punjabi and English, including the poetry collection Ik Nadi Sanwali Jahi (A Stream Somewhat Dark). Dutt has translated several works from Punjabi to English, including the autobiography of Punjabi writer Amrita Pritam titled The Revenue Stamp (originally Rasidi Ticket in Punjabi). She is also an active journalist and columnist, contributing to various national dailies and literary journals.
Omana Gopalakrishnan
(Russian to English)
Sixtieth on our list of women translators in India is Omana Gopalakrishnan, a Malayalam writer and translator. Alongside her husband, K. Gopalakrishnan, often referred to as “Moscow” Gopalakrishnan, she played a crucial role in bringing Russian literature to Malayalam readers. The couple translated nearly 200 Russian works, including classics, children’s literature, and political writings, into Malayalam. Although one of her major translation projects, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, was unfortunately lost due to the political upheavals in the USSR, her other translations have left a lasting impact on Malayalam literature.
Parbina Rashid
(Assamese to English)
Parbina Rashid is a senior journalist and translator based in Chandigarh. She has translated several Assamese works into English, including Ballad of Kaziranga by Dileep Chandan and The Black Magic Women by Moushumi Kandali. Rashid’s work often focuses on bringing the rich literary heritage of Assam to a broader audience, and she also contributes regularly to various national dailies and literary journals.
Poonam Saxena
(Hindi to English)
Poonam Saxena is a journalist, writer, and translator. She served as the editor of Hindustan Times’ Sunday magazine, Brunch, and later became the editor of the weekend section. Saxena translated Dharamvir Bharati’s Gunahon Ka Devta from Hindi to English (Chander & Sudha), and Rahi Masoom Raza’s Scene: 75 into English. She also co-authored Karan Johar’s memoir, An Unsuitable Boy.
Pratibha Umashanker Nadiger
(Kannada to English)
Pratibha Umashanker Nadiger was a journalist, academician, and translator. She is known for translating Yashwant Chittal’s classic Kannada novel Shikari into English, titled Shikari: The Hunt. Her work explores the complexities of translating Kannada’s rich onomatopoeic expressions into English. Nadiger has also held positions such as associate editor and special features writer for various publications.
Prema Jayakumar
(Malayalam to English)
Prema Jayakumar is a translator and columnist born in Kerala, India. Her notable translations include Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’s Yakshi and Sethu’s The Saga of Muziris, which have been published by major publishing houses, including Penguin and Sahitya Akademi.
Priya A. S.
(English to Malayalam)
Priya A. S. is a Malayalam writer and translator from Kerala, India. She is best known for translating Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things into Malayalam, titled Kunju Karyangalude Odeythampuran, which also earned her the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2014. Priya has also translated Jaishree Misra’s Ancient Promises into Malayalam. Beyond translations, she has written short stories, children’s literature, and memoirs. She has been recognised with multiple awards, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Children’s Literature and the Kendra Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2023 for her contributions to children’s literature.
Priya Sarukkai Chabria
(Tamil to English)
Priya Sarukkai Chabria is a poet, translator, and writer who has authored ten books across various genres, including poetry collections, speculative fiction, literary non-fiction, and translations. Some of her notable works include the speculative fiction novel Clone and the translation Andal: The Autobiography of a Goddess, co-translated with Ravi Shankar, which earned her the Muse Translation Award in 2017. She is the founding editor of the literary journal Poetry at Sangam, which is dedicated to showcasing diverse voices in poetry.
Priyamvada Ramkumar
(Tamil to English)
Priyamvada Ramkumar is a Chennai-based literary translator and private equity investor who specialises in translating Tamil literature into English. Her debut book-length translation, Stories of the True (2022), is an English rendition of B. Jeyamohan’s short story collection Aram. The translation was developed under the South Asia Speaks mentorship program and was longlisted for the 2023 ALTA-NTA Prose Award. Priyamvada also won the 2023 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for her ongoing translation of Jeyamohan’s novel Vellai Yaanai (White Elephant).
Priyanka Sarkar
(Hindi and Bengali to English and English to Hindi)
Priyanka Sarkar is a Delhi-based translator, editor, and writer. Her notable translations include Chitra Mudgal’s Giligadu and Shivani’s Bhairavi. Sarkar’s work has appeared in publications by Oxford University Press, South Asian Review, Women Unlimited, and Macmillan. She has also translated works from English to Hindi and Bengali to English. Sarkar has served as the head of editorial at Konark Publishers and currently works as a freelance editor and translator.
