Our Persian Heritage Needs To Be Translated
Z.G. Muhammad My Rambling Thoughts. I am amazed that translators receive less credit for their work than creative writers. However, had Arabs not institutionalised the translation of great works and philosophy between the eighth and tenth centuries, much of this literature might never have reached South Asian audiences. Looking at our heritage, we also have a strong translation tradition. The Sultans of Kashmir focused on translating Sanskrit literature into Persian and Persian literature into Sanskrit, creating a vast reservoir of literature that might otherwise have been lost. As late as the twentieth century, Maharaja Pratap Singh established a translation bureau under the aegis of the Jammu and Kashmir Libraries and Research Department. This bureau not only worked to preserve Sanskrit literature but also facilitated the translation of classic Sanskrit works produced in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Featured, Memeiors, NostalgiaKashmir, PUNCH LINE, Z. G. Muhammad
PUNCH LINE
REVIEW OF TWO BIOGRAPHIES OF S M ABDULLAH Punch line By Z.G. Muhammad ‘Oh! It is a whopper sandwich.’It was my instantaneous reaction after finishing reading yet another book on Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. It was the second book I read about him during the past month. The first one that I mentioned in some previous column was Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah- Tragic Hero of Kashmir by Ajit Bhattacharjea; an octogenarian journalist in Kashmir is generally counted amongst the ‘sympathetic’ for his earlier book the Wounded Valley. His book on Sheikh Abdullah, though based on secondary sources, is readable and quite enjoyable. He has beautifully built up Abdullah story from the memoirs of Sheikh Abdullah, B.N. Mullick, Syed Mir Qasim, Karan Singh and Nehru- Sardar Patil correspondence and other sources. He undoubtedly has blended extracts from his source material and his analysis with deftness to present … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk, PUNCH LINE, Z. G. Muhammad