World’s first Ramayan in Urdu set to mesmerise national capital
ALLAHABAD: World’s first Ramayan in Urdu ‘Nazm Harf Harf Tulsikrit Ramayan’, a prized possession of the Allahabad Regional Archives, will be showcased at a mega forthcoming exhibition titled ‘Leela’ to be organized by union Ministry of Culture at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Art this month in the national capital.
The rare work was written by Munshi Jagannath Khushtar in 1864 and published by Naval Kishore Press, Lucknow.
The 300-page Urdu Ramayan having around 130 illustrations will find a place in national-level exhibition scheduled to be organised between November 19 and December 11, 2017 to showcase rare artifacts, manuscripts and documents relating to Ram Katha that are housed in different museums and archives spread across the country.
According to regional officer, Allahabad Regional Archives, Amit Agnihotri, the rare work is one of the most prized possession of our department which not only has text in Urdu but also illustrations depicting various episodes and events of Lord Ram’s life like ‘Ram Vivah’, Bharat Milap’, ‘Vanvas Wapsi’ among others.
“Beginning with ‘Bismillah ir Rehman ir Rahim’(In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful), the Khushtar Ramayana, as it came to be called, presents an eye-witness account, albeit in a florid style. The illustrations are probably for people who did not have knowledge of Urdu language. It is a one of its kind work wherein every part of the Hindu epic has been translated with care. The title ‘Nazm Harf Harf Tulsikrit Ramayan’ means that it was word to word translation of Ramayan written by Tulsidas,” informed the official.
As per the official, though there are 300 such works noted by historians but Kushtar Ramayan stands out for not just being the first such work in Urdu but also its impressive depictions and engaging style of writing that has attracted researchers from India and abroad.
It may be mentioned that the move comes at a time when efforts of mediation to help reach consensus between members of the Hindu and the Muslim communities are underway and the BJP led UP and central governments are striving to popularize religious tourism by sprucing up pilgrimage sites under Ramayan Circuit initiative.