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Kusumagraj’s Marathi musical translated into English to broaden aappeal
Pune: Marathi literature and theatre is adorned with musical dramas with some being commercially successful
Pune: Marathi literature and theatre is adorned with musical dramas with some being commercially successful. One of such dramas is “Yayati Ani Devyani” written by poet and writer Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar (1912-1999), who is popularly known by his pen name Kusumagraj.
Theatre artist Ninad Jadhav, 50, has translated this popular musical, including its 7-8 songs, into English, in an effort to shatter the language barrier for theatre lovers. He said that the English version of the musical will be on stage in a few months.
Kusumagraj was the recipient of many national awards, including Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
“I believe that theatre breaks language barriers. We have very few examples in the theatre where a drama is translated and performed in another language. That’s why I decided to translate “Yayati Ani Devyani”, a story connected to the Mahabharat, into English. The English version will allow theatre enthusiasts across the globe to watch, perform and enjoy. We have seen this in the case of the dramas written by Kannada writer Girish Karnad (1938-2019). His works were translated into English first and then it was adopted in other Indian languages,” said Jadhav.
“Yayati Ani Devyani”, the musical play was published in 1966. The play narrates the story of King Yayati, an ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, and his two wives Devyani and Sharmishtha. Through these main characters, the play unfolds the complexities of human relations. The music score was given by Hindustani classical vocalist and composer Jitendra Abhisheki. The play became a commercial success.
“Performing this drama on the stage is an experiment as it will depend on the imagination of a theatre artist. The theatre director can keep the original music score and blend the translated songs into it. Also, the dialogues could be in English and the songs could be performed in Marathi in its original form, as they are popular. Based on the translated songs, maybe a new music score could be done,” he said.
The translated text version of the drama will be published on February 27, the 109th birth anniversary of Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar.
“A drama is alive when it is staged. Primary readings have been going on and the audience can see the English version in the course of two months,” said Jadhav.
“My effort is to let the world see the writing style of Kusumagraj. I remember there was an attempt to stage Vasant Kanetkar’s Marathi classic music play “Matsyagandha” (the story of Satyavati from the Mahabharat) in Hindi. I had given playback to one of its songs in Hindi and it was experimental theatre. There has not been any such performance in commercial theatre,” said Charudatta Aphale, a senior vocalist and kirtan (ballad) performer.
