Maria, Just Maria is the story of a woman trying to find her place in a world that is defined in binaries – normal/abnormal, man/woman, natural world/human world, love/hate, life/death – and of family systems based on tradition and legacy, of moral imperatives to be good, of questions to be answered and exams to be passed. In this story, gods plan revolutions with humans, cats printed on knickers have opinions, old women rewrite the Bible. It is probably the first book I have translated in which I found so much of my own story reflected. It made translating this book somehow more personal. It is also a book which was, by the author’s own admission, first conceived of in English. A challenging prospect for this translator, as it made me agonize over my own English. But from the first message I sent asking for permission to translate this book, Sandhya Mary was enthusiastic, supportive and engaged. Her sense of humour, generosity of spirit and patience made the whole process fun and interesting. Thank you, Sandhya.
I am thankful for friends like S. Hareesh, Shaji Jacob and E.V. Fathima, without whose advocacy I may not have had the opportunity to read and translate Maria Verum Maria. Thanks also to Adley Siddiqi and Shefali Jha, faithful first readers, whose comments and suggestions have made this translation better.
And my deepest gratitude to Rahul Soni, editor extraordinaire at HarperCollins India, who championed this book right from the start. His careful and insightful editing proves once again that literary translation is a collaborative endeavour.
Jayasree Kalathil
Hampshire, UK