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Chapter 2 28 Chapter 2 Shakespeare’s Indian Appropriations: The Indian Shakespeare / /• ! ' V i \ 1. Introduction This chapter examines the interaction (more than two hundred years) between Shakespeare and India. Such an age - old interaction is embedded in a matrix of simultaneous assimilation and opposition and reflects the influences of contemporary political and cultural concerns in Shakespeare appropriations. Indian engagement with Shakespeare is not just a part of history, it also involves questions pertaining to larger political and philosophic currents. As rightly viewed by Sisir Kumar Das, not only widespread, stretching over a vast region conspicuous by its linguistic and cultural diversities, but also of the longest duration so far as any other foreign writer is considered. The Indian engagement with Shakespeare that began almost from the initial phase of the Indo-British encounter and which continues still to-day, fifty years after the end of the Raj, is not simply an issue of literary history involving the problematics of influence and impacts, reception and survival, but an integral part of larger questions of politics and culture in a colonial situation. (Das. 52) t : Chapter 2 | 29 Shakespeare exists in Indian cultural and literary life in two different forms: the Elizabethan Shakespeare and the Indian Shakespeare. The Elizabethan Shakespeare exists in the curriculum of the educational system, whereas the Indian Shakespeare exists in the form of appropriations of various kinds through translations, performances, adaptations and has gradually emerged as a discipline in India. In India, Shakespeare’s reception dates back to the beginning phase of Indo-British encounter. Shakespeare is diffused into various regions in India from the initial phases of colonization, and the main centers of his activity is found in places like Bengal, Maharastra, Tamilnadu particularly during the colonial rule. This section outlines Shakespeare appropriations in these regions focusing on translations and performances in the respective languages. In this regard, Shakespeare appropriations in Bangla, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi are discussed in some detail as they bear the Shakespearean impact significantly. 2. Shakespeare in Bangla When English came to Calcutta, the Englishmen brought with them the reverence for Shakespeare. In 18th century the formation of Calcutta Theatres initiated the practice of regular English play performance. Shakespearean plays like Hamlet and Richard III became quite popular. In the process, other theatres like The Chowringhee Theatre and a theatre called Sans Souchi played a major role in staging Shakespearean productions. Plays like Othello, Merchant of the Venice, Macbeth were staged frequently to appease the British and some aristocratic Indians. Shakespearean themes and plots generated enthusiasm and interest for the Bengali elite group. A Chapter 2 | 30 knowledge of Shakespeare and an ability to quote the dramatist became a symbol of aristocracy and the Bengali elite started adopting this new cultural identity to elevate their status to more refined natives in the colonial rule. Jyotshna Singh in “Different Shakespeares” (1996) analyzes the ‘new found passion’ in theatrical performances in Calcutta. Singh’s words are quoted in some length here. While the English playhouses by their production of English, especially Shakespeare’s plays, created an appetite for theatrical performances, the foundation of the Hindu College in 1816, and the teaching of Shakespeare by eminent teachers like Richardson [who was also a founder of the Chowringhee Theatre] created in the minds of students - the intelligentsia of modem Bengal - a literary taste for drama as such, and taught them, not only how to appreciate Shakespeare criticism, but also to recite and act scenes from his plays. This fashion spread to every academic institution. In 1837 Bengali students staged scenes from The Merchant of Venice in the Governor’s house; in 1852 and 1853, the students of the Metropolitan Academy and David Hare Academy staged Shakespeare’s plays, while the old and new students of the Oriental Academy staged... Shakespeare’s Othello in 1853, The Merchant of Venice in 1854, and Henry IV in 1855. Shakespeare’s dramas became an indispensable part of English education and a popular item in all cultural productions. The Bengali theatre, which made its mark in the later decades, was the natural outcome of this new-found passion. (Singh 129) Chapter 2 Shakespearean appropriations