The Recognition of Sakuntala: A Play In Seven Acts (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Kalidasa is India's greatest Sanskrit poet and playwright. Many centuries later, his commitment has not flinched to remain India's most respected bard. When you've read world's greatest plays, you must then read him for the proverbial dessert. For most people, drama was invented in Greece, yet Kalidasa didn't know that, being apart by sea and time. So far as he is concerned, he was as much an inventor of this art.
`Recognition of Sakuntala' is a beautiful love story of a married king with a country girl, his deserting her and eventually reclaiming back, by the aid of gods.
I've several translations of this play, but Johnson's version is probably the best - at least in English.
If Shakespeare or Tolstoy gratify you, Kalidasa will as much.

The original translation by Sir William Jones of this famous Indian play was popular accross Europe and read by prominant poets including Goethe and Schiller in the late 1700's. Sir William Jones was also a member of Samuel Johnson and Edmund Burke's politically influentual Literary Club and the translation by him, this is not it, was a small hit across Europe. It inspired some stylist influence upon Goethe and Goethe must have read this about the time of the end of his "Italian Journey" where he later gained some creative energy after a dry spell following the massive success of his "Sorrows of Young Werther". (Sir William Jones is most famous today for observing that the similarities in Latin, Sanskrit, Persian, English and other, now called, Indo-European languages could not be just an accident).

This modern translation by W.J. Johnson is a good effort; however, for a variety of reasons loses something in translation as it was written to be performed in at least two languages, Sanskrit and Prakrit, and also involved a lot of body language which at times was almost like a dance. Sir William Jones' translation is more vibrant and historically relevant, and other translations of his of Oriental translations as well as original poems, had an impact on 17th and 18th century European literature.

Jones was a romantic supporter of the American revolution, even meeting with Benjamin Franklin in Paris to attempt a resolution to the crisis and play Franklin a game of chess. Jones' most famous and widely popular poem, while he was alive, was "Caissa, or, The Game of Chess" which would have gotten Jones through many important doors and meetings.

The play "Sakuntala" was written in the 4th or 5th century CE in India and is considered one of India's great plays. It is interesting for the cultural attitudes of India at that time, especially the strong class system, and making comparisons with other cultures around the world. Never-the-less The play still holds its own in translation as something many readers might find poetically brilliant, entertaining, and also funny.

Byron was also a youthful reader of Jones and there are a lot of stylistic similarities between them. Byron even wrote a parady of some of Jones' poems in his youth.

Jones spent his later life, in India, assisting in setting up a legal system for India which Jones insisted should be based in large part on Indian culture and customs. Jones represents a more early liberal, respecting relationship with the colonies of India; not the heavy-handed British paternal one that was to dominate that relationship after Jones' death.

Goethe[[ASIN:0140442332 Italian Journey: 1786-1788 (Penguin Classics)

The Life of Samuel Johnson (Penguin Classics)

Sir William Jones: Selected poetical and prose works - University of Wales Press (Not carried by Amazon)
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(When universities teach diversity they should also teach it from the perspective of history; my professors acted like the 60's generation discovered multiculturialism and cultural appreciation. Why wouldn't a society that appriciates other culturals know the name of Sir William Jones? To me it points at some decrepidy that we don't).