Episode 238

Written by Kashmiri court poet Srivara, Kathakautukam reprises Yusuf Wa Zuleikha, a Persian love story by Maulana Jami. It is a rare confluence of cultures in Sanskrit, but relatively obscure. What drew you to it?Apart from its literary quality, I was propelled by three reasons: one, my effort all along has been to bring little-known Sanskrit works into mainstream reading. Then, Kathakautukam is a Sanskrit work which also reflects intermingling between Hindu and Islamic cultures. But let me add, there are other such works. Two years ago, I translated Suleiman Charitra, a Sanskrit work by Kalyan Malla, a 16th-century poet in a Lodhi ruler’s court, which reconstructed the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba using Arabic texts, elements of Arabian Nights and sringar rasa. Courtesy. TOI