Friday, 18 July 2008

Old sanskrit plays

When I first heard about Lord Macaulay's minute on Indian Education; I could not believe it. Well... good for me because what I heard was false. The truth behind that was he believed neither Arabic nor Sanskrit could be the unifying language between us all or between East and the West. It had to be English taught to the "enlightened few" who would act as a bridge between the rulers and the ruled.Thus also began my search for ancient Sanskrit plays .

I remembered Vasantsena Hridayam [& Aindrajalakah by King Shudrak] from my Sanskrit texts I studied as a child. All part of the epic play Mrichakatika [The little clay cart] set in the city of Ujjaini. What I learnt subsequently was that the mid 80s Girish Karnad Movie "Utsav" was an interpretation of the same play with Rekha and a surprisingly malnourished Shekhar Suman in lead roles. Amar Chitra Katha published a collection recently on Shudrak's plays which brought back happy memories. Bless Mr Anant Pai.

But the quest was not limited to Sanskrit plays and playwrights. I also delightfully discovered Manga Shakespeare and am reading Richard III. The war of roses and some ancient Sanskrit plays are quite similar in their characterisation of people and situation. Is it just me or someone else as well who thinks that the Sanskrit plays and old English plays have a common connect? Could it be because both have culturally evolved from the same basket? Is that basket the grand Epic Mahabharat about which it is said that all imaginable plots are included in its vastness and there is no story untold outside its realms.....I don't know yet!
PS [Added next day] - I think I know the connect. Most of the works I have read are translations. People who know good English and have learnt Sanskrit over the years will distort the literature to suit their original language requirements.I think I need to read them in original form before I can reach any conclusion but where would I find them?
Help please - I need old Sanskrit/Prakrit plays in their original form. If you can provide a grumpy grandpa to read them aloud to me with explanations; that would be great but would entirely defeat the purpose!
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3 comments:

  1. Annaps24 July 2008 at 12:17

    I read the sanskrit play as part of the course in 11th class. I remember parts of it so well...madanika, radanika , those twists and turns...brilliant stuff. Lets get our hand on it and read again somehow.

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  2. Idyll Mind24 July 2008 at 23:27

    sunil,
    annaps pointed me to your blog. i wrote a long comment in response to this post but decided not to share it. i'll just say im envious of anyone who can read original sanskrit works or is as knowledgeable as you are about it. The fact that you went from Vasantsena Hridayam to Manga Shakespeare says a lot.
    You write well :) You should write often.

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  3. AV13 January 2009 at 19:19

    WHY DON'T YOU WRITE MORE?!!!
    Donkey.

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