“Mother Teresa: The Authorized Biography,” by Navin Chawla, was first published in 1996. The Kannada version was published by Sapna Book House.
T.T. Chaturvendi, governor of Karnata state, announced the translation and praised Catholic author Chawla for “his profound cultural sensitivity and literary expertise.”
When presenting the book, Chawla said that he gave it to Mother Teresa to read and she approved it. The book is now available in 15 languages.
Kannada, one of the 15 languages recognized by the Indian Constitution, is in third place — after Telugu and Tamil — among Dravidian languages, in terms of number of speakers.
Kannada is spoken by Kanarese people in southern India. Its alphabet, based on Brahmi, is spoken by more than 33 million people in Karnataka, where it is the official language, and in Maharashtra and Andra Pradesh.
Mother Teresa’s beatification is scheduled for October.