Qurratulain Hyder
(Urdu to English and English to Urdu)
Qurratulain Hyder (1927-2007) was an influential Urdu novelist, short story writer, and translator. Known for her pioneering contributions to Urdu literature, she authored 12 novels and four collections of short stories. Her most celebrated work, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), spans 2,500 years of history, exploring themes of cultural continuity and the impact of Partition. Hyder translated many of her works into English, including River of Fire (1998). She received numerous accolades, including the Jnanpith Award (1989), the Sahitya Akademi Award (1967), and Padma Bhushan (2005). Hyder also worked as a journalist and academic, holding positions at several universities in India and the U.S.
Rakshanda Jalil
(Hindi and Urdu to English)
Seventieth on our list of women translators in India is Rakhshanda Jalil, a writer, translator, and literary historian born on July 20, 1963. She has published over 25 books and more than 50 academic papers. Jalil is recognised for her translations of prominent Hindi and Urdu authors such as Premchand, Manto, Phanishwar Nath Renu, and Intizar Hussain. Her notable works include Liking Progress, Loving Change: A Literary History of the Progressive Writers Movement in Urdu and A Rebel and Her Cause, a biography of Urdu feminist writer Dr. Rashid Jahan. Jalil also runs Hindustani Awaaz, an organisation dedicated to promoting Hindi-Urdu literature and culture.
Rana Safvi
(Urdu to English)
Rana Safvi is a historian, writer, and translator with a deep focus on India’s cultural heritage, particularly the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb. She has authored and translated several significant works, including Asar-us-Sanadid by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Dastan-e-Ghadar by Zahir Dehlvi. Her translations from Urdu to English also include City of My Heart, which compiles four accounts of 19th and 20th-century Delhi. Safvi’s work spans various media, including books, podcasts, and videos, and she is known for documenting Indian history, culture, and Islamic heritage.
Ranjita Biswas
(Assamese to English)
Ranjita Biswas is a journalist, author, and translator based in Kolkata. Biswas has translated works like Written in Tears by Arupa Patangia Kalita, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Best English Translation in 2017, and The Loneliness of Hira Barua, which received the PFC-Valley of Words Award in 2021. Besides translation, she writes travelogues, short stories, and children’s fiction, with notable works including Brahmaputra and the Assam Valley and Music of the Hills. Biswas has also won multiple Katha Awards for her contributions to literature, especially translations.
Reshma Kulkarni-Pathare
(Marathi to English and English to Marathi)
Reshma Kulkarni-Pathare is a bilingual translator and journalist based in Thane, India, and has been active in the media and literary fields for over two decades. Her translation work spans various genres, including biographies, literature, and historical accounts. Notable translations include Aron Ralston’s 127 Hours (translated into Marathi) and the Marathi edition of The Anarchy by William Dalrymple. Additionally, she has translated Italian holocaust survivors Andra and Tatiana Bucci’s testimony, We, The Little Girls of Auschwitz, into Marathi.
Rimi B. Chatterjee
(Bengali to English)
Rimi B. Chatterjee is a writer, translator, and academic based in Kolkata, India, and she serves as a professor of English at Jadavpur University. Chatterjee has published three novels, including The City of Love and an academic history, Empires of the Mind, which won the SHARP DeLong Prize for History of the Book in 2007. Her notable translations include Titu Mir by Mahasweta Devi and Apon Katha by Abanindranath Tagore. Chatterjee has also contributed to the development of graphic narratives and speculative fiction in India, and she has been nominated for the Vodafone Crossword Book Award twice, once for fiction and once for translation.
Rimli Bhattacharya
(Bengali to English)
Rimli Bhattacharya is a professor, translator, and scholar with a focus on gender studies, performance theory, and translation studies. She currently teaches at the Department of English at the University of Delhi. Bhattacharya has translated significant works of Bengali literature into English, including Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s Aranyak and Rabindranath Tagore’s The Dancing Poet. She also edited and translated My Story and My Life as an Actress by Binodini Dasi, offering deep insights into the lives of early Bengali actresses. Her academic work also includes publications on South Asian performance studies and cultural history.
