Inside ‘Translations By Siyahi’, India’s First Writers’ Retreat For Literary Translation

Siyahi’s week-long Jaipur retreat brings together translators, publishers, and mentors, including International Booker Prize winner Deepa Bhasthi, to explore the craft, ethics, and future of literary translation in India.

Published on:

15 Jun 2026, 8:30 am

3 min read

Summary

This August, Siyahi launches Translations by Siyahi, India’s first writers’ retreat dedicated entirely to literary translation. Held at Jaipur’s historic Samode Haveli and led by International Booker Prize-winning translator Deepa Bhasthi, the programme offers translators the time, space, and mentorship needed to shape the future of Indian literature across languages.

In her landmark 1929 essay ‘A Room of One’s Own’, Virginia Woolf argued that creative work requires more than talent. It requires material conditions: time, space, financial security, and freedom from interruptions. Nearly a century later, Woolf’s insight into the creative pursuit remains relevant not only for writers but also for translators — the often invisible figures who take literature beyond languages, cultures, and borders.

This August, Delhi-based Siyahi literary agency is hosting ‘Translations by Siyahi’, a week-long writers’ retreat focused on literary translation as part of Chapter Five: Siyahi’s Writers’ Retreat. Held from August 1 to 8 at the historic Samode Haveli in Jaipur, the programme is the first initiative of its kind in India built solely around the craft, ethics, and future of literary translation.

Indian literature is experiencing an unprecedented moment of global acclaim, and translation has been central to that accomplishment. In 2025, translator Deepa Bhasthi became the first Indian translator to win the International Booker Prize for her English translation of Banu Mushtaq’s ‘Heart Lamp’ from Kannada. In recent years, translated works have repeatedly appeared on major literary prize lists, while international readers have shown growing interest in stories emerging from India’s many linguistic traditions.

Banu Mushtaq & Deepa Bhasthi's Booker Prize Win Makes History For Kannada Literature

Yet literary translation remains one of publishing’s most demanding and least understood practices. A translator negotiates not only the text but also the cultural context of the work and the original author’s voice. Every sentence involves a compromise between fidelity and re-invention. How much should a translator explain? What should remain untranslated? Can English accommodate the nuances of Indian languages without standardising them into something more globally readable?

These are among the questions that participants will explore through mentors Deepa Bhasth, Poonam Saxena, and Ananath Padmanabhan. Together, they bring expertise spanning literary craft, translation practice, and publishing, offering participants both critical feedback and insights into how translated works reach readers.

Set within the 225-year-old Samode Haveli in Jaipur, the programme offers selected translators the conditions necessary to create significant individual work. Like Woolf’s imagined room, the retreat provides a temporary sanctuary where participants can focus entirely on language. But it also expands Woolf’s idea by creating a shared room — a space where translators can learn collectively, exchange ideas, and strengthen a field that has long operated behind the scenes.

As Indian literature travels further than ever before, the people carrying those stories across languages are becoming increasingly important. ‘Translations by Siyahi’ acknowledges that reality by making room for translators and what they make possible.