Shakespeare in Assamese | Navakanta Barua

Maharisi Kamlakanta, a fiery exponent of Nationalism, wrote a poem in the last decade of the 19th century where he condemns the young men of Assam for parading their knowledge of foreign poets, ignoring their own. In the list of anathemas he included Milton and Byron, who were really little more than mere names in the Assamese literary consciousness. Fortunately or unfortunately, the metrical structure of the poem could not accommodate the name of Shakespeare. And now looking back from the sixties of the 20th century, one feels that the name of Shakespeare was rightly omitted.

Of all English poets it is Shakespeare who is really something more than that of a name in Assam. He entered the Assamese literary scene as early as 1888 when The Comedy of Errors was first published in Assamese version – about thirty years after the first Assamese drama in the western style, Ram-Navamee by Gunabhiram Barooah, was written in 1857.

Assam has a traditional dramatic from called ‘Bhawana’ in which the Ankia Natas of the Vaishanava poets are performed. It is a blending of music (insturmental and vocal). dance, recital of prose or verse dialogues and masque. Though there is a reference in the life of Sankaradeva to the use of a sort of backdrop, the Bhawana is performed not on a stage but in an enclosure surrounded on three sides by the audience. This from of dramatic activity still continues in the villages and the Vaishanava monasteries.

I was late in the 19th century that Assamese young men coming from the Calcutta Colleges started producing plays in the Western style on improvised stages. The three Puja nights drew a goodly crowd to these theatrical performances

As there were no stage-able plays at that time in Assamese (the early dramatic work of the modern period was meant for the study and not the stage) the young theater-enthusiasts started translating, adapting and imitating Bengali plays, copies of which they brought from Calcutta.

By and by small amateur parties grew up in all the towns of Assam and there was a great demand for stageable plays. It was then that Shakespeare entered the scene.

One thing is rather striking- that none of the playwrights translated Shakespeare literally. The universal appeal of Shakespearean plays made it easier for them to adapt them. The story and the characters remained virtually the same, but everything else took on a sort of Indian garb. Even now. while translating Shakespeare many playwrights continue to Indianise the characters and situations. Othello was translated as ‘Ranjit Singha’ by Sailadhar Rajkhowa. As the play was only staged and not printed, very few people knew that it was Shakespeare’s. Similarly, As You Like it was translated as ‘Chandravali’ by Durgeswar Sarma and Cymbeline became ‘Ratnavali’ in the hands of the same writer. Coriaolanus became ‘Tara’ as the Assamese dramatist Ambika Goswami put more emphasis on the character of Volumnia that on the hero. Devananda Bharali published an abridged translation of Macbeth and called it Bhimdarpa. The most attractive of Shakespeares for the Assamese audience was The Merchant of Venice which was translated by many. Here, too, tul Chandra Hazarika named it ‘Banij Konwar’ (lit., The Merchant Prince) and gave it a thorough Indian wash. King Lear became ‘Asru Tirtha’ in the facile pen of the same playwright-translator.

Recently the All India Radio is trying to popularize Shakespeare by presenting radio-adaptations of his great plays. These translations, however, retain the names and the atmosphere of the original. The adaptations have been done mainly by two playwrights-Phanidhar talukdar and Narayan Bezbarua. Some of these versions, like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, are in press.

There was also an attempt to popularise Shakespeare in the way Charles Lamb had done. The first Shakespeare story to be published was that of The Merchant of Venice written by Jnanadabhiram Barooah, who had spent his early years in Englaand. Annada Shaitya Mandir of Jorhat published a number of small books containing a story each from Lamb’s Tales. Jajneswar Sarma’s ‘Dhumuha’ (The Tempest) was published in 1931. ‘Bhenisar Saud’ (The Merchant of Venice) in 1930, while Bipin Chandra Barua’s ‘Bharama Ranga’ (The Comedy of Errors) was published in 1928. Dulai Borthakur published the stories of Othello and King Lear. Other titles, like ‘Athensar Timon’ (Timon of Athens), Cymbeline and Pericles also appeared. Pericles was translated by Sarat Ch. Goswami, the famous educationist.

While these translations, adaptations and re-telling of Shakespeare are a measure of the general appreciation of Shakespeare’s genius, his real influence penetrated deeper into the creative consciousness of Assamese writers. Shakespearean characters are often re-incarnated in some important plays of high literary value. This is true particularly of the Assamese historical play, as in the three great plays of Lakshminath Bezbaroa representing three periods of the history of Assaam. jaimat, Chakradwaja Singha and Belimar, where the character of Gajpuria faintly echoes that of Falstaff, and Priyaram resembles Prince Hal, while the tragic character of Badan Chandra is painted on the lines of Richard III.

In the expositions of the plot also Assamese playwrights have borrowed from Shakespeare. The idea of tragic relief came to them from their reading of Shakespeare. The idea of tragic relief came to them fro their reading of Shakespeare which was often mechanically applied in the placing of light and serious scenes side by side. Likewise the Fool in Assamese dramatic literature is not the counterpart of the Indian classical ‘Bidushaka’. Bezbarooa’s ‘Bhoomook’ Bahua (which means a clown) is next of kin to the Shakespearean fool. All the plays written during the thirties have the fool in some form or other.

Shakespeare is not more widely read that he was two decades ago. In the schools and colleges when it comes to staging English plays the first choice is Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice and Julius Caesar being particularly popular.

Indian Review Author Profile:

Navakanta Barua (1926 – 2002) is well known Assamese poet with many collection of poems including Ratnaakar, Jati Aaru Keitaamaan Sketch, Mur Aaroo Prithiveer, Dolongot Taamighoraa, Selected Poems (in English). He is a recipient of Sahitya Academy award, 1975, Soviet Land Nehru award, Kabir Samman, Assam Valley Literary award etc. Read a review of Dolongot Taamighoraa. Read more about him here.

Nabakanta Barua (29 December 1926 – 14 July 2002) was a prominent Assamese novelist and poet. He was also known as Ekhud Kokaideu. As Sima Dutta he wrote many poems in his early life. He also won the following awards

• 1974: Assam Prakashan Parisod Award, Mur aru Prithibir
• 1975: Sahitya Akademi Award to Assamese Writers, Kokadeutar Har
• 1976: Padma Bhushan, Literature & Education
• 1993: Assam Valley Literary Award
• 1998: Kamal Kumari National Award