Translating Vijay Tendulkar's Kamala: A Cultural Perspective

This short research chapter explores the cultural dimensions of translating Kamala. It also highlights the challenges faced by translators, strategies of cultural transfer, and the implications for global readership. The researcher analyzes idioms, metaphors, character portrayals, and the play’s socio-political background. This study argues that translation of Kamala is an act of cultural mediation that makes Tendulkar’s message globally accessible while grappling with the risk of cultural dilution. Translation is never a mere linguistic exercise; it is an act of cultural negotiation. Vijay Tendulkar’s Kamala, first staged in 1981, remains a seminal Marathi play that exposes the exploitation of women within patriarchal and capitalist structures. Priya Adarkar translated this play into English in 1982. While translating Kamala into English involves more than rendering words from one language into another. It requires retaining the nuances of Marathi socio-political contexts, idiomatic speech, and the subtleties of Tendulkar’s theatrical craft.