Cross pollination of cultures
Published: 02:01 PM,Jan 28,2022 | EDITED : 06:01 PM,Jan 28,2022
dhowa off sur
INTRO: The book Oman-India ties: Across Sea and Space takes its readers on a visual journey outlining the rich historical relationship between the two great civilizations of Oman and India which goes back more than 5000 years.
Published by Oman Observer in association Indian Embassy Muscat and written by Samuel Kutty (Senior Editor of the Observer) and Sandhya Rao Mehta (Associate Professor of SQU), the book is an attempt to document, archive and disseminate this relationship from its historical past to the present time where these relations have taken new wings.
Extracts from the book will continue to appear on this space every Saturday.
BODY: Given the variety and range of Indian languages, translation of Indian literature into Arabic has been challenging and sporadic. Historically,
the ethical writings of Chanakya and works on logic were translated and catalogued by Ibn Nadim in his 10th century compendium known as Kitab al Fihrist. According to literary historians, some works which were translated into Arabic in the early medieval period include Sindbad Kabir, Sindbad Sagheer, Kitabul Badd, Kitab Baunasef wa Balohar, Kitab Bonasef, Kitab Adabul Hind was Seen, Kissa Hubute Adam, Kitab Turuk, Kitab Dabak Hindi), Kitab Suwerum, Kitab Shanaq fid Tadbeer, Kitab Baidba (on wisdom and knowledge) and Kitab Utur Mashrubat.
Ibn al Muqaffa translated Panchatantra into Arabic as Kalilā wa Dimna around 750 CE13. His work is considered as a model of great Arabic prose and the first masterpiece of Arabic literary prose. It has also been interpreted by different cultures in a variety of forms, including a ballet performed at the Royal Opera House. In the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize winning ‘Geetanjali’ was translated by Wadi Al Bustani, who met and stayed with the poet in Calcutta soon after the Nobel prize was announced. Subsequently, Tagore’s works have been translated into Arabic by various other writers like Al Bustan (‘The Gardner’), Tanius Abdadah (‘Ghare Baire’) and Mahmud Al Manjudy (‘Citra’).
Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi’s famous book on Indo-Arab relations (Arab Oʾ Hind Ke Taʾllugat) and Shibli Nomani’s historical narrative Al Farooq have been translated into Arabic by Suhaib Alam and Jalal Saeed Hafnavi respectively. Various translators had also rendered Premchand’s
‘Gaodan’ into Arabic. The Egyptian scholar Tharwat Okasha compiled an Encyclopedia on art in Islamic Mughal India in 1955.
Of late, there have been many emerging platforms to encourage the translation of Indian works written in regional languages, and English, into Arabic and vice versa. While the Arabic publishing industry was very active in the 1940s in India before publication became popular in the Arab world, the sheer range of Indian languages and access to them for an Arabic writer presents challenges. This is in addition to the historical custom of Arabic writers translating scientific and religious texts over literary ones. Currently, various Arabic departments in India are encouraging translation of Indian literary texts and this is most successful in Kerala, where Malayalam novels are being translated
into Arabic. The famous novel Aadujeevitham (Goat Days) by Benyamin was translated into Arabic by Suhail Wafi under the title Ayyamul Maaiz. He also translated Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s Malayalam novel Balyakala Sakhi into Arabic as Raffeeqath Assiba. Another translator, Ibrahim Badshah rendered two iconic and prizewinning Arabic novels, Saud Sannousi’s The Bamboo Stalk and Booker prize winner Jokha Al Harthi’s Celestial Bodies into Malayalam.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations undertakes various translation projects but is often short on funding for publication. The India Arab Cultural Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia, in collaboration with ‘Kalima’ of Abu Dhabi has been engaging with projects on translating Indian literary works into Arabic. One of their most popular translations has been the work of the poet and critic K Satchidanandan. The IACC also hosts various seminars and conferences to facilitate new interpretations of Indo-Arab literary and cultural ties, which go
beyond colonialist interpretations.
The ballet was entitled Al Hamama Al Mutawwaqa - the ring dove story from Kalilā wa Dimna performed in the 2018 season at the Opera House, Oman.
In Oman, the Culture Club of Oman has been hosting various events to promote and share translations of Indian works, as well as research on Oman. Jokha al Harthi was also invited to participate in the Jaipur Literary Festival in 2020. The Muscat International Book Fair has also consistently showcased Indian authors and their works, making India the focus of their event in 2015 when the fair was accompanied by a series of talks and workshops on Indian literature. Khalid al Belushi of Sultan Qaboos University has been translating contemporary short stories by writers of Indian origin, particularly Bharati Mukherjee and Jhumpa Lahiri.
