Daisy Rockwell
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Daisy Rockwell was a well-known name in the world of South Asian translators even before her International Booker award for Tomb of Sand. Before Tomb of Sand, she had already translated Hindi authors Upendranath Ashq, Bhisham Sahani, Krishna Sobti, Usha Priyamvada from Hindi and Khadija Mastur’s novels from Urdu to English. A Phd in South Asian studies from Chicago University, Daisy has written her thesis on Upendranath Ashq. Her translation of Krishna Sobti’s “A Gujarat here, A Gujrat there” (Gujrat Pakistan se Gujrat Hindustan) has won Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione prize. She is now translating Geetanjali Shree’s acclaimed novel Hamara Shehr Us Baras from Hindi and Nisar Ajiz Bhatt’s classic Nagri Nagri Phira Musafir from Urdu. Jey Sushil talked to her about childhood, passion for language, interest in translation and her different works in English. The interview was recorded on zoom in November 2022.