Lesli Hardinge Pde. Telegraph picture

Shillong, May 8: The Bhagawad Gita is now available in Khasi, thanks to the painstaking efforts undertaken by a 73-year-old retired Meghalaya civil servant, who is also an actor, comedian and even hosts a show in a local FM station.

Bhagawad Gita — The Song of God or in Khasi, Ka Jingrwai U Blei, written by Lesli Hardinge Pde, was released yesterday at Don Bosco Youth Centre here by the chancellor of the Shillong Archdiocese, Father John Madur.

Translated from the English version of the Bhagawad Gita by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, the Khasi translation was not an easy task.

Pde, in his foreword, says: “I want to mention here that the translation to Khasi was a painstaking effort. The task was more difficult when it came to translating Sanskrit words.”

The author, who has also translated the Ramayan, the Mahabharat and the Upanishads to Khasi, acknowledged the encouragement received from the local Roman Catholic Church. “The church had no reservation when I translated the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Upanishads and even the Bhagawad Gita. I received a lot of support and encouragement as the church also wants to enrich the Khasi language,” Pde, a Roman Catholic by faith, said today while interacting with reporters at his home at Laitumkhrah here.

Asked why he chose to translate the Bhagawad Gita, Pde said, “We should accept all what is good for us. Moreover, from religious books, you derive a lot of knowledge on moral ethics. It is from religious books that one can draw true inspiration.”

He said, “The aspiration of the Khasi people is to enrich their language. The Sahitya Akademi has also encouraged Khasi authors to translate books written in other languages to ensure that our language expands and is enriched.”

Pde said it took him about four months to complete the translation of the Bhagawad Gita.

Asked what purpose could the Bhagawad Gita serve the Khasi people, Pde pointed out to the glimpse of the book given by Father John Madur.

Father Madur, while commenting on the book, said, “The Bhagawad Gita teaches us the deep relationship that exists between man and God. It speaks not only about the past, but also the present and the future. It speaks not only about groups or clans, but also about people at the individual level.”

The Roman Catholic priest said, “If we look at our own individual lives, we will discover that a Kurukshetra-like battlefield is entrenched within us. Enemies in the form of lust, greed, anger, hatred and egoism are trying to win over us.”

The context of the Bhagawad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and the Pandava prince, Arjun, at the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war.

Asked if he intends to translate other books as well, Pde said, “Well, I will be trying to translate Kalidasa’s Abhigyana-Shakuntalam. However, I understand that this will take years for me to complete.”

The retired civil servant, who is also the president of the Catholic Authors’ Guild, translated the Ramayan in 1986. This was followed by a joint effort with S. Dkhar to translate the Mahabharat in 1988.

In 1991, Pde translated the Upanishads.

Pde, who has written several books in Khasi, has been directing and acting in Khasi feature films and plays, some of which have been in Doordarshan. Nehu prescribes some of his books.