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While a movie version of The Da Vinci Code readies for global release in May, a Malayalam translation of Dan Brown’s bestseller will hit the bookshelves in two weeks. This very first translation of The Da Vinci Code—a thriller that depicts Jesus Christ as Mary Magdalene’s husband among other details deemed blasphemous—in any Indian language is the handiwork of publisher D.C. Books of Kottayam district in Kerala. Translators Jomy Thomas and R. Gopikrishnan are Delhi-based journalists with the Malayala Manorama and Mangalam respectively. "Malayalam literature is very vibrant, but genres like thriller and science fiction are thin. We don’t have any church history other than official versions though the Kerala Church is the oldest in India and the maximum number of church denominations are in Kerala," Gopikrishnan, author of Princess Diana’s biography in Malayalam, told IANS. Thomas, who has also edited essays on Booker winner Arundhati Roy and the Gospel of St. Thomas, said: "Christianity and the Catholic Church in particular are subjects of special interest." However, such works are not without their share of religious tension. The Roman Catholic Church in Kerala has always opposed literary works that explore the human face of Christ—works of Ponkunnam Varkey, P.M. Antony and Paul Zacharia are examples of this. Antony’s Christuvinde Aaram Thiru Murivu and Kannadi Kanmolavum by Zacharia, in which Christ seeks a haircut, did evoke some strong reactions in the southern past. Says Thomas: "This translation has nothing to do with my views on the church. Christ and Christianity are subjects dear to me. We have treated this book as any other work of fiction. "The missing feminist point of view within the church is well explained in the book and adds to the contemporariness of the work." — IANS |
