Location : Guru Arjan Dev Seminar Hall

A Literary Translation workshop was organized by the Department of Punjabi and Department of English, under the aegis of IQAC at SGTB Khalsa College on October 10, 2024. The workshop com-menced with the recitation of Gurbani followed by felicitation of the dignitaries by the members of the organizing committee. The introduction of the workshop was given by Dr. Ravinder Kaur Bedi from the Punjabi Department (Convenor), and Ms. Armeen K. Ahuja from the English Depart-ment (Event Coordinator), who shared the chief objectives of the Translation Workshop aligned with NEP 2020, including promoting multilingualism, skill development, cultural exchange, and curriculum enrichment. With an all-encompassing strategy, NEP promises significant changes in our educational system. In his welcome address, Prof. Harbans Singh, Vice Principal, discussed how New Delhi has become the center for literary exchanges between languages, especially after the partition. In that sense, translation is vital to preserve language and cultural cohesiveness.

Prof. Amanpreet Singh Gill, from Political Science department, discussed the politics of translation and the essential role of human talent in machine translation. He also highlighted that being bilingual is crucial for survival. Dr. Amarjeet Kaur (Amiya Kunwar), a poet and translator, delivered a lecture on “Challenges of Translating Poems,” in which she elucidated upon the major challenges in the translation of poetry, since it’s not just word-to-word translation but also the semantic translation that matters. She also focused on the effect of mistranslation due to lack of context, inconsistent translation, and semantic errors. The Chief guests, Ms. Sunanda Mehta, author, translator, and journalist, and Ms. Meera Chadha Borwankar, author and former IPS officer, recited poems from the book Majestic Musings, a collection of poems originally written by Shaheed Charan Singh, which focus on the themes of class, caste, and women’s rights. Sunanda Mehta also shared how she got inspired by her great grandfather Shaheed Charan Singh’s poems and got an urge to translate his poems from Punjabi to English. Closing remarks were given by Mr. Ritwick Bhattacharjee, convenor, Dept. of English, who highlighted the fact that language is fundamental to human existence as it allows us to express thoughts, emotions, and culture, fostering connection and understanding among people. A vote of thanks was given by Prof. Gurinder Singh, Punjabi Department who also highlighted the practicalities of the contemporary world translation. A total of 72 students were engaged in the workshop with vitality and enthusiasm. The workshop was incredibly enlightening and beneficial to the attendees. They stated in their feedback remarks that future translation workshops have to be held frequently and on a larger scale.