Born in Orissa and raised in Bela, Snehalatavara's mother tongue is Marathi. After marrying Ravi Rohidekar, a Kannadiga, she learned Kannada thanks to her husband and father-in-law, Prof. SR Rohidekar. Her translations of Oriya, Telugu, and Marathi stories have been published in magazines and gained popularity. In 2003, she received the Kendra Sahitya Akademi translation award for translating Dr. Ravi Pattanaik's Oriya short story collection 'Vichitravarna' into Kannada. In 2006, her translation of 'Ullanghana' by Pratibharai was honoured by the Karnataka Translation Sahitya Akademi.