Kaljug Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Fateh! See here: http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main It has the memoirs of Babur, Jahangir and the letters of Aurangzeb on the site, which any Sikh with an interest in history will find interesting, as well as the usual Persian literature such as Rumi's Mathnawi. Enjoy, K. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thanks for sharing bro, that is a truely excellent find! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaljug Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thanks for sharing bro, that is a truely excellent find! I'm reading Major J. Browne's History of the Origin and Progress of the Sicks [sic!] written in 1788. Quite interesting. K. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Just a quick glance reveals there are many interesting works... History of the Origin and Progress of the Sicks by Major J. Browne. The Ain-i-Akbari The Akbarnama of Abu Fazl The Anecdotes of Aurangzeb The Dabistan, or School of Manners The History of the Life of Nader Shah The Shahnama of Firdausi The Ruka’at-i-Alamgiri (Letters of Aurungzebe) The Memoirs of Babur 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedol Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 The Ain-i-Akbari The Akbarnama of Abu Fazl The Anecdotes of Aurangzeb The Dabistan, or School of Manners The History of the Life of Nader Shah The Shahnama of Firdausi The Ruka’at-i-Alamgiri (Letters of Aurungzebe) The Memoirs of Babur If I read 'Adi Granth in English' does that make me a granthi? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Its a free world, you can call yourself what you like and define words however you choose. I didn't know not knowing Farsi, having an interest in Farsi works and taking advantage of translations as a 1st step was a crime? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedol Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 It's not a crime, but reading translations of Persian classical literature doesn't help. There are many different translations and none of them are satisfactory as most of the time they're written for the mass market and they fail to render the accurate meaning(s) or even any sense of them. It's even worse than reading English translations of gurbani, because many definitions of Persian words are subtle and often the English language isn't sufficient. It's quite offensive (and misleading) the way in which the Persian sacred poetry is always sexualised when translated to English. In addition, these works are advanced topics of study covered at university level, unsuitable for self-study and always require a teacher (whether secular or sectarian) to develop the context and meaning. It really isn't trivial stuff, so it's better to learn Persian and study the context of this Middle Eastern literature first, and then approach these books. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matheen Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Weedol, I agree that the true meanings can only be gleaned by reading in the original language, but translations still have their place. Do you have any examples of bad translations in the above mentioned texts - have you read them? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedol Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Every translation I've read has clear and obvious errors. Penguin Classics translations of middle eastern literature are really awful in my opinion, of everything from Rumi to Attar. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaheediyan Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I don't disagree, but as I said, its a 1st step. Knowledge should be shared, if it isn't shared then it is risked being lost. People who have problems with bad translations should put the effort in to produce better translations, with the caveat, that 'even this translation does not do justice' etc. Its common sense that mystical/spiritual/philosophical content needs to be read in its original language to be tasted and understood in completeness. But living in a multi-cultural/linguistic world - we should all share what we have responsibly i.e. get professionals/scholars to translate, but at the same time keep the learnign traditions of the original language alive. This is one of the reasons Sikhi is relatively unknown in the world, due to the lack of translations. I personally know of devote South American, North Amercian, Mainland European Sikhs (non-Punjabi) who after falling in love with Sikhi through '2nd rate' translations, have moved on to learning and reciting bani in Gurmukhi, in fact learning Gurmukhi is slowly becoming the norm in organisations like 3HO. I know some 3HOs whose Gurbani pronounication (and understanding) would put many Punjabi Sikhs to shame. I totally agree with you, it is not a replacament for the original - the uniqueness of a language and its associated culture/traditions won't ever allow it to be. But is is a very important introduction and even window, into other beautiful worlds. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedol Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Inja yek kitabkhaneh-ye tassawuf-e zaban-e farsi qarar dashteh shod: http://www.sufism.ws 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedol Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 Speaking of dodgy translations, here's a typical one (of a quatrain from Divan-e Hafez) I came across recently: În gol ze bar hamnafsî mîâyad Shâdî bedelam azu basî mîâyad Paîwasta az ân ruî konam hamdamîash Kaz rang-e dîm buye kasî mîâyad Translated weirdly as: This rose, which from the Friend may come, Produces a joy that often from Him in my heart may come. Ever and anon, therefore, I consider it as a companion of Him, So that from the colour of its appearance the scent of Someone may come Mistranslation (or misleading translation depending on how much you care about accuracy) by Mohammad 'Ali Forughi, Mohammad Qazvini and Dr. Qasem Ghani. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randip singh Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Fateh! See here: http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main It has the memoirs of Babur, Jahangir and the letters of Aurangzeb on the site, which any Sikh with an interest in history will find interesting, as well as the usual Persian literature such as Rumi's Mathnawi. Enjoy, K. You read "Sikh History from Persian Sources"? http://www.indiaclub.com/Shop/SearchResult...?ProdStock=8135 http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/books-on-sik....html#post84022 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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