Blood is thicker than water

hi all
readers of my blog are here accorded the privilege of reading my article for the magazine 'Bharati' before its out in print. Due to some obscure relation between the two clans, my relatives on my father's side of the family are fiendishly enamored with 'Madhushala'. Well , its good enough to go a little ga ga over. Here , I continue the family tradition, but with a slightly more balanced perspective. Readers may suggest titles for the work, the author cannot think of any at the drop of a hat. Here goes,



The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam occupies a unique place in the literary firmament.The magnificence of Baghdad, the splendor of the Islamic Arab empire,are reflected in Omar's insouciant exhortations to the world. This compilation of quatrains of the famous 11th century astronomer-poet first burst forth into the intellectual sphere through Edward Fitzgerald's brilliant English translation back in 1865.Fitzgerald's literary reputation rests almost entirely on this monumental work, culminating in the publication, over a period of 11 years, five slim editions comprising of verses culled from the original.

'Awake, for Morning, in the Bowl of Night,
Has flung the stone that sets the Stars to flight.
And lo! The hunter of the east has caught
The Sultan's turret, in a noose of light.'

The task of translating Omar's mystical metaphorical flights into a more accesible language, Persian gradually becoming defunct, required an Oriental mind acquainted with medieval Persian culture at an intimate level. The task was accomplished, in part, by a personage uniquely suited for the purpose. Ladies and gentlemen, Harivansh Rai Srivastava.

'Madiralaya jane ko ghar se, chalta hai peene wala,
Kis path se jaoon, asmanjas mein hai yeh bhola bhala.
Alag, alag path batlate sab, par main yeh batlata hoon
Rah pakad too ek chala chal, pa jayega Madhushala.'

Harivansh Rai Srivastava was born in Allahabad on November 27, 1907. He graduated from the Benares Hindu University. During his college days, he acquired his celebrated nom-de-plume, 'Bachchan'. In later life, by virtue of his son's exploits onscreen, he was known exclusively as Harivansh Rai Bachchan. He went to Cambridge in 1952 , where, in 1954, he became the first Indian ever to complete a Ph.D in English.

'Sun kal kal chhal chhal, madhughat se girti, pyalon mein hala
Sun run jhun run jhun, jal vitran karti madhu-saki-bala,
Lo aa pahunche, door nahin, kuchh char kadam ab chalna hai,
Chahak rahe sun peene wale, mahak rahi le Madhushala.'

'Madhushala', earned Harivansh Rai instant fame upon its publication in 1935. However, it must not be assumed that, as in the case of Fitzgerald, Bachchan's work was a simple translation. He himself acknowledged his inspiration to the original. But that was as far as he went. This technicality essentially absolves him of any liabilty corresponding to liberties in translation , the bane of Fitzgerald.

'Ek baras mein ek baar hi jalti Holi ki jwala,
Ek baar hi mane Diwali, jagmag deepon ki mala
Duniyawalon, kintu kisi din, aa madiralaya mein dekho
Din ko Holi, raat Diwali, roz manati Madhushala.'

As is evident, Madhushala is not meant to be a translation of the Rubaiyat, as the poet uses Omar's medium to communicate in a very different cultural milieu. To clarify his position, he later published a literal translation of part of the Rubaiyat, which unfortunately, does not live up to his usual high standards. Madhushala, it is contended, is not a linguistic translation, but a mystical translation of Khayyam's philosophy.

'Lal sura ki dhar lapat si, kah na ise dena jwala.
Phenil madira hai, mat isko kah dena ur ka chhala.
Dard nasha hai is madira ka, vigat smritiyan Saki hain
Peeda mein anand jise ho, aye meri Madhushala.'

Thus, the hiatus in Fitzgerald's is complemented by Bachchan's Indianized rendition of the same theme. In metaphorical terms, Fitzgerald provides the body, and Bachchan provides the spark of soul to enliven the translation. It is a matter of dispute as to whether Bachchan was influenced by the English translation to a very great degree. Some verses in Madhushala hint at the likelihood of this being the case. Contrast, for instance the following :

'Yama will then be thy cup-bearer, and bring thee the dark cup,
Drink, and know no more consciousness, O carefree one.
This is the ultimate trance, the final Saki, the last goblet.
O traveller, drink well, for you will never find the tavern again.'

'So when at last the Angel of the darker drink
Of darkness finds you by the river-brink,
And, proffering his Cup, invites your Soul
Forth to your lips to quaff it - do not shrink


Bachchan succeeded where Fitzgerald failed for he inherited a rich and vibrant culture of Urdu poetry, that, to an infinitesimal extent, kept alive, as it still does, vague memories of the forgotten days of Islamic world domination. To describe Omar's poetry is to describe the revolt of a fertile mind against the decadence fomented by rigid fatalistic doctrines that pervaded Persian society for the entire period of its decline, beginning in mid-11th century. It is the rebellion of a free spirit against dogmas perpetuated by the existing oligarchy of ulemas, and at the same time a heart-felt expression of sorrow at the irrationality of existence.

'Oh Thou, who didst with Pitfall and with Gin
Beset the Road I was to wander in,
Thou wilt not with Predestination round
Enmesh me, and impute my Fall to Sin?

Oh Thou, who Man of baser earth did make,
And even with Paradise devise the Snake,
For all the Sin wretched Man's face is
Black with, Man's forgiveness give - and take.'



Postscript: Alas! I just remembered. Owing to the legerdemain of the philistine Fudu, four paragraphs of the article were lost irretrievably at the time of composition when he leaned on the 'Delete' key and saved the document in one smooth motion. He shall pay for this in blood when we both stand in the literary Valhalla when the last trump sounds.