India, Feb. 18 -- How did you come across Konda Polam and what led you to translate it to English?

I have always loved reading Venkatarami Reddy's novels and stories for the vivid descriptions and essential humanity conveyed in them. They are stories from rural Rayalaseema. I did the first review of Kondapolam in December 2019. I concluded it with a wish to see such novels translated into English so that this uniquely Indic world view reaches more readers. While thanking me for the review, the author casually remarked that I could be the one to translate it and that spurred me.

There are two aspects of Konda Polam that struck me deeply. Firstly, man vs nature conflicts in classics such as Old man and the Sea and Moby Dick show man as th...