How translation is dependent on your upbringing

    On the occasion of canonization of Mother Teresa, Fr Maria Susai, Parish Priest of St Thomas Church, R K Puram wanted some flex banners on Mother Teresa with a short quote.  He then requested that the quote may be translated into Hindi.  The quotes that we chose were:

            a)    If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

            b)  Intense love doesn't measure, it just gives.

            c)   A life not lived for others is not a life.

            d)  This is the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts

2.     The fourth quote was a unique challenge.  In the process I realized that understanding the thought behind the quote is important or the intended message wrongly translated.  The thought behind the quote is not fully appreciated if you have a different mindset, if you are brought up in a different atmosphere.  I do not want to say that it is perhaps because of religion.  

3.     The first translation that was suggested was ‘pyaar thab tak karo jab tak agley ko dard ho’.  I told them that the hurt is not for the receiver but the giver of love.   I suggested ‘pyaar thab tak karo jab tak pyaar karney wale kho kasht ho’.  Now that was also wrongly understood.  They felt that the meaning is to love grudgingly, not wanting to but you are kind of forced to love so much so that it caused some pain or discomfort.  I had not thought on those lines.  Again I explained that giving out of your abundance is not an expression of love, it will be only charity.  It is by giving out of your limited resources only can true love be expressed because there is an element of sacrifice.  Ultimately it was translated as ‘khud kho kasht may dalkar kiya janey vala prem he sachcha hey.’