Rita Kothari
(Gujarati to English)
Rita Kothari is a translator, author, and academic, currently serving as a Professor of English and Head of the Department of English at Ashoka University. She has a strong focus on translation studies, language politics, and cultural history. Kothari has translated several significant works from Gujarati and Sindhi into English, including the Dalit novel Angaliyat (The Stepchild) by Joseph Macwan and K. M. Munshi’s Patan Trilogy. Her work contains themes of identity, multilingualism, and the impact of the Partition, particularly through the lens of the Sindhi community. Her academic contributions include books like Translating India and Uneasy Translations.
Rita Ray
(Portuguese and French to English)
Rita Ray is an academic specialising in Portuguese language and literature. She serves as an Assistant Professor (contractual) at the School of Languages and Linguistics at Jadavpur University in Kolkata. She has translated works by prominent Portuguese authors such as José Saramago and Rui Zink. Notable translations include Rui Zink’s Sesher Se Din and Ek Dojon Rui Zink, short story collections.
Rosemary
(English to Malayalam)
Rosemary, a poet and translator from Kerala, has made significant contributions to Malayalam literature. She has translated works from English and other languages into Malayalam, including children’s literature and Kahlil Gibran’s poems. She also translated V.K. Krishna Menon’s biography into Malayalam. Rosemary received the Esenin Award in 2012 from the Esenin Museum, Moscow, the Foundation Russkiy Mir, and the Russian Cultural Centre for introducing Russian works to Malayalam readers.
Ruth Vanita
(Hindi to English)
Ruth Vanita is an academic, poet, and translator known for her work in gender studies and LGBTQ+ literature. She co-founded Manushi, a feminist journal, and has written several books on same-sex love in India, including the well-known Same-Sex Love in India, co-authored with Saleem Kidwai. Vanita has translated many works from Hindi and Urdu into English, including Mahadevi Varma’s My Family. She teaches at the University of Montana, where she focuses on South Asian literary history, gender studies, and LGBTQ+ issues.
Saba Mahmood Bashir
(Hindi and Urdu to English)
Eightieth on our list of women translators in India is Saba Mahmood Bashir, a poet, author, and translator. She holds a PhD from IIT Delhi, focused on the poetry of Gulzar, which led to her book I Swallowed the Moon: The Poetry of Gulzar (2013). She has translated Gulzar’s screenplays of Premchand’s Godaan and Nirmala and Other Stories. Her work also includes translating Saadat Hasan Manto’s stories in Women of Prey (2020). Bashir currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Sabika Abbas Naqvi
(Urdu to English)
Sabika Abbas Naqvi is a performative poet, translator, and activist known for her work on intersectionality, gender, and minority rights. She is the founder of Sar-e-Rahguzar: Poetry on the Streets, where she uses public spaces to bring attention to social issues through poetry. Naqvi writes in Urdu, Hindi, Hindustani, and English. She has also contributed as a translator, educator, and campaigner for progressive causes. She is currently associated with Change.org and has upcoming books focused on her activism and poetry.
Sangeetha Srinivasan
(Malayalam to English and English to Malayalam)
Sangeetha Sreenivasan is a bilingual author and translator from Kerala. She is known for her novels Aparakanti, Acid, and Shalabham, Pookkal, Aeroplane. Sangeetha’s work often explores complex themes, including women’s lives, sexuality, and societal issues. She has translated many notable works, including Elena Ferrante’s The Days of Abandonment into Malayalam, for which she won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2020. Sangeetha has also translated her novel Acid into English and is currently working on translating Chris Kraus’s feminist classic I Love Dick into Malayalam.
Sara Aboobacker
(Malayalam to Kannada)
Sara Aboobacker was a Kannada novelist, short-story writer, and translator well-known for works focusing on the lives of Muslim women in the coastal regions of Karnataka and Kerala. Her most famous novel, Chandragiriya Theeradalli, translated into English as Breaking Ties, highlights the oppression and struggles faced by women in conservative Muslim communities. Sara’s writing often tackled issues such as patriarchy, communal violence, and marital rape. She wrote ten novels and eight collections of short stories. She translated several works from Malayalam to Kannada, winning accolades like the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award.
Sarojini Mahishi
(Kannada and Marathi to Hindi)
Sarojini Mahishi was a prominent politician, lawyer, and advocate for the rights of Kannadigas. She was the first woman from Karnataka to be elected to the Lok Sabha, serving four terms from 1962 to 1980, representing Dharwad North. Mahishi also served as a Rajya Sabha member from 1982 to 1984. Besides her political work, Mahishi was a multilingual scholar who translated several Kannada and Marathi works into Hindi, including the renowned Mankuthimmana Kagga by D.V. Gundappa.
