Annexure 14: About- Katha

Katha: (A3 sarvodaya Enclave, Sri Aurobindo Marg. New Delhi 110017), a non profit organisation, has been trying to build a bridge between languages and cultures for the last 10 years by publishing the best regional writings in translation. Among the Projects are: Project Kanchi and Katha Vilasam. The objective of the project Kanchi is to help forge linkages through academic interface programmes. It is working to develop syllabi and teaching material for courses in such topics as pedagogy, teaching translation, and creative writing. It has an academic publication programme - The Approach to Literature in Translation series as well as a resource centre in various Universities, such as Guru Nanak Dev University, Bangalore University, Stella Maris College (Chennai), North -East Hill University, SNDT Women's University, and (2) Katha Vilasam (Story Research and resource Centre): It seeks to foster quality fiction in the regional languages and take it to a wider readership through translations.

The Awards instituted in 1990, are given annually to the best fiction published in various languages that year, and for translation of this stories. Through Projects like the All-India and SAARCTranslation Contests, It attemepts to build a bank of sensitive translators. its wide range of publication programmes include, Annual Katha Prize Stories Series, Katha Academic Series, Katha Regional Fiction series and tranlation of stories of eminent authors of different languages.

Katha has constantly been on the lookout for persons who can spare the time to find stories and to translate them. So far Katha has been able to access mainly the literature of the major Indian languages. It now plans to cover such languages as Bhojpuri, Dogri, Kashmiri, Maithili, Nepali, Rajasthani and Sindhi fiction.