Realizing a Subaltern Dream: The Politics of Language and Translation in Habib Tanvir’s Kamdev Ka Apna Basant Ritu Ka Sapna

Abstract

This is true of Habib Tanvir's 1993 translation/adaptation Kamdev Ka Apna Basant Ritu Ka Sapna, 2 hereinafter Kamdev. It begins thus: the stage is bare apart from a man in a white dhoti 3 wearing garlands of marigold flowers around his neck, wrists, and forearms. He is wearing what seems to be a traditional hat and playing a tune on a snake charmer's pipe. He begins in a seated 1 See Poonam Trivedi's introduction to the volume India's Shakespeare for a detailed account.2 Harris translates the title as "The Love-God's Own Springtime Dream" (56). The MIT Global Shakespeares Archive translates the title as "The Love God's Own, A Springtime Dream."3 A kind of sarong worn by men and tied in a fashion that resembles loose trousers. This is the version of the article accepted for publication in Shakespeare Bulletin, 40 (3). pp. 385-401 (2022) published by Johns Hopkins University Press.