Module 5: Postcolonial Translation
  Lecture 18: Sakuntala's Colonial and Postcolonial Versions
 

 

Reflections

The example given is but a very small token of how translations vary, indicative of the ideological positions of the translators. Both Jones and Monier-Williams have done target-oriented translations at the cost of the original. In fact it has been pointed out that Jones translated Kalidasa into a verse form that was very Shakespearean. The greatest compliment he could think of was to compare Kalidasa with Shakespeare. It is almost as if he is unwilling to even think of the possibility that Kalidasa could be greater. The admiration of Jones and Monier-Williams is like the delighted surprise that one feels when you realize that people you thought to be savages could have achieved such heights of artistic glory. Kale, on the other hand, is a Sanskritist who cannot compromise with the original at all. His is more of a scholarly exegesis than translation, and bears the imprint of a scholar who is unwilling to dilute the original in favour of the receptors. Chandra Rajan chooses the middle path, striking a balance between form and content. Her preface gives detailed explanations of Kalidasa and his times, and of the dramatic stage during his time. This is also helpful for the Indian reader who is as removed from Kalidasa as the western reader. Though not postcolonial in theoretical terms, the Rajan translation situates Kalidasa in context and adopts a balanced approach without condescension.

Assignments

  1. What is the attitudinal difference between the two foreign translators of Abhijnanasakuntalam?
  2. Of all the four translations, which do you think is the best? Why?

References:

Jones, Sir William. Sacontala or The Fatal Ring.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4403071/Abhigyana-Shaakuntalam-an-English-Translation

Kale, M. R. (trans). The Abhijnanasakuntalam of Kalidasa. Tenth Edition, 1969. Delhi: Motilal Banrsidass, 2000

Monier-Williams, Sir Monier. Sakoontala or The Lost Ring
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12169/pg12169.html

Rajan, Chandra. Kalidasa: The Loom of Time. New Delhi: Penguin, 1989.

Thapar, Romila. Sakuntala: Texts, Readings, Histories. London: Anthem, 2002.

Trivedi, Harish. “Introduction”. Post-Colonial Translation: Theory and Practice. Susan Bassnett and Harish Trivedi. Eds. New York: Routledge, 1999: 1 – 18