P. Lal
Encyclopedia
Purushottama Lal was an India
n poet
, essay
ist, translator, professor
and publisher. He was the founder and publisher of Writers Workshop
in Calcutta, established in 1958.
in the state of Punjab
, he studied English at the St Xavier's College
, and later at the University of Calcutta
. He would later teach at St. Xavier's College for over forty years.
P. Lal was an honorary Professor of English at St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
. He was Special Professor of Indian Studies at Hofstra University
from 1962 to 1963, and has since held Visiting Professorships at many colleges and universities throughout America. These included (apart from Hofstra University
), University of Illinois, Albion College
, Ohio University
, Hartwick College
, Berea College
, and Western Maryland College.
He married Shyamasree Devi in 1955, and has a son, Ananda Lal
, and a daughter, Srimati Lal (Artist, Poet & Writer: www.SrimatiLal.com ). P. Lal's wife Shyamasree is the daughter of late Kalidas Nag, an eminent historian and Indologist, and Shanta Devi, a novelist.
, a memoir, several books of stories for children, as well as dozens of translations
from other languages, chiefly Sanskrit
, into English. He has also edited a number of literary anthologies.
He is perhaps best known as the translator into English of the entire Indian epic poem Mahabharata
. His translation, which has been published in an edition of over three hundred fascicules since the early 1970s, is currently being republished in a collated edition of eighteen large volumes; sixteen volumes have appeared since this edition began appearing in 2005; it is scheduled for completion in 2010. His Mahabharata is the most complete in any language, comprising all the slokas included in all recensions of the work.
His translation of the Mahabharata is characteristically both poetic and swift to read, and oriented to the oral/musical tradition in which the work was originally created. To emphasize this tradition, in 1999 he began reading the entire 100,000-sloka work aloud, for one hour each Sunday at a Calcutta library hall; this reading series still continues.
In addition to the Mahabharata, his translations from Sanskrit have included a number of other religious works, including 21 of the Upanisads, as well as plays and lyric poetry. He has also translated modern writers such as Premchand (from the Hindi
) and Tagore
(from the Bengali
).
Since his founding of Writers Workshop
, he had published over 3000 volumes by Indian literary authors, mostly in the English language, including poetry, fiction, educational texts, screenplays, drama, "serious comics," and children's books, as well as audiobooks. Writers Workshop has published first books by many authors who went on to fame, including Vikram Seth
, Pritish Nandy
and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
.
His publishing enterprise is unusual in that he personally serves as publisher, editor
, reader, secretary, and editorial assistant. The books are also unique in appearance, being hand-typeset on local Indian presses, and bound in hand-loomed sari cloth.
Recent highlights of his publishing house are Holmes of the Raj by Vithal Rajan and Labyrinth by Arunabha Sengupta
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
ist, translator, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and publisher. He was the founder and publisher of Writers Workshop
Writers Workshop
Writers Workshop is a Calcutta-based literary publisher founded by the poet-professor P. Lal in 1958. Over the next few decades it published many new authors in urban literature of the post-independence period. These authors later became big names.-History:...
in Calcutta, established in 1958.
Life and education
Born in KapurthalaKapurthala
Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The secular and aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic...
in the state of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, he studied English at the St Xavier's College
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It gained autonomy in July 2006, thus becoming the first autonomous college of...
, and later at the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
. He would later teach at St. Xavier's College for over forty years.
P. Lal was an honorary Professor of English at St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College is located in Kolkata, India, and is named after St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. It is an autonomous college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It gained autonomy in July 2006, thus becoming the first autonomous college of...
. He was Special Professor of Indian Studies at Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
from 1962 to 1963, and has since held Visiting Professorships at many colleges and universities throughout America. These included (apart from Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
), University of Illinois, Albion College
Albion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
, Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
, Hartwick College
Hartwick College
Hartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
, Berea College
Berea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
, and Western Maryland College.
