At the outset , let me confess my bias that "translations" of classic literature from one language to other NEVER works right. Infact , it invariably misinterprets the true meaning , nuances and interpretation that is envisioned in its native language (barring some rare exceptions )
There are numerous examples of this and I always tend to ignore such "translations". There is a big business of this "Translation of books into other languages" , more so in Marathi, where good Marathi writers have ventured and dared to translate classic literature from other languages into Marathi ( more so for commercial reason than the real need )
Similar attempts of translating classic Marathi literature into other languages (particularly English) have seemed childish play of words that have lost all the nuances and meaning during translation. (The classic example being the translations of the work of popular Marathi writers like Pu La Deshpande )
I came across Marathi translations ( better be called Transliterations ) of selected works of Kabir, Mira and other "Hindi belt" saints by a famous Marathi poet (Late) Mangesh Padgaokar.
Though this poet is popular in Marathi and has created some of the best poetry in modern Marathi literature , he totally fails in capturing nuances of works in Hindi by great saints, into Marathi. Infact , to be candid , such work looks like the hilarious "tranliteration" that one comes across during "literal" word to word translations by "Google" !!
I am not trying to criticize the late poet , but the following example clearly shows how the meaning is lost in "Tranliterations", when a poet simply uses the same word ( Utar jaiyyo here ) to translate from Hindi to Marathi, without caring for the hidden philosophy or the understanding that the same word has drastically different connotation and meaning in two languages.
In Marathi translation of "मन तू पार उतर कहाँ जाई हो" , the poet Late Mangesh Padgaokar has used the literal translation of "उतर जाई हो" to "उतरुनी जाशी" ... this totally disrupts the true meaning by Kabir (and distorts the idea behind original phrase) !
What Kabir implies in saying "Paar utar jaana" ( पार उतर जाना), is crossing the worldly pleasures towards enlightenment, more of positive connotation . The word phrase and verb "Utaruni jaashi" ( उतरुनी जाशी ) has a totally different connotation in Marathi language. It tends to mean "spoiled" , e.g आंबा उतरून गेला ( the mango got over riped and spoiled ) .. एखादा माणूस मनातून उतरून गेला ( losing credibility of some one in one's mind )
This loss in translation was more evident when the said Kabir lines "मन तू पार उतर कहाँ जाई हो" were sung by a singer along with the Marathi translation. The connotation and meaning got lost instantly ! Here is the link
I realize such losses in translations in more pronounced fashion and with bigger amplification because of my education in multi-lingual environment of Kendriya Vidyalay , where I was fortunate to learn top A grade Hindi literature along with English during schooling. With Marathi as mother tongue spoken at home, brought up in culturally rich Pune, I was fortunate to grasp the best of Marathi literature.
The intention of this post is not to single out and criticize a particular poet , but to bring forth how "literal translations" spoil the "classicalness" of a brilliant creation !