In the second episode of In Other Words, we spoke to V. Iswarya a brilliant translator and writer.
Introducing In Other Words
A new segment on The WIP Show (Writing in Progress)
Behind every great book that crosses languages, there’s a translator carefully shaping each sentence, carrying meaning, tone, and rhythm across borders. In Other Words is our way of celebrating these literary bridge-builders.
In each episode, we sit down with a translator to explore their journey into the field, their creative process, and the kinds of projects they are excited to work on. We go beyond the credits to spotlight the craft and the craftsperson.
Here you will find a companion feature for every guest. Get to know their background, explore their notable projects, and find links to their portfolio and social profiles. Whether you are a fellow translator, a writer, or a publisher, we hope you will discover someone inspiring and maybe even someone to collaborate with.
Let’s shine a light on the voices behind the voices.
About V. Iswarya
Bio: V. Iswarya is a translator and critic. She teaches English literature at the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bangalore. Apart from her research publications in academic journals and anthologies, she has written essays on Tamil film culture for popular publications as part of her social media campaign “Calling Out Stalking.”
She was shortlisted twice for the Mozhi Prize and her translations of Tamil writer B. Jeyamohan’s essays have appeared in the Frontline magazine. Her first book-length translation was Perumal Murugan’s memoir “Students Etched in Memory” (Penguin Random House India, 2025).
Language she translates from: Tamil into English
Notable Projects: Perumal Murugan’s “Students Etched in Memory” (Penguin Random House India, 2025)
Currently in progress:
B. Jeyamohan’s “One Million Footsteps” (Juggernaut, 2026) and an as-yet-untitled collection of essays by B.Jeyamohan again (Juggernaut, 2026-27).
What is she looking for: To translate literary fiction (and nonfiction) with a distinctive vision that helps Tamil mark its presence on the map on world literature.
Too often, our best writers are not the ones most accessible in translation and visible to the international audiences; this gap extends to Indian readers from other parts of the country too.
I want both honest appraisals of our literary works and well-executed translations to be placed before the world to judge for itself.
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About Students Etched in Memory
About the Book
Students Etched in Memory is a remarkable collection of forty essays by Perumal Murugan, translated with sensitivity and grace by V. Iswarya. While Murugan is widely acclaimed for his novels such as One Part Woman and Pyre, this collection reveals another facet of his work―as a teacher, mentor and keen observer of young minds.
In these deeply personal essays, Murugan offers an intimate look into the lives of college students from small-town Tamil Nadu. Each is a portrait of youth, where the pursuit of education becomes a journey not just of academic growth, but of self-discovery. Through his sharp yet compassionate observations, Murugan captures the delicate balance between the quest for knowledge and the search for identity, belonging and purpose.
With profound empathy for his students, Murugan recognizes that education is far more than textbooks and exams. Against the backdrop of contemporary India, the essays reflect the broader challenges facing students―pressures of family expectations, class, caste and the tension between tradition and modernity. Yet, they carry a sense of hope―of education as a pathway to change, upward mobility and the possibility of personal transformation.
Once again, Perumal Murugan demonstrates his mastery in capturing the lived experiences of individuals navigating the shifting currents of change.
About the Author
Perumal Murugan is the star of contemporary Tamil literature. An award-winning writer, poet and scholar, he has garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success for his vast array of work. His novels have been translated into English to immense acclaim, including Current Show, Pyre, Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize in 2005, and One Part Woman, his best-known work, which was shortlisted for the Crossword Award, longlisted for the inaugural National Book Award for Translation and won the prestigious ILF Samanvay Bhasha Samman.
Pyre was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023 and Fire Bird won the JCB Prize for Literature 2023, while A Lonely Harvest and Trial by Silence-his two ingenious parallel sequels to One Part Woman-were shortlisted for the JCB Prize in 2019. A Lonely Harvest was also longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2019.
Songs of a Coward is a collection of his poetry written in exile. His debut novel was published in English as Rising Heat in 2020, nearly three decades after it was first published in Tamil.
About the Translator
V. Iswarya is a freelance translator and critic based in Bengaluru. She teaches English at the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India.
She has written essays on Tamil film culture for popular publications as part of her social media campaign “Calling Out Stalking.” She was a South Asia Speaks Fellow for Translation in the Class of 2024, working under the mentorship of Arunava Sinha. Her non-fiction translations have previously appeared in the Frontline magazine.
Watch In Other Words featuring V. Iswarya on Book Talk
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We can’t wait to spotlight more of the voices behind the words.
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