While, fully charged, I was pressing ahead with a three language version of Tagore's 300 songs --under individual titles of Mystic Songs of Tagore; Romantic Songs of Tagore and Patriotic Songs of Tagore with a hundred songs in each volume (for Abhinav Publications) - some dancer-friends came over to ask me why didn't I do a similar English poetry version of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda? When I looked back at them quizzically, they explained that while they frequently interpreted Jayadeva's Ashtapadis in their individual classical dance forms, they had invariably to fall back upon the English prose translations of Gorge Keyt and others for gleaning the meaning of the original Sanskrit poetic text. A convenient rhymed verse translation of Gita Govinda would do them a world of good! Convinced, I began looking at Jayadeva, when I was hooked -- for the rest of my life - with his profusion and command over Mandakranta rhyming scheme!Read more in the site
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I am truly overwhelmed with your piece Mr. Utpal Banerjee for more than one account.
ReplyDeleteThis 12 century poet was one of the pancharatnas of Emperor Lakshman Sen who ruled over Eastern India is a fact known to historians , but what I admired most was the fact that you have gone to great lengths to study the rhyme schemes of Sanskrit poetry and have used them in your English translation. Marvellous indeed.