Purushottama Lal
Purushottama Lal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 28 August 1929 Kapurthala, Punjab. British India |
| Died | 3 November 2010(aged 81) Kolkata, India |
| Occupation | Writer, academic, translator |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | M.A. in English |
| Alma mater | St. Xavier's College, Calcutta,and theUniversity of Calcutta |
| Period | 1953–1993 |
| Genre | Indian classics |
| Notable works | Transcreation ofMahabharata,Upanishadsin English |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri,Honorary Doctorate of Letters,Western Maryland College |
| Spouse | Shyamasree Nag |
| Children | Ananda Lal,Srimati Lal |
| Website | |
| writersworkshopindia | |
Purushottama Lal(28 August 1929 – 3 November 2010), commonly known asP. Lal,was an Indian poet, author, translator, professor and publisher. He was the founder of publishing firmWriters WorkshopinCalcutta,established in 1958.[1][2]
Life and education
[edit]Born inKapurthalain the state ofPunjab,Lal studied English atSt Xavier's College,Calcutta, and later at theUniversity of Calcutta.[3]He would later teach at St. Xavier's College for over forty years.[4]A friend of FrRobert Antoine,he aspired to be aJesuitwhen young, and that haunted his entire oeuvre and life.[5]
P. Lal was Special Professor of Indian Studies atHofstra Universityfrom 1962 to 1963, and held Visiting Professorships at many colleges and universities throughout America. These includedUniversity of Illinois,Albion College,Ohio University,Hartwick College,Berea College,andWestern Maryland College.[6]
He married Shyamasree Devi in 1955, and had a son,Ananda Lal,and a daughter,Srimati Lal.
Career
[edit]He wrote eight books of poetry, over a dozen volumes of literary criticism, a memoir, several books of stories for children, as well as dozens oftranslationsfrom other languages, chieflySanskrit,into English. He also edited a number of literary anthologies.[7]He was awarded the prestigiousJawaharlal Nehru Fellowshipin 1969.[8]
He is perhaps best known as the translator and "transcreator" of theepic poemMahabharatain English. His translation, which was published in an edition of over 300 fascicules since the early 1970s, was republished in a collated edition of 18 large volumes. HisMahabharatais the most complete in any language, comprising all the slokas. His translation is characteristically both poetic and swift to read, and oriented to the oral/musical tradition in which the work was originally created. To emphasise this tradition, he began reading the entire 100,000-sloka work aloud in 1999, for one hour each Sunday at a Calcutta library hall.
In addition to the Mahabharata, his translations from Sanskrit included a number of other religious and literary works, including 21 of theUpanisads,as well as plays and lyric poetry. He also translated modern writers such asPremchand(from theHindi) andTagore(from theBengali).
Since his founding ofWriters Workshop,he published over 3000 volumes by Indian literary authors, mostly in English, including poetry, fiction, educational texts, screenplays, drama, "serious comics," and children's books, as well as audiobooks. Writers Workshop has published first books by many authors includingVikram Seth,Pritish NandyandChitra Banerjee Divakaruni.[9]
His publishing enterprise was unusual in that he personally served as publisher,editor,reader, secretary, and editorial assistant. The books were also unique in appearance, hand-typeset on local Indian presses and bound in hand-loomed sari cloth. Writers Workshop continues to publish, under the direction of Lal's family members.
Some of the last works he was engaged in publishing wereHolmes of the Rajby Vithal Rajan,Seahorse in the Skyby G Kameshwar andLabyrinthbyArunabha Sengupta.
TheMahabharataTranscreated English Verse Translation
[edit]This is the most complete translation to date. TheHarivamsaParva is still left to be "transcreated" and translated but it is not considered a part of the Mahabharata although it is considered an appendix to the Mahabharata. There are no plans for the HarivamsaParvaat present. The Mairavanacaritam is a part ofRamayanarather than theMahabharata.
