Reading Notes - Raja Rasalu Part A
(Image of Sutlej Valley taken from Wikimedia)
The tales of Raja Rasalu are particularly interesting to me because I am Punjabi and I have never heard his name! Looking through the stories it is easy to see how they are engraved into Punjabi culture, Raja Rasalu never complains although he has a plethora of substance to pull from. This is a very cultural reaction to "bad things" that may happen in your life. Raja is always ready to help anyone he encounters (ex. the fakir and the mother that lost her sons), but he expects nothing from anyone in his life (ex. his friends that abandon him). Culturally speaking, Punjabi people are known to be stubborn and to go through on tasks even if that means they are alone. I myself am very stubborn and goal driven. It was very interesting to see my own upbringing echo in these stories.
Bibliography: "The Adventures of the Punjab Hero Raja Rasul" translated by Charles Swynnerton and available to read on the Mythology Folklore Blog.
Bibliography: "The Adventures of the Punjab Hero Raja Rasul" translated by Charles Swynnerton and available to read on the Mythology Folklore Blog.
Hi Muneeb! I am so glad you chose this unit! And listen, there are some books of these Punjabi ballads from the 19th century that have the Punjabi text (Romanized) plus English translations. Do you speak Punjabi? Here's one of those bilingual editions, free online! The legends of the Panjâb.
ReplyDeleteYes I speak Punjabi! (But unfortunately I can not read it very well). I will definitely check this out!
DeleteThe Romanization is weird, but at least he uses a consistent style; back in the 1800s, printing books with Roman letters was pretty common, even though the Roman alphabet falls far short of what the languages of south Asia need! Anyway, these old books can definitely be useful, keeping in mind the colonial context; more about RC Temple here: Richard Carnac Temple. :-)
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