Ten books. Six languages. One extraordinary journey. As the Crossword Book Awards celebrate their 20th edition, the Translations category carries the voices of Assamese, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu and Bangla into English, and every page hums with the rhythm and spirit of the language it began in. These translations sweep from the deeply intimate to the truly epic, wrestling with identity, belonging, memory and the stubborn resilience of the human heart. Stories cross borders here and lose none of their magic on the way. Meet the titles that made the cut.
1. Moonlight Saga by Arupa Patangia Kalita, Translated from Assamese by Ranjita Biswas by (Speaking Tiger)
Set against Assam’s tea gardens, the novel explores the lives of Adivasi workers and their families, shaped by hardship, displacement and uncertainty. It offers a poignant portrait of identity, belonging and social inequality.
2. On the Banks of the Pampa by Volga, Translated from Telugu by Purnima Tammireddy by (HarperCollins Publishers India)
Volga reimagines the story of Sabari from the Ramayana, placing a woman and forest dweller at the centre of the narrative. The novel explores devotion, belonging and the relationship between people and nature.
3. One Million Footsteps by Jeyamohan, Translated from Tamil by V. Iswarya by (Juggernaut Publications)
Blending mystery and detective fiction with reflections on culture and human behaviour, Jeyamohan brings together stories rooted in Tamil society. The collection offers an intriguing look at the many layers of human nature.
4. Our Madhopur Home by Tripurari Sharan, Translated from Hindi by Arunava Sinha (Simon & Schuster India)
Told partly through the eyes of a family dog, this sweeping saga follows three generations against a changing rural Bihar. It explores family, displacement and the evolving idea of home across time.
5. Sita’s Veil by Anamika, Translated from Hindi by Nishtha Gautam (Vani Prakashan)
Anamika revisits the story of Sita through an intimate first-person perspective, exploring love, exile, identity and choice. The retelling brings a contemporary lens to one of India’s most enduring mythological figures.
6. The Chinese Mansion by Siddique Alam, Translated from Urdu by Jaideep Pandey (Hachette India)
This genre-defying novel follows a lawyer whose life becomes entangled with memories, dreams and an enigmatic mansion. Moving between reality and imagination, it explores grief, desire, justice and human complexity.
7. The Grave Exhumers and other stories by Lutfor Rahaman, Translated from Bangla by Mursed Alam (Yoda Press)
The collection focuses on ordinary lives shaped by poverty, social hierarchies and communal tensions in West Bengal. Its intimate stories capture both the struggles and aspirations of Muslim people seeking dignity and belonging.
8. The Last Bench by Adhir Biswas, Translated from Bangla by V. Ramaswamy (Westland Books)
This childhood memoir revisits the author’s early years in erstwhile East Pakistan, shaped by caste, poverty and displacement. At its heart is a young boy’s search for belonging amid a world that repeatedly makes him feel invisible.
9. The Mapmaker by Maitry Roy Moulik, Translated from Bangla by Chandana Dutta (Niyogi Books)
Set in Enlightenment-era England, the novel follows William Smith and his pursuit of a new way to map the layers of the earth. It combines scientific discovery with social change, industry, and class to tell the story of an unconventional geologist.
10. Tiger Lessons by Sannapureddy Venkatarami Reddy, Translated from Telugu by Narasimha Kumar (Bloomsbury India)
The novel follows Ravi, an aspiring engineer who finds himself herding sheep through the Nallamala hills. Blending survival, human-wildlife conflict, and the lives of shepherd communities, it offers an immersive portrait of life in the forest.
Together, these ten books offer a glimpse into the richness of Indian literature as it moves across languages and cultures. Each translation opens the door to a distinct world, while the translators bring their own craft and sensitivity to making these stories accessible to new readers. From intimate memories to sweeping tales of identity, history, and belonging, this selection celebrates the many ways a story can travel, evolve, and find resonance far beyond where it began.