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We bring out two bi-monthly journals, 'Indian Literature'
(English) and 'Samakaleen Bharatiya
Sahitya' (Hindi) that carry original
writings and translations in English and Hindi
Indian Literature
----Indian Literature,
English bi-monthly published by the Sahitya Akademi launched
first as a half-yearly in 1957, is
approaching the 50 year of its publication next year. The journal makes available for English readers at home and abroad the best of creative and critical writings from 21 Indian languages in English translation alongside original writings in English. In the recent past, the journal has started bringing out special issues centering around themes, languages, genres and movement of contemporary Indian Literature. Most of the genres and trends in major Indian languages have already been covered. Further, in keeping with the policy of Sahitya Akademi of extending recognition to living literatures in languages that have yet to get constitutional recognition, the journal is now including materials from minority and tribal languages like Bhojpuri, Tulu, Kodava, Khagpuri, Kokborok, Khasi etc. Apart from publishing the most representative writings from such a wide variety of languages, it also gives sufficient space to new talents from all parts of India.
Though the main emphasis
of the journal is on
contemporary Indian literature, it also offers the reader selections from classical and folk literatures of the medieval and ancient periods. The sections of the journal called ‘From the Archive’ and ‘Second Tradition’ have already published in the recent past, the most remarkable pieces by poets of by gone ages. It is now trying to widen its purview by including into its purview by including into its pages the riches of various surviving oral literatures of India, both folk and tribal. Many forgotten and neglected maters have already figured in these sections.
Occasionally, the journal also makes an effort to reach out to other contemporary literatures of the world through its section called ‘Kinspeople Far and Near’. Selections have already been published from contemporary Chinese poetry, Greek short fiction and Swedish literature. Attempts are on to incorporate eminently readable material from various other literatures of the world.
Other
important sections of the journal include interviews with eminent creative writers and scholars from various Indian languages. ‘In Perspective’ seeks to give a glimpse into the many-faceted achievements of individual writers.
Translations between
Indian languages, on the one hand, and those between Indian languages
and English, on the other, have assumed very great importance
in India today. In order to reflect this extremely significant
area of literary practice, the journal has also
been running from time to time a section called ‘ Text into Text’ in which eminent translators give first hand insights into the problems and possibilities of translation. Put together, the writings featuring in this section add another significant dimension to the practice of literature in India today in the context of our multi-lingual society.
Reviews
of important books in English and in the English translations from Indian languages is another regular feature o the journal that keeps the reader informed from time to time about important literary publications in India.
The
journal is the only one of its kind in India which brings together selections from all the major and minor contemporary literatures of India. Apart from giving an authentic picture of the ground realities of present day Indian literatures, it also provides the interested reader with the riches of the variegated past of Indian literature. In short, Indian Literature is the one and only journal that mirrors and evaluates the rich multi-farious expressions of many past and present Indian literatures in their unities and diversities. The present editor, Sri Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee is an accomplish critic in English and a reputed translator from Bangla into English and vice versa.
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Samakaleen Bharatiya Sahitya
(Contemporary Indian Literature)
----This is the only journal in Hindi which truly represents Indian literature in all its languages. Besides original writing in Hindi, it tries to give authentic translation of a high literary quality of various genres, such as poetry, short story, novel, biography and autobiography, essay, travelogue and criticism culled from all the languages recognised by the Akademi. In fact, it also offers glimpses of the written and oral traditions available in several other languages still unrecognised by the Indian constitution. It has a very wide readership spread all over India in all the language areas, and also abroad.
The journal started twenty five year back in July 1980 as a quarterly. The first editor of the journal was Sri Gulsher Khan Shaani, a renowned fiction writer. After his retirement two numbers were guest-edited by another well-known writer, Sri Vijaydan Detha. Thereafter Sri Girdhar Rathi, a poet, translator and critic, took over as Editor in the beginning of 1991.
After the retirement of Sri Rathi in 2004, Sri Arun Prakash, well known short story writer, critic and translator joined as the Editor of the magazine.
There is an editorial board consisting of the President, Vice-President and the Secretary of the
Akademi all eminent writers, critics and poets.
Each issue consists of approximately 200 pages and over the year, covers all the major languages. Special numbers devoted to each major Indian language have also been brought out, to wide critical eclaim. The journal usually carries a special section devoted to a genre of a particular language, to literary issue besides a sampling from several other languages and geners in each issue.
 The
bi-monthly has published practically every known writer in the land. It has promoted numerous upcoming authors, often publishing them for the first time. a large secion is devoted to new books published in Hindi including those in Hindi translation, with in-depth reviews and comparative notes on them. Readers’ critical responses are given the pride of place. Invariably, there are articles analyzing the works of particular writer or significant trends and issues in contemporary literature.
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