From The Arabian Nights to Padma Shri: Meet Mizoram's master translator, R Lalrawna

Aizawl, Jan 26: It was with Aladdin and the Magic Lamp that Mizoram's Renthlei Lalrawna first tried his hand at translation. Then came Alibaba and the Forty Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor, through which he further honed his craft.

Today, on January 26, as one of the Padma Awardees for 2025, Lalrawna reflects on how translating these three The Arabian Nights classics inspired him to take the art of translation seriously and give global literature a regional avatar.

“I began translating when I was in the eighth standard. I started with these three tales from the Arabian Nights for my younger brother. By the time I completed my Bachelor’s degree, my passion for translation had deepened so much that I started working on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Julius Caesar,” says the Padma Shri awardee in Education and Literature.

Over his illustrious career, Lalrawna has translated 15 books. Among them, his translation of the book David, dedicated to the memory of his late father during the pandemic, earned him the Mizo Writers’ Association’s "Best Translation of the Year" award.

His compilations of Mizo hymns and mourning songs are widely appreciated across the state. During his tenure as a Joint Director in the Education Department's Adult Education wing, Mizoram rose from fourth to second place in the national literacy rankings.

Born on December 22, 1944, in Dawn village, Lunglei district, Mizoram, to Aikima and Chalthiangi, Lalrawna completed his graduation from Aizawl College (now Pachhunga University College).

In 1973, he was appointed as Assistant Publication Officer in the Education Department and rose to the rank of Joint Director before retiring in 2003.

Expressing his gratitude to the people, Lalrawna appealed to the youth of Mizoram to take up translation of literature and other works, which he believes is a significant path to enriching Mizo literature.