ics reto I

India's great literary heritage extends itself to modern young readers through the efforts of three highly talented writers

India's two greatest epics, the Ra1mg'ant1 and t he l\lfahahharata have struck such deep roots in the country's moral and culrural consciousness that they infringe into every aspect of Indian culrure. For generations they were not only the favourite bedtime stories of lndian children, but they also capmred the attention of great philosophers and theologians who have written extensive commentaries on them .A few new translations of these timeless epics b y t\vo very talented women have brought these ta les to a yet newer audience. Arshia Sattar, a Sanskrit scholar, translated the Valm.iki Ra111tfYa11a inco English to much critical acclaim a few years ago ( l 996). This, and her abridged translations of the Sanskrit Kathasaritsagara had been published ea.rlier b y Penguin Books. Her new book Lost Loves: Expl01i11g Rat1Ja} /Jng11ish, is a series of essays on Rama's love for Si ca, als o published b y Penguin recently in 2011.

The otl1er is a rendering of the JV!ahahharata b y the very accomp lished writer and novelist, Nami ta Gokhale. Un like the Ra111qJ'ana, the i\t!ahahhamta is a rnore complex and mulcilayered epic, with narratives inside narratives inside narratives I have a few of the c lassic renditions on m y bookshelf, by R K arayan, C Rajagopalachari, CV l aras imhan, William Buck and many more. Gokhale's P11ffi11 Nlahabharata has been wr itten expressly for young people and is beautifully illusmued by tl1e well- k nown artist and animator Suddhasatt\va Basu. H is lusciously beautiful drawings are a visual treat for the young - as well as the not so young.

Gokhale has retold this great epic for young readers without reducing the complexities to a simp le cha.ice of black and white; she points out, for insta nc e, tha t Bhima's bullying of Duryodana and Dusshasana contributed, to some extent, to their animosity towards the Pandavas. Neither does she ignore Y L1dhishtbi.ra's weakness for gambling that precipitated a disastrou s cha.in of events; nor does she skirt around unpleasant incidents such as the d.isrobing of Draupadi. The heavier philosophical sections of tl1e epic as s uch as the Bht;gavad Gita and the Shanti Pa111a are explained in a lucid style Arjuna and Karna e m erge as the heroes in th is autl,or's version.

Gokhale d.i scusses these - and several other moral dilemmas and ambiguities inherent in chis ep ic, wi tl1 disarming ease and simplicity. She begins witl1 the background, expla.ining the cycles of times and the various ways in wh ich the epic has been cold and retold, before delv ing into the story of King Shanta.nu and the r iver goddess Ganga, and the chain of events that lead co the g reat Kurukshetra war. Every yo ung reader musr have a cop y Arshia Sattar's translation of Valm.ik.i's !VJmqyana first published in 1996, was an abridged version which successfuU)' adapted this ancient classic and made it accessible to the presentday Engl.ish reader. An ad d ed attraction was her superb introduction wh.ich pl'ovided n ew insights and backgrou nd information for both the general reader and s cholar alike. In her translation, Sattar had taken care n or to u se tl1e archaic language preferred by the Sanskrit scholars of the 19'h century, but a very contemporary rendering which focuses on tl1e narrative, rather than on tbe text. For instanc e, the author points om how 'gait1 galllint (a phrase u sed to describe Sica) is better translated as 's he walked liked the swaying gait of an elephant' rather tl1an the literal 'she walked like an elephant', for few people today can imagine and understand the graceful ga.ir of an elep hant.

There have been several other English trans lations of tlus epic including the abridged versi on b y RK arayan, the concise one by C Rajagopalachari, and more recently, the multi-vol ume version by Ashok Banker as well as the brilliant transla tion of the Tami l Kalllha Ra111a)'a11a by Sundaram - to nam e a few; buc Sattar's translat.ion is informed by her great sdwlacly grasp of Sanskrit. Her new Rama yana, Lost Loves is a lirtle different ru1d unusual for it attempts to explore the psychological mindset of Rama. As a Sanskrit scholar and trans lator who studied Rama in all tl1e different vers ions and rend.i tions, s he is si ngnlarly equ.ipped to undertal<e chis task. In chis collection of essays, Arshia's Rama is ridden witl1 angst and torn bet\veen love and duty, d ivinity and humanity. Wendy Doniger reminds us that this book makes us see how conflicted Rama really was, and therefore how he is such a good role model for us lowly mortals in the twen ty-first century

Sattar has a PhD in Souih Asian Languages and Civilisations from the Univer sity of Chicago Her areas of interest are I nd.ian ep ics, m ytho logy a nd the story tradit.ions of the subcontinent Her arrides appear in various n ational newspapers and magazines. Her book reviews and articles have appeared regularly in various newspapers and journals. She has also worked with documentary film and theatre, and caught Indian Stud.ies ar the l\fahindra United World College of India in Pune for five years She currentl y works as a freelance writer and researcher

Finally, a tribute to GK Anantharam who was tl1e b rains behind the creation of the Amar Chit1'0 lvltha (ACK) illustrated and dramatised p o pular books on Indian epics,p11m11as, biograph.ies and histories - wh.ich shaped and influenced a few generations of chil dren's reading in English in India. Although the pub lic equates tl1e ACK phenomenon with Ananm Pai and lus Jvlumba.i a·eation in 1967, it was reall y GK Anantl1aram who produced the first versi on in Kannada - not English - in 1965, in Bangalore. Moved by the idea that it was about time Indian children were e.xposed, in popular writings, to their own hiscory and m ythology, he began in a small office in the Bangalore office of the India Book House. He was also influenced by the stirrings of Kannada literary renaissance at tlrnt rime, and he wanted co see ch.ildren reading more books in t he local language After repeated nagging of his IBH boss GL :iYli.rchandani, Anantharam was allowed to p ubli sh books in Kann ada. Finall y, he managed

10,000 for h.is new baby - wh.ich turned out, after some ups and downs, to be a popular comic series, named At1Jar Chitra Katha by Ananrhram himself. The rest is history co goad his boss to shell om Rs

In her tran slation, Sattar had taken care not to use the archaic language preferred by the Sanskrit scholars of the 19th century, but a very contemporary rendering which focuses on the narrative, rather than on the text ' '

Neither does (Gokhale) ignore Yudh ishthira's weakness for gambling that precipitated a disastrous chain of events; nor does she skirt around unpleasant incidents such as the disrobing of Draupadi. ' '