The seamless cultural contact between India and Oman is evident at every level of cultural life, including dress, culinary traditions and habits. The dishdasha, the traditional Omani menswear is accompanied with the wizar, akin to the lungi commonly worn in southern India, particularly Kerala. A cotton wrap running down the length until the ankle, the wizar is a common attire among fishermen all along the Indian Ocean communities. The tarbusha, a tassel attached along the collar is often dipped in oud or Omani frankinscence. The
Omani turban (mussar) was for a long time exclusively made and exported from Kashmir.
The mussar is a square fabric, produced and embroidered in Kashmir. The particulars of color, cut, embellishment, and manner of wearing
these pieces reveal historical connections with East Africa and the Indian subcontinent as well as Oman’s cosmopolitan history. In fact, Muttrah souq, the famous historical market in Muscat city, sells a large variety of mussars and kummas, most of which are imported directly from Kashmir. They are often made of wool, polyster or cotton, with finely detailed and colourful embroidery. The woollen mussars is either made of cashmere wool or the more expensive pashmina wool that is lighter but sturdier.
A large number of Indians in Kerala used to wear the same mussar as the Omanis have on their heads. The Arab, especially the Omani influence, is evident in the Mappila attire also. Some of the Mappila men wear a turban on the head and put on a piece of cloth on the shoulder. The lungi (waist cloth), which is said to have come from Yemen is the most popular dress of Muslim men in Malabar and is
reminiscent of fishing communities along the Omani coast as well. Religious leaders and Ulema wear full-sleeved long gowns reaching down to the feet.
This might be in accordance with Arab customs. In resemblance to the Omani knife, the Mappilas also keep a knife hanging over their waistcloth.The women’s dresses are traditionally colourful and patterned along the lines of shalwar and kurta, accompanied with jewellery that partakes of Mughal traditions. The Omani dishdasha for women has a similar cut as the ‘kalidar’ kurta and the Omani salwar is similar to the Aligarhi pajama. The embroidery styles of the pajamas are often inspired by Indian techniques, including the use of silver zari embroidery popular in Al-Sharqiya (called the ‘bashtah’). These embroidery designs have been brought from Chennai and Mysore and have
been adapted by tailors to suit local tastes. Similarly, Indian Muslim women are largely influenced by the abaya designs of the Gulf. This is especially true for those who have lived in Oman for a period of time as they take back some of the sartorial choices in modesty wear made popular in the Gulf.
The cultural resemblance of Indians and Omanis is also noticeable in non-material heritage like the application of henna and the donning of colourful bangles on auspicious occasions. There is even an area called Salala in Hyderabad in India named after the city of Salalah in Oman, owing to traditions of marriage between Indians and Omanis, starting with the arrival of Omani traders in the 15th century. In fact, these linkages have brought them closer to each other and provided numerous platforms of exchange and cultural fertilisation.
Published by Oman Observer in association Indian Embassy Muscat and written by Samuel Kutty (Senior Editor of the Observer) and Sandhya Rao Mehta (Associate Professor of SQU), the book is an attempt to document, archive and disseminate this relationship from its historical past to the present time where these relations have taken new wings.
Extracts from the book will continue to appear on this space every Saturday.
BODY: Given the variety and range of Indian languages, translation of Indian literature into Arabic has been challenging and sporadic. Historically,
the ethical writings of Chanakya and works on logic were translated and catalogued by Ibn Nadim in his 10th century compendium known as Kitab al Fihrist. According to literary historians, some works which were translated into Arabic in the early medieval period include Sindbad Kabir, Sindbad Sagheer, Kitabul Badd, Kitab Baunasef wa Balohar, Kitab Bonasef, Kitab Adabul Hind was Seen, Kissa Hubute Adam, Kitab Turuk, Kitab Dabak Hindi), Kitab Suwerum, Kitab Shanaq fid Tadbeer, Kitab Baidba (on wisdom and knowledge) and Kitab Utur Mashrubat.
Ibn al Muqaffa translated Panchatantra into Arabic as Kalilā wa Dimna around 750 CE13. His work is considered as a model of great Arabic prose and the first masterpiece of Arabic literary prose. It has also been interpreted by different cultures in a variety of forms, including a ballet performed at the Royal Opera House. In the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize winning ‘Geetanjali’ was translated by Wadi Al Bustani, who met and stayed with the poet in Calcutta soon after the Nobel prize was announced. Subsequently, Tagore’s works have been translated into Arabic by various other writers like Al Bustan (‘The Gardner’), Tanius Abdadah (‘Ghare Baire’) and Mahmud Al Manjudy (‘Citra’).
Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi’s famous book on Indo-Arab relations (Arab Oʾ Hind Ke Taʾllugat) and Shibli Nomani’s historical narrative Al Farooq have been translated into Arabic by Suhaib Alam and Jalal Saeed Hafnavi respectively. Various translators had also rendered Premchand’s
‘Gaodan’ into Arabic. The Egyptian scholar Tharwat Okasha compiled an Encyclopedia on art in Islamic Mughal India in 1955.