in the form of translations were domesticated to bring a native flavor to its readers. Haran Chandra Ghose rendered The Merchant of Venice in both prose and verse, named Bhanumati Chittavilas in the year 1853. This is an adaptation and the translator domesticated the play to a great extent. Another case of similar domestication is found in the year 1869 by Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. He translated The Comedy of Errors as Bhranti Vilas where he domesticated the entire play including the smallest details. In the 19th century, a prominent translator Haran Chandra Rakshit summarized the complete works of Shakespeare in Bangla prose in twelve volumes in the form of a novel (1896-1903). Shakespearean plays influenced the contemporary literature and theatres. Exposure to Western sources endowed the Bengali translators and authors an opportunity to enhance the theatrical performances during that time. In the words of Sudipto Chatteij ee, Concentration of wealth in the hands of the tabus [the bourgeoisie] and the rise of a Western-style educated middle class [Macaulay’s subjects] provided the right moment of pollination for the budding of a Bengali theatre... Close contact with the British inspired both classes to create their own theatre in the European mould. With the coming of economic, political, and social stability [for these classes] i - with a mean being struck between traditional Bengali culture and the ... British cultural imports - a system of patronage was bom that was to keep Bengali theatre alive for some time. (20) 31 Chapter 2 Shakespearean appropriations in Bangla in the post colonial period featured some distinct traits and differentiated them from pre-colonial productions. The pre-colonial translations were based on the colonial troupe of civilization, whereas the postcolonial productions focused on an indigenous identity, independent of British culture and convention. The purpose of these translations were twofold : introducing Western sources and showing the social and political concerns of contemporary India. (Singh, 141) In this revival of Shakespeare appropriations, Utpal Dutt played a major role by introducing Shakespeare in Jatra (folk theatre) form. He was quite successful in introducing the Elizabethan Shakespeare to rural India through an intercultural experiment. Macbeth was made very popular among the rural natives with such intercultural perspective combined with elements of melodrama. However, Shakespeare exercised more profound influence on Bangla theatre and literature than any other foreign author of the west. 3. Shakespeare in Marathi The Marathi appropriation of Shakespeare is interesting as the Bard was received with a purpose to underline the contemporary social and political problems. The opposition against the British rule and rejection of the cultural and social values of the liberal west were reflected in Marathi literature. The translations and productions reflect the gap between both the cultures and there by establish the superiority of Indian values and tradition over British culture and customs. Hence, a cultural movement evolved out of such strong responses to Shakespeare. This movement was initiated by V.J Kirtane in the year 1861. Another prominent national figure and a translator Chapter 2 | 33 Nanasaheb Peshwa translated Shakespeare’s Hamlet into Marathi in the year 1862. The first adaptation of Othello was done in 1867 by a well-known dramatist Mahadev Govindshastri Kolhatkar, and this was staged successfully. Following this, other translations and adaptations of Shakespeare like The Tempest (1874) King Lear (1881), A Midsummer Night’s dream (1882)Borneo and Juliet (1882) were quite successful and popularized Shakespeare on Marathi stage. Sisir Kumar Das describes the reasons of such grand success of Shakespearean plots in Marathi: (...) despite its tragic ending, it provided much closure approximation to the Indian experience of love and passion, social authority and individual frustration within the rigidities of caste and marriage rules. The twin lovers became a part of the Indian inventor}' of love legends that include Radha and Krishna, Laila and Majnu, Shirin and Farhad, Heer and Ranjha, Sohini and Mahiwal, and Devdas and Parvati. ( Das,76) Among other Shakespearean plays, Hamlet was very successful and remained unparalleled by any other play. This play was most successfully rendered in Marathi and “has evoked such unbounded enthusiasm and admiration in India” (Yajnik,159). In the year 1883, most notable adaptation of Hamlet was made by Agarkar as Vikara vilasit. In