The septuagenarian professor’s enthusiasm to translate, from Persian to Kannada, the ancient history of a dynasty that ruled Bijapur deserves to be recognised and applauded

Prof. Krishna Kolhar Kulkarni(74), historian and research scholar based in Bijapur, has been conferred the annual Kanakashree award, in recognition of his extensive research on Dasa Sahitya. He is also an expert on Gamaka art and is the president of Karnataka Gamaka Kala Parishat. He also heads the Adil Shahi Literature Translation Project. Prof Kulkarni has written over 50 books on various subjects.

Bijapur has a special place in the history of Karnataka (as well as that of south India). “The Adil Shahi dynasty ruled the Bijapur Sultanate in the Deccan region from 1490 to 1686,”explains Prof Kulkarni. “They developed Bijapur as a great city that at times it surpassed the glory of Delhi and Agra of the Mughals in the north. It was a seat of education, culture, trade and commerce. It was even called the Banaras of the South. The Adil Shahi dynasty invited scholars and writers from all over the world and several first- hand account of the visiting travelers are recorded in Persian and Arabic. As they covered the Gujarathi, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada provinces a peculiar language that was an amalgamation of all these languages came into existence called the Dakhani. Many literary works were published in Dakhani during their rule. In fact it was here that mushaira – poetic symposium evolved and later travelled to north.

“The 200 years of Adil Shahi rule with Bijapur as their seat of power is an important aspect of Indian history. They were the contemporaries of the great Mughals of the north. The Adil Shahi writings are as important as the Akbar nama, Babar nama and Jehangir nama that document the history of the Mughals. The Adil Shahis recorded the history of their time in Persian and Arabic and there are first person accounts of very important historical incidents. All these were not translated to Kannada or even to English. Only Captain Briggs translated some extracts to suit the purpose of the British government, failing which detailed translations are not available. In fact the Adil Shahi documents dispel some misconceptions about this phase of history (from 15th to 17th century). Hence, the importance of the translation project. We have completed seven volumes. In the first phase, ten rare books of the Adil Shahi era, written in Persian, have been taken up for translation into Kannada, of which the translation of six books is underway. Some books are so rare that they are not even heard of until now!” Prof Kulkarni himself has authored several books pertaining to this era.

“Actually I was researching about Mahipathidasa who carried several works of Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa and arrived at Bijpaur after the collapse of Vijayanagara empire. He was the treasurer at the court of Adil Shahi king. He renounced his position and gave up his wealth to become a dasa. There are not many Persian scholars who also know Kannada and can translate. With great difficulty I found some and started the translation project. Prof Kalburgi of Hampi University took interest and helped me. Now the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has expressed willingness to fund the translation works of these books into English, and we can translate them from English to Kannada.”

The seven volumes that are ready will be launched in January. Prof Kulkarni also has plans to establish a museum in Bijapur to preserve the valuable manuscripts. He has collected rare manuscripts from Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, British Archives and other sources. “We need to preserve them for the next generation. Otherwise precious historical documents will be lost” he says with concern.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Entertainment> Lounge / by Pratibha Nandakumar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / November 22nd, 2013