Shabnam Nadiya
(Bengali to English)
Shabnam Nadiya is a Bangladeshi writer and translator currently based in the United States. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has been recognised with several prestigious awards, including the Steinbeck Fellowship (2019) and the PEN/Heim Translation Grant (2020). Nadiya’s work spans both original fiction and translations, with notable translations including Leesa Gazi’s Hellfire, Moinul Ahsan Saber’s The Mercenary, and Shaheen Akhtar’s Beloved Rongomala. Her writings and translations have appeared in various international journals and anthologies, such as Words Without Borders, Wasafiri, and Gulf Coast.
Shahnaz Habib
(Malayalam to English)
Shahnaz Habib is a writer and translator based in Brooklyn, New York. Her translation of Benyamin’s Jasmine Days won the prestigious JCB Prize for Literature in 2018. Habib has also translated the Al-Arabian Novel Factory, another work by Benyamin. She is also the author of Airplane Mode, a book that explores the cultural and historical aspects of travel. Habib teaches writing at Bay Path University and The New School and consults for the United Nations.
Shanta Gokhale
(Marathi to English and English to Marathi)
Shanta Gokhale is a prominent writer, translator, journalist, and theatre critic. She has written acclaimed novels such as Rita Welinkar and Tya Varshi, both of which won the Maharashtra State Award for best novel. She is also known for her translations of Marathi literary works into English, including plays by Vijay Tendulkar and Mahesh Elkunchwar. Gokhale is also an influential cultural commentator, contributing to various newspapers and magazines. Her book The Scenes We Made is an important oral history of experimental theatre in Mumbai. She has received several prestigious awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2015, the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2021, and the Tata Literature Live! Festival in 2019.
Shanta Shelke
(English, Sanskrit and Assamese to Marathi)
Shanta Shelke (1922–2002) was a prominent Marathi poet, writer, lyricist, and translator with several poems, stories, novels, and translations. She was also a respected journalist and academic, having worked as an assistant editor for the weekly Navyug and as a professor of Marathi. Shelke was widely recognised for her poetry and song lyrics, contributing memorable songs to over 300 films. Some of her notable songs include “Reshmachya Reghanni,” “Kaanta Rute Kunala,” and “Je Ved Majala Lagale,” which became iconic in Marathi culture. She also translated many into Marathi, including Japanese haiku (Panyavarchya Paklya), Kalidasa’s Meghdoot, and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Shikha Goyal
(Marathi to Maithili)
Ninetieth on our list of women translators in India is Shikha Goyal, a Marathi-to-Maithili translator recognised for her translation of G.N. Dandekar’s autobiographical Marathi novel Smarangatha into Maithili. In 2021, her work earned her the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize.
Shobhanasundari Mukhopadhyay
(Bengali to English)
Shobhanasundari Mukhopadhyay, originally Shovona Devi Tagore, was a writer and translator born in 1877 in Calcutta. She is best known for her works on Indian folklore and culture, particularly her English translations of Bengali folktales, including The Orient Pearls: Indian Folklore (1915), Indian Fables and Folk-lore (1919), and The Tales of the Gods of India (1920). Shobhanasundari also translated her aunt Swarnakumari Devi’s Bengali novel Kahake? into English, titled To Whom? An Indian Love Story.
Snehaprabha Das
(Odia to English)
Snehaprabha Das is a writer and translator known for her contributions to Odia literature. She has translated several classic works from Odia into English, including Padmamali and Mane Mane. She has also translated global literary classics into Odia, such as poems by Elizabeth Jennings and P.B. Shelley. Her notable works include One Thousand Days in a Refrigerator, originally written by Manoj Kumar Panda, and The Penance, a translation of Fakir Mohan Senapati’s Prayaschitta. She received the Jibanananda Das Award in 2022.
Sowmya VB
(Telugu to English and English to Telugu)
Sowmya VB, also known as Sowmya Vajjala, is a noted translator who primarily translated between Telugu and English. Her translation of Kondapalli Koteswaramma’s political memoir The Sharp Knife of Memory from Telugu garnered attention and was further translated into Malayalam and Marathi. Apart from her translation work, Sowmya has a background in computational linguistics and holds a PhD in the field. She has also co-founded a Telugu literary website, Pustakam.net, which serves as a platform for readers and writers in the Telugu literary community.
