Translators From India

"Reading biographies of great men would shape the life of the youth."

"The probity in a public life is a must for improvement of country’s economy vis-à-vis the living conditions of common man. To mould the perceptions of students he wrote biographies of three great men."

"The one and only God of Universe Vishwanatha, takes the shape of different deities, worshipped by the devotees whether he be Hindu, Jain, Parsi, Mohammed, Yahudi, Christian. Let him also sow seeds of unity and friendship in the mind of the people of the country."

"Be like that grass on the foot of the hill, Or like that jasmine plant behind the house, Be like hard rock when the fate rains difficulties upon you; Be like jaggery & sugar bringing happiness to the poor & needy, Be one among all mingling and mixing –Mankuthimma"

"Once in garden then in friends’ company, Once in music and then in philosophy, Once with family and then in silence, Experience Brahman- Mankuthimma"

"Best of feasts is the essence of the Supreme Brahman, Nothing to beg when you have tasted it. Vanishes the distinction of renouncer, renunciation and renounced. And you become the monarch of the universe - Mankuthimma."

"Linguistic equivalence and cultural communication are thus complimentary to each other as language is culture generative and culture bound."

"As the author describes it, it is the conversation of a “common man” with other common men. Intricate, distant and sacred questions of Religion, Reality, Dharma and Divinity are not for me. .... such has been my belief from the outset. It was not my good fortune to have had transcendental experiences, concentration on religious austerities, or the philosophical knowledge to qualify me for the exposition of abstruse problems."

"Power without the fear of enquiry is like pickles without salt that would degenerate into a pit of worms. The fear of enquiry is the body guard of power administration."

"The rights that we upheld can be termed Theoretical Rights. They weren’t directly related to the common citizens’ daily life...what we demanded was democracy; what we’ve got party-cracy. [...] But the questions that some folks had asked me back then continue to remain intact. Mahatma Gandhi himself led this haste. The day after the riots at Vidurashwatha, he sent a telegram to Diwan Mirza [Ismail] thus: “Give the Responsible Government immediately. People have registered their qualification for it.” What’s the import of this? That mob enthusiasm is a proof of qualification, right? [...] Why has what appeared as an attractive political system become so abhorrent in practical experience? To state the truth, we cheated ourselves...back then, we didn’t have an estimate of how wretched human nature will become when confronted with the treasure called power. Our activist zeal concealed basic, natural human weaknesses from us."

"...our national leaders demanded ‘Swarjaya’ [self-rule]. It was equally true that everybody had joined that demand. But the key [element] in that ‘Swarajya’ was the ejection of foreigners. But it wasn’t crystal clear in anybody’s mind as to the sort of people who would take the place of these foreigners. “Let the foreigners get out first, we’ll rule our country ourselves” – this was the only definite opinion back then... thus, the leaders of India artificially embraced to their hearts a political system that wasn’t convenient to our people...the pundits who authored Bharata’s political statute were bookish pundits..."

"… there is nothing peculiarly British or European in these ideas [of liberalism]. Their validity is universal. So far as India is concerned, the ideas are implicit in the Hindu concept of Dharma. […] Dharma is individual self-sustenance or one's being oneself… None can perform the Dharma of another. The eye cannot hear; the leg cannot taste… Liberty is opportunity for … self-fulfilment. Sva-tantra or liberty is a condition indispensable to Sva-dharma. It should be noted that, while the word liberty, denoting absence of restraint, is negative in its import, the word Sva-dharma (one's own duty prescribed by the principle of the general good) is positive. The notion of duty is implied and not explicit in liberty, while the notion of Sva-tantra (liberty) is implied and not explicit in Sva-dharma (duty). The relative emphasis in the two phrases is characteristic of the two scales of value. That liberty is incidental and ancillary to Dharma is the Hindu view…[…]Self-fulfilment is not in solitude, but in and through society… Law or Nyaya is the working of Dharma.[…]Dharma is thus charity or philanthropy, citizenship, or public spirit… The progress of the soul is from self-expression under the law of justice to self-dissolution in life universal--from Dharma to Moksha, from individualism to universalism, from life limited to life limitless."

"History, if it should serve its purpose of stirring emotion, instigating inquiry and directing thought, must first of all be exciting. Is it impossible to be both truthful and warm-hearted, both factual and moving? Are imagination and conscience necessarily enemies to each other? In reconciling them is the art of the true historian. The flow of the story must be swift, vivid, vibrant."

"Never think of attempting a Utopia. Utopias are built either with self-perfected men and women or with brainless robots of obedience; but not with such mixture of good and bad as we are. Attempt at Utopia is therefore a delusion. It causes diversion of attention and energy which should go to little improvements that are achievable. The Utopia is thus the enemy of the practicable good."

