constructing pathways to translation - Higher Education Commission

impersonal but lacks spontaneity and participation, due to large scale omissions in
translation of some very important passages of the source text.
At the level of Pragmatic Equivalence, the political and post- colonial aspects, being
powerfully depicted in the original novel, when translated into English are deficient of
that strength and vitality, rendering the main themes as useless inclusions. All such
thematic strains running throughout the novel are interrupted in translation through
omissions.
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The two important themes of the novel are the sub-human conditions that the people
live in due to economic disparity, and sexual exploitation. Both the themes are presented
in the melodramatic
style. Moreover, the powerful descriptive passages do not tend to be
mushy. The physical description of places is realistic, and above all, the conflict that
arose from the clash of values held by all characters in the novel is commendably
presented in the original.
In the translated text, the main idea no doubt has been put forward, but the melodramatic
style of the original text is non-existent, and the clash and conflict embedded in each
character has not been vividly presented in the target text. Hence, the translated text is
not as participative, effective and spontaneous as the original.
Characters are very vividly depicted in the ST, while the characterization in the TT
clearly lacks vividness and profundity. Similarly the plot construction is realistic and
deeply embedded in a particular social structure in the ST. The TT hardly presents the
scenario with the same realism.
Some of the very important theme carrier passages on p. 519, 522, 523( Siddiqui,2001)
where the idea of economic prosperity has been dilated by the author have been totally
omitted and abandoned from the translated text.
Thus, it can be concluded that the though translator has consciously or unconsciously
followed some strategies of translation yet the translated text stands as a weak reflection
of such an artistic master piece as ‘Khuda ki Basti’. David Matthew’s role as a
translator cannot be justified in the light of the translated text. The translated text clearly
indicates two main flaws besides the minor weaknesses depicted at every level.