Suchitra Ramachandran
(Tamil to English)
Suchitra Ramachandran is a bilingual writer and translator known for her translation of the Tamil novel Ezhaam Ulagam by Jeyamohan into English, titled The Abyss. She has also translated other notable works, including Jeyamohan’s short story Periyamma’s Words, which won the Asymptote Close Approximations Prize in 2017, and Tamil Sangam-era poems. She also co-founded Mozhi, an initiative aimed at fostering critical discourse across Indian languages.
Sukhmani Roy
(Marathi to English)
Sukhmani Roy is a translator and academic, currently serving as the Head of the Department of English at Smt. P.N. Doshi Women’s College in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. She is notably recognised for her English translation of Vishnubhatji Godse’s Marathi travelogue Majha Pravas, titled Travails of 1857, which provides a firsthand account of the 1857 Indian uprising. She has also translated Marathi novels by Kamal Desai, including The Dark Sun and The Woman Who Wore a Hat. Her research interests include feminism and post-modernism, and she has published articles in various international publications.
Sukrita Paul Kumar
(Urdu and Hindi to English)
Sukrita Paul Kumar is a poet, critic, and translator who’s written several poetry collections, including Oscillations and Folds of Silence. Sukrita has translated notable Urdu works into English, such as Sleepwalkers by Joginder Paul. She has held prestigious academic positions, including the Aruna Asaf Ali Chair at the University of Delhi, and edited critical anthologies like Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Plurality and Literary Traditions of India.
Sunandini Banerjee
(Bengali to English)
Sunandini Banerjee is a Senior Editor and Graphic Designer at Seagull Books, based in Kolkata. She is also a translator and has been a founding faculty member at the Seagull School of Publishing since 2012, where she teaches editing and design. Sunandini has translated works from Bengali to English, including Nabarun Bhattacharya’s novel Herbert. Her digital collages, used in book covers and illustrated titles, have been exhibited in India and internationally. She holds a degree in English literature from Jadavpur University.
Sunita Jain
(Sanskrit and Hindi to English)
Sunita Jain (1941–2017) was an esteemed Indian scholar, poet, novelist, and translator who wrote extensively in both English and Hindi. She served as the Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi. Jain authored over 80 books, covering genres like novels, short stories, and poetry. Her translations include works of Jain literature and Kalidasa’s Confluence of Seasons from Sanskrit to English. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004 for her contributions to literature and the Vyas Samman in 2015 for her poetry collection Kshama.
Susheela Punitha
(Kannada to English)
Susheela Punitha is a translator and former Professor of English at Mount Carmel College and Seshadripuram College, Bangalore. She is known for her translations of major Kannada literary works into English, including U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Bharathipura, which won her the first-ever Sahitya Akademi Translation Award in 2015. The translation was also shortlisted for the Jaipur Literary Prize and The Hindu Literary Prize in 2012. She’s also translated Dweepa by Na. D’Souza and Samboli! by Lakshman. In addition to her translation work, she has contributed to children’s literature and English language teaching materials.
Tala Tudu
(Bengali to Santhali)
Hundredth on our list of women translators in India is Tala Tudu, a writer and translator from Jharkhand known for her contributions to Santali literature. Born in 1972, she gained recognition for translating Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel Parineeta into Santali, Baplanij, which earned her the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2015. In addition to her literary work, Tala Tudu is also a nurse.
Tamraparni Basu
(Telugu to English)
Tamraparni Dasu is an Indian-American author, translator, and data scientist. Along with her father, Dasu Krishnamoorty, she co-founded the literary non-profit organisation IndiaWrites Publishers Inc., which focuses on translating and disseminating Indian fiction. She has co-translated significant works of Telugu literature into English, including The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told. Dasu also has a PhD in Statistics and has published genre fiction under the name T. Dasu, including the Spy, Interrupted series.
Tejaswini Niranjana
(Kannada to English)
Tejaswini Niranjana is a cultural theorist, academic, translator, and author well-known for her contributions to translation studies, postcolonial theory, and ethnomusicology. Niranjana’s notable works include Siting Translation: History, Post-Structuralism, and the Colonial Context and Mobilizing India: Women, Music, and Migration between India and Trinidad. She has translated key Kannada works into English, including Jayant Kaikini’s No Presents Please, which won the National Translation Award (NTA) in Prose by the American Literary Translators Association in 2021. She also won the Central Sahitya Akademi Award for her translation of M. K. Indira’s Phaniyamma in 1989 and the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award for her translation of Mrityunjaya in 1996.
