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Back to the roots
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AND Haksar translates works of Bhasa and Dandin, the stalwarts of Sanskrit literature
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AND Haksar
Like other classics in various Indian languages, precious literary works in Sanskrit are also being translated into English. AND Haksar’s recently published translated works, “The Shattered Thighs and Other Plays” and “Tales o
f The Ten Princes”, published by Penguin India, are two of the five such works. While “The Shattered Thighs…”, a set of plays, was written by one of the greatest Sanskrit dramatists, Bhasa, the other work was by yet another stalwart of Sanskrit literature, Dandin.
Stating that with these works, he is trying to trace his roots, specially the beauty of Sanskrit literature, Haksar hopes to make more and more people know about the ancient culture of India. Why in English? Simply because it crosses linguistic divides.
Talking about keeping the flavour of the original words in the translated language, the former diplomat says the social aspect of both the target and the source language has to be taken into consideration while translating a work. For if a sentence in a particular language is translated into the other language directly, just by replacing word for word, and the structure of the tenses is balanced, the meaning gets retained but the beauty of the expression is lost. With the advent of linguistics now we have realised the importance of the cultural and psychological aspects of languages, he states.
Bhasa’s works were considered lost and it was only in the beginning of the 20th Century that some of his plays were discovered. They became the oldest available plays in Sanskrit. Despite their antiquity, the plays in “The Shattered Thighs…” are remarkable in their nearness to modern idiom. One finds brevity, short spoken lines and fast-paced action, which echoes a remarkably contemporary resonance. This element should certainly amuse today’s readers.
Similarly, Dandin’s detailed and completely uninhibited description of lives and manners in “The Tale of the Ten Princes” are parallel to modern society. Along with this, the action interestingly sweeps from one geographical boundary to the other. Most of the settings of his plays mention Karachi, suburbs of Chennai, where he was born, to present-day Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and undivided Bengal. It makes the play historically significant. In the 7th Century, names like Varanasi, Mathura, Kalinga, Utkal, etc. occur as it is. The translated versions succeed in keeping the tempo of the original works.
And now with these tomes out of his way, Haksar, who also has the credit of translating “Jatakamala” into English some years ago, says he is concentrating on translating yet another Sanskrit work.
FAIYAZ AHMED
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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