Translation of Nilakantha's Autobiography into English: A Study

Abstract

Life histories have a wide appeal. At some stages every one of us was fascinated by the lives of other people. Of course all of them may or may not be men and women of grand reputation, but they were heard, read, watched and followed by us. They may be characters from history, novels, legends or myth. From time to time they have inspired their audience with their great deeds and admonish them with their follies. Regarding writing an autobiography, Cellini (1500 –1571) had stated this about five centuries ago: "All men of whatsoever quality they be, who have done anything of excellence, or which may properly resemble excellence, ought, if they are persons of truth and honesty, to describe their life with their own hand; but then ought not to attempt so fine an enterprise till they passed the age of forty' (qtd. in Symonds 1934: 71).  Autobiographies are life stories told by   the author. It gives us the current impression of the author on the different activities of life: struggle, achievements, successes and failures. This article highlights some of the features of translating an autobiography with a special reference to the translation of Pundit Nilakantha's autobiography Atmajivani (1963) into English.