the play, the English names were replaced by the names of Sanskrit origin and the European myths by Indian myths and allusions. The play in translation was domesticated and blended in an Indian flavour that contributed to its success. Among other translations, the three act adaptation of Hamlet (1957) Chapter 2 | 34 by Nana Joag deserves attention as the translator attempted a Marathi parallel of Shakespeare’s blank verse. This play was also domesticated and admired for its dramatic impact. The Marathi renderings of King Lear and Romeo and Juliet reflected deviations and variations in plot development. They ended in happy notes. Such Shakespearean tragedies ending with happy notes, created a space for a new sensibility in modem Marathi literature. Shakespeare had a profound influence on the Marathi literature and translators and authors frequently borrowed ideas from his subtle treatment of characters. Such influences are reflected especially in the works of Ram Ganesh Gadkari and K.P. Khadilkar. They borrowed distinct character traits from different plays of Shakespeare and blended them together in the Marathi text. However, most of the translators domesticated Shakespearean themes and plots and projected the superiority of Indian tradition in comparison to that of the west. The portrayal of such social and cultural agenda with the help of Western sources were successful. It also justified Shakespeare’s fine treatment of characters and stylistic rhetoric that influenced and shaped translators’ decisions to domesticate the plays with a Sanskritized bent. 4. Shakespeare in Tamil The Tamil appropriations of Shakespeare appeared in the late 18th century. In 19th century, Shakespeare was introduced in the Tamil stage by Pammal Sambanda Mudaliyar, a founding member of the Tamil theatre called Suguna Vilasa 5aMa.( 1874-1964). He adapted five plays of Shakespeare and staged them. The plays were Hamlet, Macbeth, As you Chapter 2 Like It, Cymberline and The Merchant of Venice. Out of these, Hamlet was very popular. This play followed the original closely but the translator presented it in an Indian context. In this play the reflections of Dravidian practices made it quite successful on the stage. Other active translators of the time were Aru Somasundaram, Pulavar Ekambaranathan, Justice Mahajan, T.N. Seshachalam and Swami Vibhulananda (a missionary of the Ramakrishna Mission in Sri Lanka). Swami Vibhulananda played a major part in the Shakespearean studies in Tamil. He analyzed Shakespearean plays in the light of the eight-fold theory of the ancient scripture, Meyppatu. However, these translators appropriated Shakespeare through translation and familiarized Shakespearean themes and plots in Tamil. 5. Shakespeare in Kannada Shakespeare in Kannada language bore national significance as many translations and adaptations received the reputation of a national status. In 19th and 20th century, thirty-six Shakespearean plays were translated. Out of them, Raktaksi, an adaptation of Hamlet by Dr Kuvempur V.Puttapa won the prestigious Janpith award in 1932. Other translators like, Ananda Rao, Masti Venkata Ayyangar, Ramachandra Deva, Y.M. Shanmukhayya translated Shakespeare in Kannada. The most popular plays were Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear. Among the major tragedies, Hamlet was quite successful. It was staged frequently and generated mush interest in the contemporary time. Kuvempur contributed to Hamlefs success by incorporating cross - cultural dialogues. The translator skillfully shifts the venue and locates it in an Indian context: 35 Chapter 2 | 36 (...) the British and Christian culture into Indian, Hindu and especially Lingayat, culture by borrowing the historical characters belonging to the royal family of the Bidanur kingdom in the Shimoga district in mid-Karnataka. Likewise, Kuvempu finds parallels with the major events of Hamlet in the royal history of Bidanur and their relationship with Hyder Ali of Mysore. (Naiker 5-6) Modem Kannada literature is considered rich for profound influence of Sanskrit and a reflection of Western resources. Most of the renderings were in prose and the translators attempted a free translation of the text where the translator produced Shakespearean texts in the target language without the form and style of Shakespeare (Newmark.81). The reason behind such appropriations was the caution taken to preserve one’s own identity and come to terms with a predominant alien culture. Writers started translating Shakespeare faithfully “when our own language (Kannada) and culture had become strong