Manmatha Nath Dutt (Translator Extraordinaire)

Who is Manmatha Nath Dutt?

This question starts haunting Bibek Debroy when he finds that name imprinted on the translations of almost all ancient texts that he too wants to translate from Sanskrit text into English. While multiple translations are not uncommon, what were the chances of two translators invariably choosing the same set of texts? It was almost like Manmatha Nath Dutt had left a trail for Bibek Debroy to follow.

And that sets off Debroy on the road to discovering more about the translator extraordinaire who had largely remained ignored so far. Gathering material and sifting through clues, following various leads and discarding some, Debroy pieces together a jigsaw puzzle to reveal a picture of the prolific translator Manmatha Nath Dutt and of nineteenth-century Calcutta.

Bibek Debroy is a renowned economist, scholar and translator. He has worked in universities, research institutes and for the government He has widely published books, papers and articles on economics. As a translator, he has translated various ancient Indian texts into English and is best known for his magnificent rendition of the Mahabharata in ten volumes as well as the three-volume Valmiki Ramayana.