Azadi - Arundhati Roy

services. The graveyard becomes a place where anybody—any body —that has been denied the grace of a funeral by
the Duniya (the outside world) is given a dignified burial. Under the auspices of the Jannat Guest House and Funeral
Services, depending on what the occasion calls for, prayers for the dead include the Fateha, singing “The
Internationale” in Hindi, and reciting from Shakespeare’s Henry V . In English.
So, how shall we answer Pablo Neruda’s question that is the title of this lecture?
In what language does rain fall
over tormented cities? 23
I’d say, without hesitation, in the Language of Translation.
*The W. G. Sebald Lecture on Literary Translation, delivered at the British Library, June 5, 2018. Previously published in Literary Hub , July 25, 2018,
and in Raiot , June 27, 2018.