| Volume Number | Volume Title | Sub-Parva | Pages | Price (INR) | Translator and "Transcreator" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Adi Parva(The Beginning) | 001–019 | 1208 | 2000 | P. Lal |
| 02 | Sabha Parva(The Assembly Hall) | 020–029 | 491 | 600 | P. Lal |
| 03 | Vana Parva(The Forest) | 030–050 | 1400 | 2000 | P. Lal |
| 04 | Virata Parva(Virata) | 051–054 | 303 | 400 | P. Lal |
| 05 | Udyoga Parva(The Effort) | 055–066 | 813 | 1000 | P. Lal |
| 06 | Bhishma Parva(Bhishma/Tenacity) | 067–070 | 797 | 1000 | P. Lal |
| 07 | Drona Parva(Drona) | 071–078 | 1383 | 1200 | P. Lal |
| 08 | Karna Parva(Karna) | 079 | 932 | 1000 | P. Lal |
| 09 | Shalya Parva(Shalya/ThePike) | 080–083 | 628 | 1000 | P. Lal |
| 10 | Sauptika Parva(The Sleeping Warriors) | 084–085 | 138 | 200 | P. Lal |
| 11 | Stri Parva(The Women) | 086–089 | 141 | 200 | P. Lal |
| 12 | Shanti Parva(Peace) | 090–091 (volume 1) 092 (volume 2) |
1969 = 900 + 1069 | 4000 = 2000 + 2000 | P. Lal (volume 1) Pradeep Bhattacharya (volume 2) |
| 13 | Anushasana Parva(The Instructions) | 093–094 | 1256 | 3000 | Pradeep Bhattacharya |
| 14 | Ashvamedhika Parva(The Horse Sacrifice) | 095–096 | 417 | 300 | P. Lal |
| 14 | JaiminiyaAshvamedhika Parva(Jaimini's Version of The Horse Sacrifice) | 095–096 | 488 | 500 (Flexiback), 800 (hardback) (US$70 outsideIndia) | Shekhar Kumar Sen (Editor: Pradeep Bhattacharya) |
| 15 | Ashramavasika Parva(The Hermitage) | 097–099 | 147 | 150 | P. Lal |
| 15 | TheJaiminiyaMahabharata(Sahasramukharavanacaritam) (The Life of the 1000-HeadedRavana) | ? | 805 | 1100 | Shekhar Kumar Sen and Pradeep Bhattacharya |
| 16 | Mausala Parva(The Clubs) | 100 | 41 | 150 | P. Lal |
| 17 | Mahaprasthanika Parva(The Great Journey) | 101 | 16 | 150 | P. Lal |
| 18 | Svargarohana Parva(The Ascent to Heaven) | 102 | 29 | 150 | P. Lal |
| 19 (Khila) | HarivamsaParva (The Genealogy ofHari) | 103–105 | ? | TBA | TBA |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^The City Diary
- ^"P. Lal | The Economist".The Economist.
- ^Professor P Lal passes awayArchived25 May 2012 atarchive.today
- ^The City Diary
- ^Lessons
- ^Professor P Lal passes awayArchived25 May 2012 atarchive.today
- ^Writer's Workshop @ fifty
- ^"Official list of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows (1969-present)".Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.
- ^Writer's Workshop @ fifty
External links
[edit]- http://www.confluence.org.uk/a-daughter-remembers-plal-and-writers-workshop/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025136/http://fullcirclebooks.in/node/59492/ FLOWERS FOR MY FATHER, by Srimati Lal, pub. 2011
- https://web.archive.org/web/20130115160322/http://harmonyindia.org/hportal/VirtualPageView.jsp?page_id=19310
- Kanchangupta.blogspot.com/2010/11/pro-p-lal-in-memoriam.html Prof P Lal, in memoriam by Kanchan Gupta
- Writer's Workshop
- Writer's Workshop New Releases
- Harmony Magazine on P. Lal
- 50 Years of Writer's Workshop
- A True PioneerinThe Hindu
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
- Writers from Kolkata
- English-language poets from India
- Writers from Punjab, India
- Bengali writers
- Indian male essayists
- Indian literary critics
- Academic staff of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata
- Indian magazine editors
- University of Calcutta alumni
- Academic staff of the University of Calcutta
- Ohio University faculty
- Albion College faculty
- Berea College faculty
- 1929 births
- 2010 deaths
- St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni
- Indian publishers (people)
- 20th-century Indian translators
- Sanskrit–English translators
- 20th-century Indian poets
- Indian male poets
- 20th-century Indian essayists
- Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows
- Hartwick College faculty