Book View : 'The Hanuman Chalisa - Translated by Vikram Seth'

 

The Hanuman Chalisa – Translated by Vikram Seth  

    It was in August 2024 that I came across YouTube links related to interviews with the well known writer Vikram Seth on most of my favorite YouTube news channel haunts.

    I have read two of his works (ages ago literally ) – An Equal Music and Beastly tales from here and there – I quite like his writings – especially his poetry. So I was really excited to discover his latest release – a translation of Saint Tulsidas’ Hanuman Chalisa – in my context, like every quintessential South Indian having been fed MS Amma’s rendition of the same during childhood. Also, having possessed a rudimentary translation of the great work by Gita Press Gorakhpur all these years, it piqued my curiosity further.

    Since this was a book of poetry, I was keen on a physical copy rather than the Kindle version.  Thanks to Ecom, a simple screen swipe and the book lands in my hands in no time.  Of course, it helped that the book is small and really cozy !!!!

    I readily dived first into the translated pages – the neat translation with all the poetry intact – got me all excited. After an attempt at the starters – I mean the usual quick read to get a feel of the book (just as a movie trailer) , it was now time to delve deep into Seth’s idea behind this translation and of course enjoy the same – savour it over and over again – as a starter, a main course and a dessert.

    His intention is quite straightforward – a chance for people unfamiliar with the language of Hindi or  Awadhi to enjoy the same. It is clearly a labor of immense love that he has in his heart for this poem – which encapsulates the Prowess and the myriad facets of Lord Hanuman with so much ease, completeness and in such brevity – as he says – it encapsulates a whole culture in fewer than ninety lines. It is not just an emotional translation – in the Introduction section he also explains briefly the technical structure of the verses in linguistic terms. But all done so succinctly as befits the original poetry.

    What impressed me about the translation – it has a rhythm and is rhyming as well. One can recite it in the same rhythmic pattern as one would the original hymns. Also, the choice of words to end each line of the verse so as to maintain the rhyming pattern is very impressive. One more take away for me – being familiar with Hindi, all these days, I could understand most of the words and hence contextualize the meaning from the hymn. However, he has taken utmost care to ensure that each and every word manages to fit in his translation – makes it that much richer and enhances one’s ability to appreciate the meaning more completely. I was able to map almost all the words in the original with the translation.

    From a visual perspective, the book is quite aesthetic in its overall design including the choice of fonts. Being a translation of a spiritual masterpiece, it maintains the minimalist look. It also helps immensely that the verses are in Devanagari as well as transliterated into English and the meaning is on the right hand side page – making it so easy to go back and forth between the original and the translation. There is ample space for any note making (If one is used to such a habit of personalizing one’s books) !!!!

    As with all of my favorite books, this one has also become a re-read and each time I get a better understanding of the hymns. This not only enhances my faith and belief in the Divine but also my happiness quotient.

     One last point – the cover page design. Just my two-pence thought about it – The name "Shri Hanuman Chalisa" towers over the entire page followed by a tiny note at the bottom “Translated by Vikram Seth” – the author probably admitting his insignificance in front of the Divine Power. And aptly colored in maroon and gold – typical symbols used to expressing auspiciousness/divinity in our culture. Overall , a thumb up for this book   

(NB: Presenting my brief view on this book  )