Of late, there have been many emerging platforms to encourage the translation of Indian works written in regional languages, and English, into Arabic and vice versa. While the Arabic publishing industry was very active in the 1940s in India before publication became popular in the Arab world, the sheer range of Indian languages and access to them for an Arabic writer presents challenges. This is in addition to the historical custom of Arabic writers translating scientific and religious texts over literary ones. Currently, various Arabic departments in India are encouraging translation of Indian literary texts and this is most successful in Kerala, where Malayalam novels are being translated
into Arabic. The famous novel Aadujeevitham (Goat Days) by Benyamin was translated into Arabic by Suhail Wafi under the title Ayyamul Maaiz. He also translated Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s Malayalam novel Balyakala Sakhi into Arabic as Raffeeqath Assiba. Another translator, Ibrahim Badshah rendered two iconic and prizewinning Arabic novels, Saud Sannousi’s The Bamboo Stalk and Booker prize winner Jokha Al Harthi’s Celestial Bodies into Malayalam.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations undertakes various translation projects but is often short on funding for publication. The India Arab Cultural Centre at Jamia Millia Islamia, in collaboration with ‘Kalima’ of Abu Dhabi has been engaging with projects on translating Indian literary works into Arabic. One of their most popular translations has been the work of the poet and critic K Satchidanandan. The IACC also hosts various seminars and conferences to facilitate new interpretations of Indo-Arab literary and cultural ties, which go
beyond colonialist interpretations.
The ballet was entitled Al Hamama Al Mutawwaqa - the ring dove story from Kalilā wa Dimna performed in the 2018 season at the Opera House, Oman.
In Oman, the Culture Club of Oman has been hosting various events to promote and share translations of Indian works, as well as research on Oman. Jokha al Harthi was also invited to participate in the Jaipur Literary Festival in 2020. The Muscat International Book Fair has also consistently showcased Indian authors and their works, making India the focus of their event in 2015 when the fair was accompanied by a series of talks and workshops on Indian literature. Khalid al Belushi of Sultan Qaboos University has been translating contemporary short stories by writers of Indian origin, particularly Bharati Mukherjee and Jhumpa Lahiri.
The seamless cultural contact between India and Oman is evident at every level of cultural life, including dress, culinary traditions and habits. The dishdasha, the traditional Omani menswear is accompanied with the wizar, akin to the lungi commonly worn in southern India, particularly Kerala. A cotton wrap running down the length until the ankle, the wizar is a common attire among fishermen all along the Indian Ocean communities. The tarbusha, a tassel attached along the collar is often dipped in oud or Omani frankinscence. The
Omani turban (mussar) was for a long time exclusively made and exported from Kashmir.
The mussar is a square fabric, produced and embroidered in Kashmir. The particulars of color, cut, embellishment, and manner of wearing
these pieces reveal historical connections with East Africa and the Indian subcontinent as well as Oman’s cosmopolitan history. In fact, Muttrah souq, the famous historical market in Muscat city, sells a large variety of mussars and kummas, most of which are imported directly from Kashmir. They are often made of wool, polyster or cotton, with finely detailed and colourful embroidery. The woollen mussars is either made of cashmere wool or the more expensive pashmina wool that is lighter but sturdier.
A large number of Indians in Kerala used to wear the same mussar as the Omanis have on their heads. The Arab, especially the Omani influence, is evident in the Mappila attire also. Some of the Mappila men wear a turban on the head and put on a piece of cloth on the shoulder. The lungi (waist cloth), which is said to have come from Yemen is the most popular dress of Muslim men in Malabar and is
reminiscent of fishing communities along the Omani coast as well. Religious leaders and Ulema wear full-sleeved long gowns reaching down to the feet.
This might be in accordance with Arab customs. In resemblance to the Omani knife, the Mappilas also keep a knife hanging over their waistcloth.The women’s dresses are traditionally colourful and patterned along the lines of shalwar and kurta, accompanied with jewellery that partakes of Mughal traditions. The Omani dishdasha for women has a similar cut as the ‘kalidar’ kurta and the Omani salwar is similar to the Aligarhi pajama. The embroidery styles of the pajamas are often inspired by Indian techniques, including the use of silver zari embroidery popular in Al-Sharqiya (called the ‘bashtah’). These embroidery designs have been brought from Chennai and Mysore and have
been adapted by tailors to suit local tastes. Similarly, Indian Muslim women are largely influenced by the abaya designs of the Gulf. This is especially true for those who have lived in Oman for a period of time as they take back some of the sartorial choices in modesty wear made popular in the Gulf.
The cultural resemblance of Indians and Omanis is also noticeable in non-material heritage like the application of henna and the donning of colourful bangles on auspicious occasions. There is even an area called Salala in Hyderabad in India named after the city of Salalah in Oman, owing to traditions of marriage between Indians and Omanis, starting with the arrival of Omani traders in the 15th century. In fact, these linkages have brought them closer to each other and provided numerous platforms of exchange and cultural fertilisation.