Janaki Ballabh (1928 – 30 December 2022) was an Indian

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

and translator known for his work translating

Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202 ...

into Hindi. He spent much of his career working for the

Foreign Languages Press Foreign Languages Press is a government publishing house located in China. Based in Beijing, it was founded in 1952 and currently forms part of the China International Publishing Group, which is owned and controlled by the Publicity Departmen ...

in Beijing, and was recognised with a Peace and Friendship Award by Chinese Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

for his contributions to cultural exchange between China and India. Ballabh was the first Indian to be granted long-term residency in China, and continued to translate works into Hindi even in his retirement.

Early life

Janaki Ballabh was born in the village of Dalakot in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

, in the present-day Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, in 1928. He completed his Master of Arts degree in Hindi from the

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

Career

Ballabh travelled to China in 1956 as a Hindi language expert, beginning a long association with the country. During his time in China, he worked for the

in Beijing, where he translated a variety of Chinese works into Hindi, including

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

's ''Selected Works'', ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'', considered one of China's four great classical novels, and the works of Chinese novelist and essayist

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

. In 1961, Ballabh was recognised with the Peace and Friendship Award by Chinese Premier

for his contributions to cultural exchange between China and India. He returned to India that year, ahead of the

India-China War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

in 1962. During this time he worked for various Indian publications before returning to China in 1982. He worked for the Foreign Languages Press and Radio China before returning to India after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He later returned to Beijing. In his retirement, Ballabh continued to translate works into Hindi. He translated two volumes of

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

's ''

The Governance of China ''The Governance of China'' () is a four-volume collection of speeches and writings by Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and 6th paramount leader of China. Presenting the official party line for China's develo ...

''. The first volume was published by the Foreign Languages Press. Ballabh was said to be the first Indian to be granted long-term residency in China, together with his wife.

Personal life

Ballabh was married to Shayma Ballabh. His wife was the first Hindi announcer at

Radio Beijing China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in Babaoshan, Shijingshan, Beijing. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It later adopted the pinyin f ...

and was also a translator who translated a number of Chinese

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

into Hindi. She predeceased him in 2014. The couple had two sons. Ballabh died in Beijing on 30 December 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballabh, Janaki 1928 births 2022 deaths People from Almora Indian sinologists Delhi University alumni Chinese–Hindi translators