"What is the character and nature of the people of India? What are their life-ideals? These are primary and basic questions that need to be asked in our politics... [in the ideals of our people], the world is just an instrument; the other world is a possibility, that is, it’s something that needs to be attained. A thirsty man needs water. What is required for water is a utensil. Thus, the utensil acquires a value because of water. In the same manner, worldly life acquires a value because it enables the attainment of the goal of reaching a higher world. And politics acquires a value because of worldly life. This is the chief tenet."

"This [Journalism] is not a profession of my choice. Nor is it family traditional occupation. God must have created this profession as a fit theater for all my struggles...Whatever I have written so far is about politics or philosophy, literature, music, poetry or even speeches I made either in the floor of assembly or from public-platforms-all these in a way touch one aspect of journalism or the other"

"Be relaxed, not to bother yourself, let it happen whatever that happens."

"D.V.G.’s exposition of the Bhagavad Gita is unique in the vast literature on the “Song Celestial”. It is the record of talks before an audience seeking guidance in the real concerns of living. It is not a deliberate work of philosophical discussion or dry, intellectual analysis. Even where philosophical problems are taken up, academic interest is subordinated to practical concern. Material for explanation and illustration is taken up from everyday life. It is an easy, informal and clear stream of discourse without the ponderousness of a formal composition."

"…you should both make up your minds to set apart 5 or 10 minutes every day, early in the morning, for what I would call the practice of approach to the Principle of Life… You may, in a low pitch of voice and slowly, read at first—and recite from memory after a time—some selected verses or songs embodying those ideas. I won’t insist on Sanskrit. Take the verses from Shakespeare or from Shelley if you like. All I suggest is that the passages should be such… as will readily call your mind to the deeper side of life. Whether you keep an image or a picture in front of you is a matter entirely for your choice. Image, flower, incense, a definite place, a particular seat and posture, [vibhūti] or [nāma] – these are of value only as initiators or aids to a heightened attitude of mind…You ask for no boons or favours in your prayer. You pray because prayer is a joy in itself. Prayer is contemplation of the source of life and of the forces which shape life. The reward for it is of the same kind as the reward for the contemplation of sunrise or moonrise."

"In the…varṇāśrama polity of ancient India, the State did not occupy so prominent a place in the non-kshatriya man’s life as it does now. Family was the hub of the universe…Family life was for every man. State life or civic duty was only for the kshatriya ordinarily. It was Greece that first developed the notion of the State as a moral annexe to…the family."

"To D.V.G., the problem of problems today is confusion and perplexity about one’s duty to self and society."

"Before the advent of Gandhi there was an open atmosphere in public discourse… After Gandhiji took the stage, this culture of free and open disagreement and debates vanished. It was said that the political stand of the entire country should be one, and that Gandhiji’s frontal leadership should be unhindered. It was said that if Gandhiji spoke, the nation spoke. The reasoning offered was as follows: unless the nation adopted this unquestioning mentality, we would not get freedom from the British… from then onwards, People were prohibited from taking his name without the mandatory honorific of “Mahatma.” Gandhiji’s thought was the nation’s thought."

"Karnad is regarded as one of the three great writers of the Contemporary Indian Drama, the other two being Vijay Tendulkar and Badal Sircar. His significant plays include Yayati, Tughlaq, Naga-Mandala, Tale-Danda and Hayavadana."

"Girish Karnad is the foremost playwright of the contemporary Indian stage. He has given the Indian theatre a richness that could probably be equated only with his talents as an actor-director. His contribution goes beyond theater. He had directed feature films, documentaries and television serials in Kannada, Hindi and English and has played leading roles as an actor in Hindi and Kannada art films, commercial movies and television serials. H has represented India in foreign lands as an emissary of art and culture."

"If calling Tagore a third rate playwright constitutes freedom of expression, then calling Karnad’s plays as bullshit is also freedom of expression."

"The subject that interests most writers is, of course, themselves and it is easy subject to talk about. But you know it is always easier if you are a poet or a novelist because you are used to talking in your voice. You suspend your whole life talking as writer directly to the audience. The problem is being playwright is that everything that you write is for someone else to say."

"I was excited by the story of Yayati. This exchange of ages between the father and the son, which seemed to be terribly powerful and terribly modern. At the same time I was reading a lot of Sartre and the Existentialist. This consistent harping on responsibility which the Existentialist indulge in suddenly seemed to link up with the story of Yayati."

"When people all around us are slaughtered in the name of a temple (and masjid) I hear echoes from those times long past."

