Travel & Culture

‘Tomb of Sand’ becomes first Hindi novel to win International Booker Prize

Published

2 years ago

27/05/2022

MNN

Hailed as “extraordinarily funny” despite confronting traumatic events, the book is centred around an 80-year-old widow’s experiences during the subcontinent’s 1947 partition into India and Pakistan.

Indian writer Geetanjali Shree and American translator Daisy Rockwell have won the International Booker Prize for “Tomb of Sand”, a vibrant novel with a boundary-crossing 80-year-old heroine.

Translator Frank Wynne, who chaired the judging panel, said on Thursday that the judges “overwhelmingly” chose “Tomb of Sand” after “a very passionate debate”.

Originally written in Hindi, it’s the first book in any Indian language to win the high-profile award, which recognises fiction from around the world that has been translated into English.

The $63,000 prize money will be split between New Delhi-based Shree and Rockwell, who lives in Vermont.

The book tells the story of an octogenarian widow, who dares to cast off convention and confront the ghosts of her experiences during the subcontinent’s tumultuous 1947 partition into India and Pakistan.

Wynne said that despite confronting traumatic events, “it is an extraordinarily exuberant and incredibly playful book”.

“It manages to take issues of great seriousness — bereavement, loss, death — and conjure up an extraordinary choir, almost a cacophony, of voices,” he said.

“It is extraordinarily fun and it is extraordinarily funny.”

Tonight, the joy and good wishes of many people I know is reminding me why so many of us work to make publishing & translation more accessible, equitable, just, & humane.

So that the writing can spread through the world, touching hearts & lifting spirits, with integrity. https://t.co/pDLrxqZtEm

— Deborah दे 보라 (@deborah__smith) May 26, 2022

International Booker Prize

Shree’s book beat five other finalists, including Polish Nobel literature laureate Olga Tokarczuk, Claudia Pineiro of Argentina and South Korean author Bora Chung, to be awarded the prize at a ceremony in London.

The International Booker Prize is awarded every year to a translated work of fiction published in the UK or Ireland. It is run alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction.

The prize was set up to boost the profile of fiction in other languages — which accounts for only a small share of books published in Britain — and to salute the often unacknowledged work of literary translators.

“Tomb of Sand” is published in Britain by a small publisher, Tilted Axis Press.

It was founded by translator Deborah Smith — who won the 2016 International Booker for translating Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” — to publish books from Asia.

The novel has not yet been published in the United States, but Wynne said he expected that to change with “a flurry of offers” after its Booker victory.

In Britain, “I would be gobsmacked if it didn’t increase its sales by more than 1,000 percent in the next week”, Wynne said. “Possibly more.”

Source: TRTWorld

Travel & Culture

Maldives welcomes over 700,000 tourists

Published

2 days ago

24/04/2024

Ministry of Tourism has revealed more than 700,000 tourists have visited the country so far.

The latest statistics published by the tourism ministry show that a total of 728,950 tourist arrivals visited the Maldives between January 1 and April 21, which is an increase of 13.1% compared to the 644,721 arrivals during the same period last year. The statistics show that a total of 192,385 tourists visited the Maldives in January, 217,392 arrivals in February, 194,227 in March and 124,946 arrivals till April 21.

The latest updated report reveals that Chinese tourists constitute the largest portion of total tourist arrivals so far this year, with 77،709 visitors. Following China, the United Kingdom, and Russia along with Italy and Germany, stand out as the next highest sources of tourists, with 72,635 and 72,336, 66,170 and 57,321 arrivals, respectively. Currently, Maldives receives an average of 6451 tourists every day, which spend an average of 7.9 days in the country.

Aiming to expand the tourism industry, the bed capacity has been increased with a total of 62,232 beds. This includes resorts, guest houses, hotels and safaris as well.

Source(s): PsmNews

Travel & Culture

Maldivian’s Male’-Colombo route launches on Thursday

Published

4 days ago

22/04/2024

Maldivian, the flag carrier of the Maldives, is set to launch flights to the Bandaranaike International Airport in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, on Thursday.

The starting fare is USD 165, including a baggage allowance of 30 kilos and an attractive meal package.

According to Maldivian, it will operate two weekly flights on the Male’-Colombo route; on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The flight schedule is perfect for weekend getaways, allowing passengers to depart after work on Thursday and return on Saturday, maximizing their time in Sri Lanka without complicated itineraries.

The airline is offering exclusive benefits to customers from the Nawaloka Hospital. This includes:

Medical consultation and medical history evaluation (with a medical doctor)
Body mass index test and vision test
Dental check-ups
Consultation with clinical dietician
15% discount for laboratory tests (OPD basis)
5% discount for x-ray
Special discounted health screening packages

Unlike most budget carriers that focus on keeping fares low, Maldivian Airline goes the extra mile to enhance the travel experience, providing a complimentary meal on board, ensuring that passengers arrive in Colombo feeling satisfied and ready to explore.

The airline also offers an attractive offer of flying with a 30-kg baggage allowance for even the lowest fare of USD 165, eliminating the need to pay extra fees or travel light, ensuring travelers can pack everything they need for their trip within the limit, and avoid surprise baggage charges commonly imposed by budget airlines.

Th airline also offers elderly care and a seamless travel experience with multilingual staff, including Dhivehi and English speakers, ensuring clear communication and assistance for passengers of all levels of experience, making the journey comfortable and stress-free.

According to Maldivian, the new route to Colombo represents an exciting milestone for both Maldivian and the travelers seeking seamless connectivity between the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The airline said the strategic expansion further solidifies Maldivian’s commitment to connecting the Maldives with key international destinations, enhancing travel options for passengers, and promoting cultural and economic exchanges.

Source(s): sun.mv

Travel & Culture

Maldives Showcased at Asia’s Biggest Dive Expo

Published

1 week ago

16/04/2024

Maldives Marketing and Public Cooperation (MMPRC) has promoted Maldives at Asia’s largest dive expo, Adex Ocean Mission 2024.

Notably, Adex Ocean Mission is a global platform where investors, scientists, marine conservationists and as well as underwater photographs can join together. Simultaneously, dive operators along with dive equipment manufacturers took part in the expo. It has been 26 years since the expo first commenced.

Remarkably, MMPRC has actively engaged in promoting Maldives as a leading tourism destination, following exposure globally. The very expo was carried out from April 12 to 14 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Providing insight on the expo, MMPRC affirmed that persistent efforts have been made to provide updated information regarding the Maldives to those interested in diving related activities. Moreover, initiatives have been taken to create awareness about the Maldives as a central hub prioritising diving and as well as marine conservation.

One of the primary incentives of partaking in such expos is to attract tourists from the South Asian region. While the tourist arrival from the South-East Asian region amounted 58,947, the number of tourists who visited from January and February totals to 7,481.

Additionally, efforts are currently underway to initiate joint marketing campaigns and outdoor promotional campaigns following active engagements with several stakeholders targeted towards tourists arrivals from the South-East Asian market.

Source(s): PsmNews