He married Shyamasree Devi in 1955, and has a son, Ananda Lal
Ananda Lal
Ananda Lal is an Indian academic and theatre critic. He is the son of P. Lal, founder of Writers Workshop, one of India's oldest creative writing publishers, established in 1958. He is professor of English at the Jadavpur University, Calcutta...
, and a daughter, Srimati Lal (Artist, Poet & Writer: www.SrimatiLal.com ). P. Lal's wife Shyamasree is the daughter of late Kalidas Nag, an eminent historian and Indologist, and Shanta Devi, a novelist.
Career
Under the name of P. Lal, he wrote eight books of poetry, over a dozen volumes of literary criticismCriticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
, a memoir, several books of stories for children, as well as dozens of translations
Translations
Translations is a three-act play by Irish playwright Brian Friel written in 1980. It is set in Baile Beag , a small village at the heart of 19th century agricultural Ireland...
from other languages, chiefly Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, into English. He has also edited a number of literary anthologies.
He is perhaps best known as the translator into English of the entire Indian epic poem Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. His translation, which has been published in an edition of over three hundred fascicules since the early 1970s, is currently being republished in a collated edition of eighteen large volumes; sixteen volumes have appeared since this edition began appearing in 2005; it is scheduled for completion in 2010. His Mahabharata is the most complete in any language, comprising all the slokas included in all recensions of the work.
His translation of the Mahabharata is characteristically both poetic and swift to read, and oriented to the oral/musical tradition in which the work was originally created. To emphasize this tradition, in 1999 he began reading the entire 100,000-sloka work aloud, for one hour each Sunday at a Calcutta library hall; this reading series still continues.
In addition to the Mahabharata, his translations from Sanskrit have included a number of other religious works, including 21 of the Upanisads, as well as plays and lyric poetry. He has also translated modern writers such as Premchand (from the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
) and Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
(from the Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
).
Since his founding of Writers Workshop
Writers Workshop
Writers Workshop is a Calcutta-based literary publisher founded by the poet-professor P. Lal in 1958. Over the next few decades it published many new authors in urban literature of the post-independence period. These authors later became big names.-History:...
, he had published over 3000 volumes by Indian literary authors, mostly in the English language, including poetry, fiction, educational texts, screenplays, drama, "serious comics," and children's books, as well as audiobooks. Writers Workshop has published first books by many authors who went on to fame, including Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.-Early life:Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952 to Leila and Prem Seth in Calcutta...
, Pritish Nandy
Pritish Nandy
Pritish Nandy is a Indian poet, painter, journalist, politician, media and television personality, animal activist and film producer. He is Bengali by ethnicity. He was member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament representing Maharashtra based party Shiv Sena...
and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program....
.
His publishing enterprise is unusual in that he personally serves as publisher, editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
, reader, secretary, and editorial assistant. The books are also unique in appearance, being hand-typeset on local Indian presses, and bound in hand-loomed sari cloth.
Recent highlights of his publishing house are Holmes of the Raj by Vithal Rajan and Labyrinth by Arunabha Sengupta
Arunabha Sengupta
Arunabha Sengupta is an Indian novelist. Till date he has written 3 novels and 1 collection of short stories.-Books:* Labyrinth - a novel about the Software Industry Arunabha Sengupta (born 1973) is an Indian novelist. Till date he has written 3 novels and 1 collection of short stories.-Books:*...
.
External links
A Daughter Remembers: P.Lal and Writers Workshop, by Srimati Lal, CONFLUENCE, UK :- http://www.confluence.org.uk/a-daughter-remembers-plal-and-writers-workshop/
- Prof P Lal, in memoriam by Kanchan GuptaKanchan GuptaKanchan Gupta is an Indian journalist, political analyst, and activist.-Journalist and columnist:Born to East Bengali refugee parents, Kanchan Gupta was raised in Jamshedpur and Patna where he attended missionary schools...
- Writer's Workshop
- Writer's Workshop New Releases
- Harmony Magazine on P. Lal
- 50 Years of Writer's Workshop
- A True Pioneer in The HinduThe HinduThe Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...