"I've had a good life....I have managed to do all I could wish for --even be a government servant. Now I feel whatever time I have left should be spent doing what I like best -- writing plays."

"I see a legacy of my generation... I am happy to belong to a generation that had a Dharmaveer Bharti, a Mohan Rakesh, a Vijay Tendulkar and I. Together we can claim that we did create a national theatre for modern India."

"What a person understands as his or her Purusharthas could very according to his or her background stageand station in life, sex, etc., as well as the nature of the crisis he or she is facing"

"Everybody must definitely nod their head in appreciation at the list of books Dr. Bhyrappa has read in order to write not just about Tipu Sultan, but Muhammad Tughlaq, too. He has really worked hard. However, instead of going to such pains, he should have asked me directly, I would have told him: I don’t have an iota of interest in the historical Muhammad Tughlaq. I have no interest as to whether he was good or evil, whether he was pro or anti-Hindu. I wished to write an entertaining play, and in the endeavor, wanted to choose a fairly complex character. Tughlaq’s life provided me that material. I took as much I wanted and used it in the manner I wanted to use. My Tughlaq is not the historical Tughlaq. It is an imaginary character. If I wanted to write history, I would’ve written history instead, and not a play."

"Many don't know Kuvempu wrote poems in English as early as 1922, bringing out a collection of seven poems titled Beginner's muse! In 1924, when Kuvempu got introduced to the Irish poet James Cousins through Dr M H Krishnamachar, he suggested to Kuvempu that he should write only in Kannada. Though he was initially disheartened by Cousin's advice, he later realised his full potential as a poet and a multi-faceted writer in the richness of Kannada."

"The next prime minister (Narendra Modi) may be a man who organised the slaughter of more than 3000 Muslims in Gujarat. He is a candidate; he is being touted as the next prime minister."

"I have been lucky in having multipronged career. You know how I have been an actor, a publisher, a film maker. But in none of these fields have I felt quite as much at home as play writing."

"When Manmatha kissed Rati, blood from her lips may have spilt on earth and blossomed into rose on the plant and kisses the viewer's eyes with its beauty now!"

"Amidst the early morning dew Walking across the greenery And in the evening that is scary While taking a breath, Oh, flower, I listen to your song, Oh flower, I defeat your love."

"It was a day of blackest deed When Delhi streets of fame Did glitter well by cursed greed Of harsh Timoor the lame."

"The infinite Yoga knows no end, Endless the quest you apprehend. You'll grow infinite and ascend, When you are unhoused, O my soul!"

"Winnow the chaff of a hundred creeds Beyond these systems, hollow as reeds, Turn unhorizened to where Truth leads, To be unhoused, O my soul!"

"In me is the sky, in me lies the earth."

"Inspired by neo-Vedanta, Kuvempu considered the Vedas and Upanishads as India’s common spiritual heritage, not texts of Brahminical orthodoxy. A famous poem of Kuvempu, "Aniketana", asks that our consciousness not be bounded by the identities of caste, religion, gender, and even language, since they lessen our experience in the world. He wished that we aspire to become vishvamanava (universal human)."

"A new jewel in the crown of Goddess Earth, You are a trove of sandalwood, beauty and gold. Victory to you Mother Karnataka, the daughter of Mother India, where Rama and Krishna had their incarnations."

"Victory to you Mother Karnataka, The daughter of Mother India! Hail the land of beautiful rivers and forests! Hail the abode of saints and seers!"

"Garden of peace for all communities, A sight that allures the connoisseurs, A garden where Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Parsis and the Jains (can grow together); The site where many kings like Janaka ruled; A haven for singers and musicians; The body of the children of Mother Kannada; The house where the Kannada Tongue plays in joy."

"When I hear Kannada, my heart leaps up and I am all ears."

"Every child, at birth, is the Universal Man. But, as it grows, we turn it into "a petty man." It should be the function of education to turn it again into the original "Universal Man." The child which by birth was the universal man is fettered by us with such constraints as country, language, religion, caste, race and colour. To free it from all these limitations and transform it into "the enlightened soul", that is to say, the universal man, — this should become the first and foremost function of our education, culture, civilization, and what not."

"It is not correct to say that Valmiki is the only Ramayana poet. There are thousands of Ramayana poets. There is a Ramayana poet in every village."

"Be unhoused, O my soul! Only the Infinite be your goal. Leave those myriad forms behind, Leave the million names that bind. A flash will pierce your heart and mind, And unhouse you, O my soul!"

"Kuvempu never visited temples, but believed in the presence of creator in each creature. In fact, whenever Kuvempu was not writing or teaching, he meditated. To him, worshipping nature was a path to attain Aadhyatma or The Supreme Soul."