Ramayana, the great Indian epic, is now available in Polish language, courtesy Janusz Krzyzowski, an Indologist in Poland who has translated the monumental work.
Though few episodes of Ramayana were translated into Polish in 1816, these were mere translation of western writers. In the
20th century, some attempts were made to translate a few more chapters.
It seems Krzyzowski collected the material from dozens of books and presented in a coherent manner so that a reader could sustain his interest while going through different chapters. The original was penned by Maharishi Valmiki in Sanskrit.
"My main purpose was to translate this epic into many chapters in a story format so that laymen and particularly Polish children could enjoy the book as well as they should be aware of the great Indian mythological tradition.
"Ramayana and Mahabharata are two great epics which cannot (be) compared with other epics. Even Greek epics come out as pale shadows when we see the canvas of the Indian epics. They are almost unique in the history of mankind," Krzyzowski told IANS.
The book's effect was visible when a group presented a two-hour show on the pattern of Ramlila. In May, the group will visit few cities in Poland to enact Ramlila for Polish schoolchildren with the help of the Embassy of India in Warsaw.
"He has done great justice to promote India in his nation. He deserves all our praise and we feel proud that such a gem is with us in Poland," Indian ambassador Monika Mohta told IANS.
Krzyzowski has been a prolific writer on India since 15 years. His love for India has roots since his university days when he enrolled for a master degree in philosophy after a medical degree. This interest turned him into an automatic Indophile.
His books on Ashoka and Tansen were well-received along with books of Urdu masters like Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Faiz Ahmad Faiz that he translated with Surender Zahid, an Urdu poet in Warsaw.
Krzyzowski is the president of India-Poland Cultural Committee since its inception in 2004.