The Mahabharat: scholarship about
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Urdu Mahâbhârat
Version by Haji Talib Hussain,Durga Prasad
The Times of India, Oct 02 2015
Shailvee Sharda
A UP Muslim family preserving 300-year-old Urdu Mahabharata Sifting through books in a library started by his grandfather in his native village in Rae Bareli, Farman Manjul came across a copy of the Mahabharata written in Urdu at least 300 years ago. Interestingly , each chapter has an introduction in both Arabic and Persian languages. Farman's mother, Shahin Akhtar, revealed that the family had preserved this book as a lucky mascot for the past five generations. “It was probably misplaced after my father's death,“ said Farman, who is going to get the book restored. The Manjuls are residents of Old City's Karbala Colony .
Waheed Abbas, a family friend and a `kari' (religious teacher), studied the book in detail. “This is an emblem of our Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb and must be saved for the generations,“ he said, adding that Haji Talib Hussain and his friend Durga Pra sad wrote the book for Urdu readers. Abbas also said that the Manjuls, who can trace their roots to a Shia prophet Hazrat Imam Ali Naqi, was also keeping the tradition of communal amity alive by preserving their prized possession.
“Although it is not a literal translation, it covers the details of the epic in easy language in a story form,“ explained Abbas. Each chapter is beautifully introduced in calligraphed Arabic. Farman cited an example: `Ba une khaliq e maqan... azamin-o-asman' , which means: `this book contains personalities who are found on both earth and sky .' “I assume that the reference is to Lord Krishna.“ Abbas added that the descriptions are vivid.
