Jul 20 2025 to Jul 20 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Rita Kothari argues that English rarely exists in isolation; it is accompanied by other languages that often remain hidden in our personal and domestic spheres. Emphasising language as lived experience and advocating for linguistic democracy, her talk explores how people express the desire for self-redefinition through shifts in language, from subtle changes in pronunciation to fully adopting or rejecting a language. Kothari highlights how marginalised communities use language to resist dominant norms, showing that linguistic expression is deeply tied to identity and power. She reminds us that while all experiences are shaped by language, not all meaning depends solely on it.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

This lecture is a part of Azim Premji University’s Public Lecture Series.

Presented by:

Speaker

Rita Kothari
Professor of English, Ashoka University
Rita Kothari is a distinguished multilingual scholar, translator, and Professor of English at Ashoka University, where she also co-directs the Ashoka Centre for Translation. Her interdisciplinary work is rooted in the cultural and linguistic landscapes of Gujarat, Kutch, and Sindh, with a strong ethnographic focus on marginal communities shaped by religion, caste, occupation, and gender. Through these lenses, she explores themes of identity, translation, and cultural negotiation.

Kothari has translated extensively between Gujarati, Sindhi, and English, and is recognised as the Vani Distinguished Translator. Her pathbreaking book Translating India: The Cultural Politics of English marked a significant contribution to translation studies, while her pioneering work on the partition narratives of the Sindhi community has expanded the field of Sindh scholarship.

Her other notable works include The Burden of Refuge, Uneasy Translations, and the edited volume A Multilingual Nation. She is the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including Fulbright, Rockefeller, and Hughes. Currently, she is working on Kahe Latif, a Hindi translation of Shah Abdul Latif’s Sindhi Sufi poetry, to be published by Vani Prakashan. Kothari’s scholarship continues to illuminate the rich intersections of language, identity, and belonging.