Translation as Trial of the Foreign: A Study of Hindi Translation of Caligula

Philosophical texts are rich in both ideological and literary dimensions. Since the primary aim of such texts is to convey philosophical concepts to readers, the preservation of the original ideas is essential in the process of translation. However, translations of philosophical texts often exhibit certain gaps or shifts, which may arise from the translators’ individual preferences as well as their cultural, political, and ideological backgrounds. The objective of this article is to analyze the Hindi translation of one of the renowned works of Albert Camus done by Sharad Chandra, entitled Caligula, through the perspective of Antoine Berman. This paper aims to present an in-depth case study that highlights the effects of the deformations observed in the translation of this philosophical text. In this regard, the study aims, first, to provide a brief overview of the philosophical ideas of Albert Camus, followed by an outline of Antoine Berman’s translation perspective, which will serve as the theoretical framework for the analysis of the text. The study will then examine selected examples from the text in order to analyze them through Berman’s perspective.