Rohini Chowdhury


Rohini Chowdhury is a children's writer and literary translator. Her published writing for children is in both Hindi and English, and includes translations, novels, short stories, and non-fiction. Her children's books and short stories have been shortlisted for awards, including the Hindu Young World Goodbooks Non-fiction Award and the New Writer Prose and Poetry Competition, 2001, UK.
As a literary translator, she works mainly in Hindi and English. She has translated the 17th century Braj Bhasha text, Ardhakathanak, considered the first autobiography in an Indian language, into modern Hindi and English. Her most recent translation is that of Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, which was published by Penguin India in December, 2019. A short extract from the first volume had earlier been published with the permission of the publisher in the journal Modern Poetry in Translation, Songs of the Shattered Throat, 2017, Number 1.

Biography

Chowdhury was born in Calcutta, India, in 1963. After completing her schooling from Loreto House, she joined Jadavpur University in Calcutta, graduating with a BA degree in Economics. She then decided to pursue a business degree at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, graduating from there in 1986 with a PGDM. After several years in business consulting and strategy, she became a full-time writer. In 1997, she moved to London, where she lives with her two daughters.

Published works

Chowdhury has published the following literary translations:Ardhakathanak, by Banarasidas, Penguin Books, 2007Ardhakathanak , by Banarasidas; Preface by Rupert Snell; Penguin Books, 2009Tyagpatra , by Jainendra; Afterword by Mridula Garg; Penguin Books, 2012My Favourite Stories: Bosky’s Panchatantra, by Gulzar; Red Turtle Books, Rupa Publications, India, June 2013Chandrakanta, by Devaki Nandan Khatri; Rupa Publications, India, 2015Panchatantra, by Vishnusharma; Puffin India, 2017
  • The Ramcharitmanas, by Tulsidas; Penguin Books, 2019
  • Tales from the Kathasaritsagara, by Somadeva; Puffin India, 2019
She has also published the following children's books:Meera's First Day in School; English Edition Publishers, 2002Meera and Meena go to the Zoo; English Edition Publishers, 2002Meera Gets Lost; English Edition Publishers, 2002Meera Goes Shopping; English Edition Publishers, 2002Meera and the Surprise Pet; English Edition Publishers, 2002Rohini's Book of Meera Stories; English Edition Publishers, 2002 Hari's Train Journey; English Edition Publishers, 2002Hari is Bored; Amazon Kindle, 2004Meera at the Puppet Show; Amazon Kindle, 2004A Very Special Birthday; Amazon Kindle, 2004Meera Goes Swimming; Amazon Kindle, 2004Meera Goes to the Dentist; Amazon Kindle, 2004Meena Goes Away; Amazon Kindle, 2004The Crow and the Eagle, illustrated by Taposhi Ghoshal; Scholastic India, 2006The Frog and the Ox, illustrated by Sonal Panse; Scholastic India, 2006The Foolish Crow, illustrated by Neeta Gangopadhyaya; Scholastic India, 2006The Donkey and the Load of Salt, illustrated by Shilpa Ranade; Scholastic India, 2006Aesop's Fables; Scholastic India, 2007
  • कौआ चला चील बनने, चित्रांकन तापोशी घोशाल; Scholastic India, 2006
  • मेंढक और बैल की कहानी, चित्रांकन सोनल पानसे, Scholastic India, 2006
  • मूर्ख कौआ, चित्रांकन नीता गंगोपाध्याय, Scholastic India, 2006
  • फेरीवाले का गधा, चित्रांकन शिल्पा रानडे, Scholastic India, 2006White Tiger; Puffin, Penguin Books India, 2006Gautam Buddha: The Lord of Wisdom; Puffin Lives, Penguin Books India, 2011Mathemagic Book 1: Numbers, Numbers Everywhere; Puffin, Penguin Books India, 2012Mathemagic Book 2: The Most Powerful Number of Them All; Puffin, Penguin Books India, 2013The Garden of the Djinn; Rupa Publications, India, 2013Verghese Kurien: The Milkman of India; Scholastic Great Lives, Scholastic India, 2014Sachin Tendulkar: The Little Master; Scholastic Great Lives, Scholastic India, 2015
She has co-edited the following anthology of short stories with South African writer, Zukiswa Wanner:Behind The Shadows: Contemporary Stories from Africa and Asia, 2012
Film scriptGranny’s Monster Machines, April 2013, a bilingual Bengali-English film, created in association with Pop Up Festival of Stories and Chocolate Films. The film is available on .