To An Anglian Glade

There is little doubt that Ghalib, Tagore and Faiz are perhaps the most well-known poets South Asia has produced in the last two centuries. But it is equally true that despite their fame, only those familiar with Bengali and Urdu can appreciate their poems. These three books are, therefore, a welcome new breach in the insulated fortresses circumcising India's many languages, whereby great writings remain the preserve of that particular language. And the predominance of English has been a major contributing factor in the languishing of our regional languages. However, a new trend, as signified by these three books, uses our very dependence on English to widen the circle of literary appreciation in India, and hopefully, abroad. Such an endeavour is reinforced by the impeccable credentials of the three translators. Ralph Russell, Shiv Kumar and William Radice are all well-known scholars and translators. And their current effort embodies a credible new attempt at rescuing the literary geniuses of our times from the confines of their own language.