Rohini Chowdhury

Rohini Chowdhury (born 1963) is a children's writer and literary translator. Her published writing for children is in both Hindi and English, and includes translations, novels, short stories, and non-fiction. Her children's books and short stories have been shortlisted for awards, including the Hindu Young World Goodbooks Non-fiction Award and the New Writer Prose and Poetry Competition, 2001, UK.

As a literary translator, she works mainly in Hindi (pre-modern and modern) and English. She has translated the 17th century Braj Bhasha text, Ardhakathanak, considered the first autobiography in an Indian language, into modern Hindi and English. Her most recent translation is that of Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, which was published by Penguin India in December, 2019. A short extract from the first volume had earlier been published with the permission of the publisher in the journal Modern Poetry in Translation, Songs of the Shattered Throat, 2017, Number 1.[1][2]

Biography

Chowdhury was born in Calcutta, India, in 1963. After completing her schooling from Loreto House, she joined Jadavpur University in Calcutta, graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Economics. She then decided to pursue a business degree at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, graduating from there in 1986 with a PGDM. After several years in business consulting and strategy, she became a full-time writer. In 1997, she moved to London, where she lives with her two daughters.[3][4][5][6]

Published works

Chowdhury has published the following literary translations:[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

  • Ardhakathanak, by Banarasidas, Penguin Books, 2007
  • Ardhakathanak (A Half Story), by Banarasidas; Preface by Rupert Snell; Penguin Books, 2009
  • Tyagpatra (The Resignation), by Jainendra; Afterword by Mridula Garg; Penguin Books, 2012
  • My Favourite Stories: Bosky’s Panchatantra, by Gulzar; Red Turtle Books, Rupa Publications, India, June 2013
  • Chandrakanta, by Devaki Nandan Khatri; Rupa Publications, India, 2015
  • Panchatantra, by Vishnusharma; Puffin India, 2017
  • The Ramcharitmanas, by Tulsidas; Penguin Books, 2019 (in three volumes)
  • Tales from the Kathasaritsagara, by Somadeva; Puffin India, 2019

She has also published the following children's books:[22][23][24]

  • Meera's First Day in School; English Edition Publishers, 2002
  • Meera and Meena go to the Zoo; English Edition Publishers, 2002
  • Meera Gets Lost; English Edition Publishers, 2002
  • Meera Goes Shopping; English Edition Publishers, 2002
  • Meera and the Surprise Pet; English Edition Publishers, 2002
  • Rohini's Book of Meera Stories; English Edition Publishers, 2002 (Omnibus volume, with stories 1 to 6)
  • Hari's Train Journey; English Edition Publishers, 2002
  • Hari is Bored; Amazon Kindle, 2004
  • Meera at the Puppet Show; Amazon Kindle, 2004
  • A Very Special Birthday; Amazon Kindle, 2004
  • Meera Goes Swimming; Amazon Kindle, 2004
  • Meera Goes to the Dentist; Amazon Kindle, 2004
  • Meena Goes Away; Amazon Kindle, 2004
  • The Crow and the Eagle, illustrated by Taposhi Ghoshal; Scholastic India, 2006
  • The Frog and the Ox, illustrated by Sonal Panse; Scholastic India, 2006
  • The Foolish Crow, illustrated by Neeta Gangopadhyaya; Scholastic India, 2006
  • The Donkey and the Load of Salt, illustrated by Shilpa Ranade; Scholastic India, 2006
  • Aesop's Fables; Scholastic India, 2007 (Omnibus volume)
  • कौआ चला चील बनने, चित्रांकन तापोशी घोशाल; Scholastic India, 2006
  • मेंढक और बैल की कहानी, चित्रांकन सोनल पानसे, Scholastic India, 2006
  • मूर्ख कौआ, चित्रांकन नीता गंगोपाध्याय, Scholastic India, 2006
  • फेरीवाले का गधा, चित्रांकन शिल्पा रानडे, Scholastic India, 2006
  • White Tiger; Puffin, Penguin Books India, 2006
  • Gautam Buddha: The Lord of Wisdom; Puffin Lives, Penguin Books India, 2011
  • Mathemagic Book 1: Numbers, Numbers Everywhere; Puffin, Penguin Books India, 2012
  • Mathemagic Book 2: The Most Powerful Number of Them All; Puffin, Penguin Books India, 2013
  • The Garden of the Djinn; Rupa Publications, India, 2013
  • Verghese Kurien: The Milkman of India; Scholastic Great Lives, Scholastic India, 2014
  • Sachin Tendulkar: The Little Master; Scholastic Great Lives, Scholastic India, 2015

She has co-edited the following anthology of short stories with South African writer, Zukiswa Wanner:

  • Behind The Shadows: Contemporary Stories from Africa and Asia, 2012

Film script

  • Granny’s Monster Machines, April 2013, a bilingual Bengali-English film, created in association with Pop Up Festival of Stories and Chocolate Films.[25] The film is available on Youtube.

References

  1. ^ "Songs of the Shattered Throat, 2017, Number 1". Modern Poetry in Translation. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Rohini Chowdhury - ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival". jaipurliteraturefestival.org. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Rohini Chowdhury - About Me". rohinichowdhury.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Rohini Chowdhury". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. ^ Chowdhury, Rohini. (2008). The three princes of Persia : children in world myth. Delhi: Puffin. ISBN 978-0-14-333493-4. OCLC 260209851.
  6. ^ Chowdhury, Rohini (November 2014). The garden of the Djinn. New Delhi. ISBN 978-81-291-2930-7. OCLC 863633653.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "Rohini Chowdhury Translations". rohinichowdhury.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ^ "The remains of the self". The Telegraph, India. 4 September 2009.
  9. ^ Orsini, Francesca; Schofield, Katherine Butler (2015). Tellings and Text: Music, Literature and Performance in North India. Open Book Publishers. p. 70. ISBN 9781783741021.
  10. ^ Cort, John (June 2010). "Ardhakathanak, A Half Story". Religious Studies Review. 36 (2). doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2010.01434_3.x.
  11. ^ "Vishnusharma and the timeless Panchatantra". BookLink. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Great Lives - Verges Kurien: the Milkman of India". Funky Rainbow. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Celebrations". Words and Pictures. SCBWI British Isles. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  14. ^ Kumar, Pankaj (21 April 2017). "Book End: A Delightful Panchatantra". Hindustan Times, HT Kaleidoscope.
  15. ^ "The Ramcharitmanas 1". Penguin India. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  16. ^ "The Ramcharitmanas 2". Penguin India. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  17. ^ "The Ramcharitmanas 3". Penguin India. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Puffin Classic: Tales from the Kathasaritsagara". Penguin India. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Rohini Chowdhury". Rohini Chowdhury ". Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  20. ^ "CHOWDHURY, ROHINI - Penguin India". penguin.co.in. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Members | The Society of Authors". societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Rohini Chowdhury Children's Books". rohinichowdhury.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Review by Subhadra Sengupta, Verges Kurien: The Milkman of India". Goodbooks. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  24. ^ Singh, Harbir K (27 May 2012). "Review: New Light on the Buddha". The Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  25. ^ "Granny's Monster Machines". Youtube. Chocolate Films Workshops. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2017.