Moeen Samdani
International Correspondent
Zamana News Lahore and London
It was a pleasure talking to Nibras Sohail. She is renowned writer and translator. Her first publication ‘Parwaaz’ was revealed in November 2022 at Writer’s Forum in the Sharjah International Book Fair 2022.
Through the credit of Parwaaz, she is the first Pakistani Writer to receive an award of excellence from (the SBA) Sharjah Book Authority.
Parwaaz is a translated version of the English Book (Flights) in Urdu language, whereas Flights is the first translation of ‘Beguni’ by the 2018 Polish Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk.When Zamana News asked what inspired her to translate the novel Flights, she said,
Ms. Nibras : “Flights is a book of encapsulated wisdom, a travel pack of genius, for any such person fond of exploring the world outside and inside the human body. The book takes the reader to the places spatially and temporally. I think people interested in science, history, geography, psychology, philosophy, medicine, art, literature and travel– all must read the book”Zamana News: We hope that after Parwaaz your next publication will be in the books market soon.
Nibras: Yes, I have just finished my next project. It’s in the publication process now.Zamana News: As you told this time you translated the work of Urdu in English language. Could you please tell us more about the book?Nibras: The book is titled ‘Perceptionism- The First Eastern Critical Theory of Art and Literature’. The theory is given by the eminent Urdu Poet Mr. Farhat Abbas Shah for the evaluation of poetry and other works of art that are being analyzed through the lens of structural or social theories that are unable to reach out to the creative genius of the poet or the writer and his culture of expression. The theory applies to all forms of art since it’s about the perception of a critic that has to align with the creator.
It lays the foundation of the rules for critics, be they Eastern or Western, on the analysis and evaluation of poetry or any other art like music, painting, or sculpturing. The theory comes after Shah’s long-drawn struggle to find out the causes of the declining interest of our youth in Urdu poetry as well as the decline in creative and aesthetic standards.
The objective is to make this theory reach the West as a genius attempt by a poet from the East for the first time ever.
Zamana News: That’s great.. so once again we shall receive a unique publication, particularly in the works of translation.
Nibras: Yes, Insha Allah.
Zamana News: How challenging it is to translate a book? I request you to give a brief overview of the significance of translation and also on what the job demands.
Ms. Nibras: As I said earlier, It’s through translations only, that a work of literature reaches the people who do not understand your language. So, it has a great significance. We can exchange cultures, histories, and creative experiments through the works of translation. As far as the demand of the translator’s job is concerned, that’s what really needs to be addressed. It’s a herculean task to translate a book, not because of its density but because of it’s nature. A translator must understand the author and his philosophy out and out. He must be aware of the author’s culture, their history, their humor, their style of writing, and above all a translator must have a keen interest in the philosophy the author has written a book on.
Translation work is not a word-to-word substitute but a transmission of the idea on the same frequency as the author generates, in the same tone as the writer assumes, and in the same style, he is known for.Zamana News: Thank you so much Ms. Nibras for your insight and your time for speaking to Zamana News.
Ms. Nibras: That’s my pleasure. I am honored instead!We concluded a brief discussion with a talented Pakistani writer, translator and journalist. We hope her new publication will set new dimensions to her career. She is living in UAE on category of Golden Visa holder on the basis of her creative writing work. She is also well-known Senior Educationist and Entrepreneur.
