Sikkim Festival Explores Translation And Oral Traditions

The second day of the Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival placed language and storytelling at its core, opening with *In Other Words: Across Languages*, a session featuring poet Ranjit Hoskote and author Sandhya Subba. The discussion delved into the politics of translation, with Hoskote noting that *translation for me is always a political act*, while cautioning against rigid ideas of cultural identity.

Subba spoke about documenting the *Yakthung Mundum* oral tradition, stressing its ecological and cultural wisdom for younger generations, and highlighted how some concepts resist direct translation into English, requiring contextual footnotes to preserve meaning. The panel also touched on the evolution of *Urdu* and how notions of linguistic purity often erase the layered histories of South Asian languages.

Beyond language, the day covered children's literature, crime and horror writing, publishing trends, folklore, and biodiversity conservation, alongside workshops on illustration, theatre, and prose. Together, the sessions underscored storytelling's role in preserving heritage and imagining a culturally conscious future.