Teji Grover
(Norwegian, Swedish, French, Latvian, and Estonian to Hindi)
Teji Grover, born in 1955, is an acclaimed Hindi poet, painter, translator, and environmental activist. She has published five poetry collections, a novel, and a collection of short stories. Grover is known for her translations of Norwegian and Swedish literary works into Hindi. She has received several accolades, including the Bharat Bhushan Agrawal Award (1989) and the Raza Award for Poetry (2003). She was also awarded the Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award for her contributions to Hindi literature through translation and honoured with the Royal Order of the Polar Star, Member 1st Class, by the King and Queen of Sweden in 2019 for her work in promoting Scandinavian literature in India.
Tharavath Ammalu Amma
(Sanskrit, Tamil and English to Malayalam)
Tharavath Ammalu Amma was a pioneering Malayalam writer and translator. She translated several works from Sanskrit and Tamil into Malayalam. In 1914, she wrote Kamalabhai Athava Lakshmivilasathile Kolapathakam (Kamalabhai or the Murder at Lakshmivilasam), which holds the distinction of being the first detective novel written by a woman in Malayalam. Her work was influential in shaping early 20th-century Malayalam literature.
Thingnam Anjulika Samom
(Manipuri to English)
Thingnam Anjulika Samom is an independent journalist, researcher, and translator based in Imphal, Manipur. She focuses on gender, conflict, and developmental issues in the region. Samom translates literary works from Manipuri to English and edited Crafting the Word: Writings from Manipur (2019). She received the Katha Award for Translation in 2004.
Usha Bande
(Hindi and Marathi to English)
Dr Usha Bande is an academic, author, and translator based in Shimla. She has translated works from Marathi and Hindi into English and contributed extensively to literary journals. She has published numerous books, including Writing Resistance: A Comparative Study of Women Novelists and Ecology and Folk Traditions in Himachal Pradesh. A former Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla, she has published numerous books and retired as Principal of Government College, Arki. Her work spans academic research, translation, and creative writing.
Vaidehi
(Bengali to Kannada)
Vaidehi, or Janaki Srinivasa Murthy, is a prominent Kannada writer and poet from Karnataka. She began her literary career with the short story collection Mara Gida Balli in 1979. Her work spans short stories, novels, essays, poetry, and children’s plays, often focusing on women’s experiences and struggles. She has also translated literary works into Kannada. Vaidehi has received numerous awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009 for her translation of Krouncha Pakshigalu.
Vasantha Surya
(Tamil to English and English to Tamil)
Vasantha Surya is a poet, translator, journalist, and children’s writer. She has translated Tamil novels, short stories, and poetry into English, including works by authors such as Cho Dharman, R. Chudamani, and Vaasanthi. She’s also translated German poetry by Brecht and Rilke into Tamil. Her English poetry collections include The Stalk of Time and A Word Between Us, with the former being shortlisted for the Commonwealth Poetry Prize in 1985. Surya has also written investigative articles on social and cultural issues in major Indian publications.
Veena Deo
(Marathi to English)
Veena Deo is a Professor Emerita in the English department at Hamline University, Minnesota, where she taught from 1991 until her retirement in 2019. She is known for her contributions to African American literature, Women’s Studies, and Global Studies. An accomplished translator, Deo has translated several works from Marathi to English like Urmila Pawar’s Motherwit. She has also taught in Pune, New Delhi, and the United States, with her academic work often focusing on intercultural and global literature.
Vidya Pai
(Konkani to English)
Hundred and tenth on our list of women translators in India is Vidya Pai, a Kolkata-based translator known for translating Konkani literature into English. She has translated eight notable Konkani novels, including Pundalik Naik’s Acchev (translated as The Upheaval) and Mahabaleshwar Sail’s Yug Sanvar (translated as Age of Frenzy). Vidya has also translated over sixty short stories and received the Dr P. Dayananda Pai Vishwa Konkani Anuvad Puraskar in 2022 for her contributions.
Yashodhara Ray Chaudhuri
(English and French to Bengali)
Yashodhara Ray Chaudhuri is a Bengali poet, author, and translator based in Kolkata. She has published over 40 books, including poetry collections, short stories, and novellas. She translates French literature into Bengali, including works like Serge Bramly’s Leonardo Da Vinci, Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, and Dr Luc Montagnier’s Combat de la Vie. She received the Krittibas Puraskar in 1998 and the Anita-Sunil Basu Smriti Puraskar in 2006.