enough to accept Shakespeare on the basis of equality” (Guttal, 5). However, more promising translations started in the 20th century after Kuvempur received national fame for translating a Shakespearean play. 6. Shakespeare in Hindi Shakespeare’s major translations in Hindi began in the late 19th century. The earliest translation appeared in the year 1879 by Ratnachandra who adapted Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors as Bhramajalaka. The other translations that followed in the consequent years are, The Merchant of Venice asDurlabh Badhu Ya by Harishchandra, the same play by Gokulehandra Sharma as Venice ka Byapari in the year 1888. M.P Chapter 2 | 37 Choudhury translated The Tempest in 1893 as Tuphan. In 1894, Gadadhar Sinha translated Othello and retained the original name in his translation. A famous poet and writer Harivansh Rai Baeehan translated three plays of Shakespeare and like Gadadhar Sinha, he too retained the original names. He translated Macbeth in 1957, Hamlet in 1969, and King Lear in 1972. Hindi as a national language recreated Shakespearean plays with intercultural experiment and elements of melodrama. There are almost five film adaptations of Shakespearean plays in Hindi and in Urdu. Two of them are Hamlet, one of Romeo and Juliet and the rest two are The Comedy ofErrors. Shorab Modi, a well known film personality produced Khoon ka Khoon in the year 1935, and Kishore Sahu produced Hamlet in the year 1957. These adaptations featured Shakespearean style and contained elements like song, dance, love triangles, melodrama, comedy, coincidences and so on. Recent Shakespeare appropriations in the Indian film industry include Maqbool and Omkara by Vishal Bharadwaj. However, the influence of Shakespeare in Hindi literature is significant for it portrayed Shakespeare in a remarkable display of intercultural appropriations. 7. Conclusion To sum up, the pre-colonial and the post colonial India has located Shakespeare beyond his specific and traditional frame of the text and the stage practice, far from his own historical and cultural context. The Indian Shakespeare presented here can be seen as an exploration of encounters between two literary and cultural traditions in different phases of their histories. Such interaction is embedded in a matrix of simultaneous Chapter 2 j 38 assimilation and opposition and projects the contemporary social and cultural contexts. The Indian languages have appropriated Shakespeare with success into their own literary and theatrical traditions and quietly used him to intervene in the cultural and political contexts of contemporary India and implemented their own cultural agenda. Shakespeare appropriations in Indian languages exhibit the authors’ participation in various literary and cultural movements and at the same time portray the evolution of Indian literature in different parts of the country. However, John Russel Brown feels that new modes of understanding can be revealed if Shakespeare is performed in different contexts: “ in some ways Asian theatres offer a better site than the new Globe for reconsideration and reform” (Brown 191). Chapter 2 | 39 Work Cited Brown, John R. New Sites for Shakespeare. London: Routledge, 1999:141 Print. Chatterjee, Sudipto. “Mise-En-(Colonial)-Scene: The Theatre of Bengal Renaissance,” Imperialism and Theatre. Ed. J. Ellen Gainor, 20. London: Routledge, 1995: 19-35. Print. Das, Sisir Kumar. Indian Ode to the West Wind. Delhi: Pencraft International, 2001:50-77. Print. Guttal, Vijaya. “Travails of Translation with Reference to the Translations of Shakespeare’s Plays in Kannada.” Shakespeare in India. Seminar, Feb. 5-7, 1998. Abstracted in Bulletin of the Shakespeare Society of India (19971999). Delhi: Rajiva Verma, n. d. 5. Print. Naiker, Basavraj. “Raktaksi: An Example of a Cultural Adaptation of Hamlet.” Shakespeare in India. Seminar, Feb. 8-9, 1999. Abstracted in Bulletin of the Shakespeare Society of India (1997-1999). Delhi: Rajiva Verma, n. d. 5-6. Print. Newmark, P. Approaches to Translation. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall. 1998: 80-82.Print. Singh, Jyotshna G. Colonial Narratives/ Cultural Dialogues: “Discoveries” of India in the Language of Colonialism. London : Routledge, 1996: 140144. Print. Chapter 2 | 40 —. “Different Shakespeares: the Bard in Colonial/Postcolonial India” Shakespeare: Varied Perspectives. Ed. Vikram Chopra. Delhi: B.R. Publications, 1996:122-135. Print. Yajnik, R.K. The Indian Theatre: Its Origins and its Later Developments under European Print. Influence. London: Allen and Unwin, 1933: 159-160.