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1wcarter
Sakuntala by Kalidasa 1992
This is a love story that originally appeared in the Indian saga, Mahabharata, which was written between 400BCE and 400CE, and encompasses the Hindu myths, legends and cosmology. Sakuntala was the mother of Bharata from whom the first Indian dynasty descended.
The story describes how Sakuntala, who herself is of divine ancestry and lived in a sacred hermitage, was seduced by the King Duhshanta, and the subsequent turmoil within the lives of both of them.
The FS edition tells the same story in four different ways :-
- in the form of a play written by Kalidasa in about 400CE (the most famous form), translated by Michael Coulson, which takes 103 pages of the book
- as an extract from the Mahabharata, translated by Peter Khoroche, which takes 16 pages
- as an 1893 version adapted by Abanindranath Tagore, written in Bengali for children, translated by William Radice, which takes 15 pages
- as a series of 12 colourful Pahari miniature paintings dating from the early 19th. century, with a commentary by Daljeet Khare.
There is a nine page introduction by William Radice. The only illustrations are the Pahari miniatures at the back of the book. The book is bound in gorgeously iridescent blue-green silk that has a gilt title on the spine and in Sanskrit on the cover. The page tops are stained in the same blue-green colour as the binding, and the plain mid-blue slipcase is 26x20cm. The endpapers are plain pale pink.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
This is a love story that originally appeared in the Indian saga, Mahabharata, which was written between 400BCE and 400CE, and encompasses the Hindu myths, legends and cosmology. Sakuntala was the mother of Bharata from whom the first Indian dynasty descended.
The story describes how Sakuntala, who herself is of divine ancestry and lived in a sacred hermitage, was seduced by the King Duhshanta, and the subsequent turmoil within the lives of both of them.
The FS edition tells the same story in four different ways :-
- in the form of a play written by Kalidasa in about 400CE (the most famous form), translated by Michael Coulson, which takes 103 pages of the book
- as an extract from the Mahabharata, translated by Peter Khoroche, which takes 16 pages
- as an 1893 version adapted by Abanindranath Tagore, written in Bengali for children, translated by William Radice, which takes 15 pages
- as a series of 12 colourful Pahari miniature paintings dating from the early 19th. century, with a commentary by Daljeet Khare.
There is a nine page introduction by William Radice. The only illustrations are the Pahari miniatures at the back of the book. The book is bound in gorgeously iridescent blue-green silk that has a gilt title on the spine and in Sanskrit on the cover. The page tops are stained in the same blue-green colour as the binding, and the plain mid-blue slipcase is 26x20cm. The endpapers are plain pale pink.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2gmacaree
I enjoyed Santukala (have read my Folio twice, even) and would welcome another Folio go at Kalidasa's work
3CLWggg
Thanks, Warwick, for this piece of enablement. I was sold by your description of the "gorgeously iridescent blue-green silk" cover, and found a few copies available on eBay. One was listed at £15.75 in "Fine unread condition", and should be with me early next week. Mmmm... gorgeously iridescent...
4cweller
I picked this up on ebay for $9.99 in Fine condition a couple weeks ago. Plan to start it this weekend.
5boldface
>1 wcarter:
A very attractive edition. I love the illustrations. And I'm pleased to see that your copy hasn't faded at all, considering the high number of Folio "silk" bindings that seem to have suffered in this way over the years.
A very attractive edition. I love the illustrations. And I'm pleased to see that your copy hasn't faded at all, considering the high number of Folio "silk" bindings that seem to have suffered in this way over the years.
6CLWggg
As mentioned by Warwick, the iridescent watered silk cover truly is a thing of beauty:
https://imgur.com/QcEeTEv
Very much looking forward to reading this!
https://imgur.com/QcEeTEv
Very much looking forward to reading this!
