: Announcement :
Some of the readers of my blogger, and friends in general, suggested that the Tamil version of my serialised Raghuvamsam, which is based on the famous classic Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsa be rendered in English as wider audience will be able to cherish the contents of the great classical epic of Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa. The suggestions and desires were received on telecon, watts up and during personal discussion. Two amongst them were indeed touching and encouraging which I have reproduced below.
My close friend Mr. Muralidhar Vadhiraj of Bangaluru sent me a message that read:
“Mr Jayaraman, I have been following the serialization of Kalidasa's Raghu Vamsam by you regularly. It was quite enjoyable, though written in a very concise manner. I appreciate the trouble you may have taken over these posts. If they had been in English, I would have shared them among my friends also’’.
Another friend from Germany Mrs .Christa too desired that I publish the English version to enable her translate it into German language and publish it in one of her three sites namely www.shivadarshana.de/ www.krishnadarshana.de /and www.hindumythen.de . When I informed her of my intent to accept her desire and publish the Raghuvamsam in English, she was quick to react thus with her views:
“Thank you Mr. Jayaraman,
Every gem you will send will be added to my ratnamala.
Kindly look on my websites content, the source is always credited. I am only a humble translator to spread the Vedic lore to people who are open to receive it in the German speaking countries.
Your English translation will go round the whole world! Jaya!
Greetings and all my best wishes for your great work
Christa’’
While my serialised Raghuvamsam was not an ecumenical Translation of the said classic in Tamil, it is indeed a concise version of Kalidasa's original Raghuvamsa. While none of the contents of Kalidasa's original work have been changed, the narrations and story as rendered by him have been truly shortened and word to word translation avoided in order to ensure that the classic remains shorter and simpler for the readers to read and understand what Kalidasa's Raghuvamsam spoke of and at the same time feel the ecstasy of joy in the inner heart especially while reading such a great classic connected to divine subject. It is also true that every one can not read and enjoy the classics if they are to remain in the poetic or verse format and Raghuvamsa in original by Kalidasa was narration of the story in verse format. Most of the translations available in English is also in the same format, not comfortable to read and enjoy. Hence my rendering the epic in simpler narration in Tamil and now follow up in English.
In my maiden attempt, borne mainly on account of encouragement from well wishers like Mrs Christa and Mr. Muralidhar Vadiraj, I propose to render the English version of my own serialized Raghuvamsam. The English version is also not word to word translation of my Tamil version, lest it remains just a text unenjoyable to read and therefore close translation and it is for the readers to respond its acceptance and readability in my Email id :- nrj1945@gmail.com . The English version will start appearing in this blogger (http://santhipriyaspages.blogspot.in/) from Sunday, the 19th July, 2015.
-Santhipriya