Doing research as a Folger Short Term fellow on Hindi Shakespeare in Colonial India, I have been looking at books in the Folger from India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. One such book is that of the Urdu play Gorakh Dhanda (PR2796.U7 C1 A1 Sh.Col.), which is as the title page indicates, a translation of Shakespeare’s play Comedy of Errors. I do not read Urdu well, but a friend and colleague Dr Mehak Khan looked at the image and said that the translator is, as the catalogue entry says, Narayan Prasad “Betaab”.
What is most striking to me, however, is the paratextual and extratextual material it is bound with and the stories they tell. If we look at the spine of the book, we see three things written in Roman script:
- On top where the title would be we see the phrase “Shakespeare as Played in the East”
- In the middle where we would usually find an author is “Gorakh Dhanda”
- At the bottom is “Bombay”
Why is the book titled “Shakespeare as Played in the East” and not “Gorakh Dhanda”?
If we try to read the book from left to right, as we would an English book, we find a book plate that reads “Anglo Indian College, Wilfred Partington.” This is one of two books in the Folger Catalog that was owned by Partington. The other is The lights of Canopus : Anvār i Suhailī. Partington (1888-1955) was an author and journalist who edited the Bookman’s Journal and Print Collector from 1919 to 1931.1 From 1913 when Gorakh Dhanda was published it seems like he was at Anglo Indian College, presumably in Bombay (now Mumbai), prior to becoming the editor of Bookman’s Journal in 1919.
On the next page, is a note from Partington saying that he’s included a manuscript about “Shakespeare as played in India” along with a letter from the “donor” C. P. Khatow, who Partington, rather erroneously assumes, is the adapter.
This is a copy of Gorakhdhanda ([in?] Urdu) by the master William Shakspeare and various anonymous Nineteenth Century popular songsters and others. For the play – The Comedy of Errors – has been expanded and adapted to suit the requirements of its Indian audiences.
Eastern play-goers like plenty for their money. They expect performances to last four hours or more – as they generally do. I once went to a native theatre in Bombay (after much petitioning) to see a new play produced. The performance started at 8 pm. At 1 o’clock the next morning, when I left, it was still going strongly, delighting a packed, excited & voluble, and apparently untireable audience. The heat and the smell were awful.
The Indian adaptor of The Comedy of Errors expanded Shakspeare’s eleven scenes into eighteen by introducing several new and highly original incidents into the plot, and made it topical by the insertion of such popular songs as “In the shade of the old Apple-tree”, and “It looks like a big night, tonight”. These favourite music-hall songs of the time are seen in the present copy printed in English in the middle of the Urdu text.
The master Dramatist, himself so skillful in adapting other men’s work & in introducing topicality, would have been amused at these productions by the Parsee Alfred Theatrical Company; to whose manager I am indebted for this copy of Gorakhdhanda. The company visited all the principal towns of India to perform this Comedy of Errors. As the manager, C. P. Khatow, signs this copy on the title-page, he may be the adaptor.
Wilfred Partington
Khatow’s letter is interesting because it identifies the play as being one that was performed by a Parsi theatre company (in this instance, the “Parsee Alfred Theatrical Company of Bombay”). Parsi theatre is considered by many scholars to be a precursor to Bollywood because most of their plays were musicals. Indeed, the kind of the performance tradition Partington describes in his manuscript—long and musical—is one that is associated with the Parsi theatre. More detailed descriptions of the Parsi Theatre, including a few images, can be found in C J Sisson’s 1926 Shakespeare in India: popular adaptations on the Bombay stage (PR3109.I4 S5).
While Sisson’s title is specific to the Bombay stage, Partington makes general statements about India from his observations of the Bombay stage. This rhetorical move forces us to consider who his audience is, and what it means for someone who does not read Urdu to collect Urdu translations of Shakespeare. It is probably a sign of both Indophilia and Shakespearphilia.
- His papers are now at the Huntington
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Comments
Interesting. Thanks!
Farley P Katz — May 6, 2025
This deep dive into the cultural significance of Gorakh Dhanda is truly fascinating, shedding light on a complex and multi-layered concept usually dismissed with a simple definition. Thank you for bringing intellectual humility and respectful consideration to a term often misunderstood and misused. It’s inspiring to see scholarship dedicated to unpacking meaning and promoting cross-cultural understanding.
John Smith — June 27, 2025
This is a fascinating deep dive! I’m particularly intrigued by the book’s spine, which suggests a tension between Western perception and local adaptation. Titled “Shakespeare as Played in the East”, it almost reads as a colonial framing, prioritizing the “Shakespeare” element over the Urdu title “Gorakh Dhanda.” Anandi Rao’s observation about Partington’s bookplate adds another layer, highlighting personal histories intersecting with cultural translation. It makes you wonder what Partington, from the Anglo Indian College, perceived “Shakespeare as Played in the East.” Did he appreciate the nuances and adaptations to the local context, or did he view it through a lens of imposed and somewhat stilted western standard, reducing it to simply, “India’s Shakespeare, as seen through them”? Learning more about his perspective might further illuminate understandings of Shakespeare through cultural lenses in Colonial India itself. What more insight may deeper research find as to cultural impact? Great work Anandi Rao for opening exploration beyond what has been translated from “Urdu” so far!
Samantha Blake — July 25, 2025
This was such an absorbing read! Sonia Parikh brilliantly unpacks the incredible depths of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Gorakh Dhanda, showing just how much sacred, philosophical, and personal contemplation is woven into it. The idea of this divine ‘tangle’ being both playful and profoundly spiritual genuinely resonates. It feels like a true journey discovering the richness of Gorakh Nath, Sufism, and classical Indian spiritual thought through this lens.
I found your observation about the parallels to Western opera and the feeling of confronting the sublime so fascinating, showing deep cross-cultural connectors. It makes one ponder the universality of awe in sound and surrender. I’m curious, when considering the ‘unknowability’ leading to spiritual resignation in Gorakh Dhanda, do you think there’s any hint of apprehension or trepidation, or is it predominantly a description of joyous surrender to the divine maze? And stepping back slightly, what do you think is the key takeaway for a listener in terms of practical contemplation from this specific Sufi/Nath conception of engaging with the divine, compared to, say, more rigid devotional artistic traditions?
Samantha Blake — July 30, 2025