A Poem For All Seasons
By Kalidasa. Translated from the original Sanskrit by AND Haksar
Ritusamharam by Sudhamahi Regunathan Penguin Random House, New Delhi, 2018, 172 pp., 399
August 2018, volume 42, No 8

Kalidasa, the Sanskrit poet, is famous for his imagery. When translating his works, the difficulty for the translator would lie in trying to retain the imagery more than finding the equivalent word. In a simple and unassuming manner, AND Haksar manages just that. He successfully creates the mood all over again in the 21st century for English speaking readers.

Haksar’s language is simple and his approach straightforward, as has been his style in many works of translation. The translation keeps the verse format of the original. When Haksar translated Raghuvamsam, he kept in mind the grandeur the poet was trying to convey, the regal and righteous aura that surrounded the kings. In Ritusamharam, his style is in consonance with the mood of Kalidasa. Ritusamharam finds the poet painting a visual landscape and introducing characters to help the reader relate to the landscape. Chandra Rajan, in The Loom of Time, says that there is a metaphysical underpining to the poem, and the very title is indicative of that. ‘The word samharam (gathering in or collection) in the title of the poem has a specific metaphysical meaning of universal destruction when all creation is drawn in into Siva, its ground and source.’

Haksar lets that debate remain, for he resists one of the greatest temptations for a translator—to interpret. He more or less retains the dictionary meaning of the words wherever possible. The title itself has been variously translated as the Pageant of Seasons or the Collection of Seasons and so on. Haksar calls it A Gathering of Seasons, which is also the literal meaning and is evocative of the visual imagery of gathering up summer, monsoon, autumn, the wintry beginnings, winter itself and finally the much romanticized spring, much like gathering dried leaves, scores of papers or freshly bloomed flowers.

Continue reading this review