Translation involves the faithful rendering of the source language text into the target language text. It is attending closely to the language and the meaning of the source language. A faithful translator creates a proper condition of significant exchange. Thus, translation is very much a creative activity. The present paper focuses on the fact that the success of translation lies in the translator's invisibility. A piece of translation becomes authentic only when the reader is able to recognize the author and the meaning of the original text in the translation. However, not all translations are unsuccessful. Premila's translation of the Malayalam novella Manhu by the legend Vasudevan Nair, is indeed a success in the field of translation. The triumph of Mist lies in the `invisibility' of the translator. The authenticity of Manhu is re-created in Mist through literal translation, moving from the source to create deeper meaning, semantic re-creation of the source text, re-creation of music, transliterations and finally by presenting the different cultures presented in the original before the foreign readers. Set in the chilling atmosphere of Nainital, Manhu revolves around the 31-year old Vimala Devi longing for her lover to return who deserted her nine years ago. The stillness that one finds in the cold atmosphere outside becomes symbolic of the stillness in Vimala's life. Like in other novels of Vasudevan Nair here too greater importance is given to the character's thought and emotions. The novella examines the secret desires and longings of Vimala.

The study of translation involves the rendering of a source language into the target language in such a way as to ensure that the meaning of the source language and the target language will be approximately similar and the structures of the source language will be preserved as closely as possible without distorting the target language structures. "Translation is attending closely to the language of the originalsdetail by detail" (Ramanujan, 1973, p. 13). However, translation is very much a creative activity as literature itself. "Translation is charged with [] the birth pangs of its own" (Satchidanandan, 1997, p. 8). What a faithful translator tends to create is a proper condition of significant exchange.

The present paper focuses on the fact that the success of translation lies in the "invisibility of the translator" (Venuti, 1986, p. 179) and the visibility of the author or the meaning of the original text. The translation of a work of art is usually seen as a secondary one when compared with the original. This is because the reader thinks that the translation can never communicate the meaning of the original. In fact, this is true of many translations that we come across. However, not all translations are unsuccessful. Premila's translation of the Malayalam novella Manhu, authored by the legend in Malayalam literature Vasudevan Nair, is indeed a success in the field of translation. The success of Mist lies in the `invisibility', or in other words the `self-annihilation', of the translator. The authenticity of Manhu is recreated in Mist through literal translation, moving from the source to create deeper meaning, semantic re-creation of the source text, re-creation of music, transliterations and finally by presenting the different cultures depicted in the original to the foreign readers.

English Studies Journal, Translation, Source Language, Target language, Foreign Readers, Indian Literature, Malayalam Literature, Vasudevan Nair, Semantic Translation, English Transliteration, Malayalam Transliterations, Cultural Implications, Cultural Communication, Contemporary Classics.