Going desi-rix

Is chaalaak, chatur aur naate kad ke yoddha ko bejhijhak sabhi khatarnaak kaarya saunpe jaate hain. Astérix apni atimaanveey shakti ojha Aushadhix ke jaadui kaadhe se prapt karta hai." It may take a while for fans of one of the bestselling comics in the world to warm up to this description of its central characters. But once that happens, the world of the Gauls - residents of a historical region of Western Europe in which Astérix is set - reveals itself in a new light, complete with re-christened characters, Sanskritised war cries and even SD Burman songs. That the French series can now be read in Hindi also promises to open up the Astérix universe to new readers.

Published by Om Books International, the first four albums of the comics series in Hindi - there are four more in the pipeline - were released jointly by the Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler, and publisher Ajay Mago, in Delhi earlier this week. While readers are only beginning to lay their hands on the titles, for translators Dipa Chaudhuri and Puneet Gupta, they are the culmination of five years of intense work. For, their translation stems from the original French series, not the widely circulated English comics. But the idea took birth even earlier.

Obelix carrying his menhir

"It was in 2009 that Mr Mago acquired the rights for Tintin, which was translated in Hindi by Puneet. So, aiming for the translation rights for Astérix, published in 111 languages and dialects with 375 million copies sold so far, seemed liked the next logical thing to do," shares Chaudhuri, chief editor with the publishing house, who is also an MPhil in French Literature. In the same year, the first round of conversations with Hachette Livre, Astérix's Paris-based principal publishers, began, but it took the latter five years to be convinced of their Indian counterpart's credentials. The translators sent 10 pages of their sample work, the approval came in a couple of months later, and work finally began in 2014.

A page from Asterix Talwarbaz. The panel at the bottom displays hand-drawn onomatopoeic words

With their respective expertise in French and Hindi, Chaudhuri and Gupta, an advertising professional who writes science fiction novels, short stories and humorous poetry, first exchanged the multiple layers of meanings of the text in the two languages and then perfected the most appropriate meaning. "Having read Astérix earlier, I was familiar with the English narrative, but I was amazed at how different it was in French," shares Gupta. The duo illustrates it with the example of the name they developed for Obelix's dog, known as Dogmatix in the English version. "Its French name, however, is Idéfix, a pun on fixed ideas in the language. Which is why, our version calls the dog Adiyalix," explains Chaudhuri, referring to their play on the Hindi word for obstinate.

Known for its wordplay and subtle, intelligent humour through dialogues replete with multiple meanings, the series packs in unique challenges for translators. "There are several lullabies, nursery rhymes and patriotic songs in the comics, rooted in specific French contexts. Besides, the principal publishers don't allow additional footnotes. So, the instance where the bard Cacophonix [Besurtaalix in Hindi] is kidnapped and is in a boat, we decided that he would sing SD Burman's Mere maanjhi hai us paar, main majhdaar, which also implies that he is in a soup," Gupta tells us.

Another facet the translators had to consider were the globe-trotting adventures of Astérix, where he encounters Roman kings, Gothic chiefs and Germanic barbarians who all have different accents. So, the readers can expect guttural sounds and the rolling of the Rs in the series. The duo felt that the Latin war cries were best translated into Sanskritised phrases.

Now that their labour of love is ready, Gupta looks back on the journey as a memorable learning experience. "I have been reading the series since I was a kid. But engaging with it as an adult in its original version, I see it in a new light with its satire on politicians and the system." Chaudhari agrees. "That's the case with all great classics. They offer new meanings every time you go back to them."

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