While translating

The first workshop in the series, “Translating the Voice: Explorations in Listening and Writing” came to an end on October 30. The four-day workshop, facilitated by Dr. Indira Chowdhury, focused on oral history and its production.

On the first day, participants explored the types of orality and practised interviewing each other using a photograph as a prop. The second day was focused on learning the tricks of transcribing and editing. On the third day, participants learnt how to curate oral history and how to go about producing a narrative based on oral history in form of fiction, non-fiction and performances. Participants also had an opportunity to sit with the Dr Chowdhury one-on-one to discuss their assignments. The final day was a full-day session. During the first half, the group reviewed their interviews and shared their writings while during the second half, they watched two short films and one long movie and held a discussion on them.

During the four-day workshop, participants got chance to explore their own oral history projects while learning about the cultural and philosophical underpinnings that drive oral history and separate it from other forms of writing history.