Heard of the Japanese hotel which had a sign that read, ‘‘You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid’’? Or the Russian who was asked to translate ‘‘out of sight, out of mind’’ and replied, ‘‘The invisible idiot’’. Thankfully, bad translations seem restricted to the Internet and hotel lobbies in non-English-speaking countries.

In India, there’s a huge market for good Hindi translations of major international works and this is set to grow. Tintin will make its debut in Hindi in a couple of weeks. So too will Paulo Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello. The Hindi version of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, which led The New York Times’ bestseller list last year, recently reached a book store near you. Many more are on their way. And publishers are almost certain they have cracked the formula for success.

VK Karthika, publisher and chief editor, HarperCollins India, says, ‘‘The right book (translation) - one which has the right content, the right packaging and the right price will be successful.’’ HarperCollins India, in fact, started publishing international bestsellers in local languages, including Hindi, in May. They launched with Narnia Ki Kahaniyan, the Hindi version of CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Hindi versions of international prize-winning books, such as VS Naipaul’s A House for Mr Biswas and Milan Kundera and Hanif Kureishi’s novels are also in the pipeline.

But who will read them? Judging by the different genres, it is obvious that publishers see a potential readership base cutting across generations. Tintin comics transcend these barriers, anyway. Ajay Mago, publisher of Om Books International, the brain behind the translated Tintin, is so sure of its success that each of the 24 Tintin titles will have a 10,000-copy first print-run. ‘‘Tintin is adventure, mystery, fun - all rolled into one,’’ Mago explains. ‘‘Tintin has been a perennial favourite worldwide, and has been loved by Indians too.’’

Mago’s confidence may not be misplaced considering the success of the Hindi Harry Potter series. ‘‘There is a big population of Indians who want to read good literature in Hindi,’’ says Vikas Rakheja, MD, Manjul Publishing, which paid one-million rupees to secure Hindi rights to the first Harry Potter title. This Bhopal-based company has been bringing out Hindi translations since 1999. Their first one was a pregnancy guide by Nutan Pandit. Since then, it has published about 200 translations, including five titles each of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five and Secret Seven series. Now, Manjul is working on several translations, including Stephen Covey’s The 8th Habit. It recently launched 20,000 copies of The Secret.

Rakheja is sure people in Class B and C cities will snap up these Hindi translations. For some, he says, it’s about higher levels of comfort in Hindi, as compared to English. For others, it simply boils down to price. ‘‘An average international book, costs Rs 550 in English. But in Hindi, it’s available for less than half the price,’’ he says. ‘‘People also buy them so that more people in the family, especially the elderly, can read a famous book.’’

But there’s more than meets the eye about Tintin’s forthcoming adventures in Hindi. Publishers believe there’s a change of attitude among the English-speaking elite who had a tendency to look down on those who speak regional languages. ‘‘It’s cool once again to read Hindi,’’ says Karthika. ‘‘People are awed by someone who is proficient in English as well as one’s own language.’’ Chetan Bhagat, whose novels, Five Point Someone and One Night @ Call Center, have been released in Hindi, says the real challenge is that ‘‘a young person shouldn’t feel it’s uncool to hold a
Hindi book.’’

But isn’t the influx of translated books part of a familiar theme? Yes, says Mago. ‘‘Popular English films and cartoons are now coming in Hindi. Even TV and radio music channels use a mixture of Hindi and English.’’

Thanks to Bollywood perhaps, Hindi has come to be regarded as a young and energetic language. And this youthful energy is something publishers and editors insist on in translations. Hindi, they say, needs to be used just the way it’s spoken. Bhagat says, ‘‘Literary language (like sahitya), and mentality have to go away.’’ After all, too literal a translation can only make a language far removed from people’s lives. That is why the Hindi version of the inspirational American bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul bears the simple title Atma Ke Liye Amrit.

(pallavi.srivastava@timesgroup.com)