A Critical Examination of Post-colonial Punjabi Shakespearean Translations

Abstract

Shakespearean adaptations written between 1999 and 2014 in the Punjabi language form the focus of this study. The way in which the writers translate Shakespeare’s plays is significant because it provides an insight into how the writers use Shakespeare to interact with other literatures and how different approaches of translation have developed. Shakespeare’s engagement with various Indian languages and cultural systems is well documented and has received much scholarly attention. However, the Punjabi language translations have not received any critical attention. This is partly because Shakespeare’s work, in its entirety and as a collection, has only been published in Punjabi in the last 23 years.

The selected texts are diverse, ranging from Punjabi translations of The Tempest (Jhakhkhar and Toofan) and Romeo and Juliet (Romio te Julit and Romeo atte Juliet), as well as an adaptation of The Comedy of Errors (Double di Trouble). They demonstrate how the writers use indigenous techniques in their work and interact with other genres of literature, especially literature that is deeply embedded in Punjabi history, such as Sufi literature and Partition narratives. The diverse translations produced are located within different cultural, contemporary, fictional and historical contexts. The texts illustrate how the writers capitalise on inherent themes of the original plays for their own purposes whilst also replacing themes with those that are more relevant to the Punjabi audiences, since one of the foremost intentions of the translators has been to introduce Shakespeare to the Punjabi readership and audiences.

This thesis argues that the translations and adaptations can be read and interpreted using a critical framework that draws upon historical, cultural, political, and ideological perspectives and contexts. The research provides a new approach for analysing Punjabi Shakespeare in a way that does not confine the texts to Shakespeare studies or the Punjabi language. The theoretical and critical approaches that the study engages with are multi-disciplinary, which develop new ways of reading the translations. The notions of resettlement and belonging, as well as elements of Sufi literature are analysed and discussed in this thesis.

This study breaks new grounds as there is no other study which critically examines the selected Punjabi Shakespearean translations and does this through the lens of partition narratives and Sufi literature.