One of my most cherished possessions is Prof P Lal’s transcreation of the Upanishads into mellifluous English. The volumes were published from his own Writers Workshop that was, at that time, operated from the small street corner bookshop in Lake Gardens.
The year was 2006 and we were about to graduate after our Masters in English Literature from the University. I wanted to explore the world of the Upanishads but did not quite have a fancy for the very scholarly and erudite single volume editions published by the Rama Krishna Mission. My friend, an expressionist painter, more about whom soon, then suggested me to go see the Writers Workshop Bookstore at Lake Gardens, a couple of auto-rides away from my flat at Bagha Jatin, and check out Prof P Lal’s transcreation of the Upanishads. I went. I saw. I read the Isa Upanishad and immediately bought the whole set.
Writers Workshop books are of a different feel altogether. Cloth bound and hand stitched by expert craftsmen and with calligraphies by the master himself, each Writers Workshop book is a treasure of a lifetime for connoisseurs. But the books were so cheap that a struggling student like I was at the time too could easily afford the whole set of 21 books and come home all shining with joy and happiness. I remember, I had to take a cab back home to carry the books safely.
I also vividly remember my delight at reading the translation of the verses of the Isa Upanishad, the most lyrical in the whole cannon, standing in the store and savoring the use of the word “swaddled” in the translation of the first verse:
The world is swaddled by the Glory of the Lord. Renounce it and enjoy it….
p. lal
It was then that I made up my mind that I needed to acquire the whole set and it is from that day that this priceless and peerless work is a part of my private collection of books.
