Записи о Индији by Кнез Божидар Карађорђевић

Abstract

Reviewed by: Записи о Индији by Кнез Божидар Карађорђевић Milica Bakić-Hayden Кнез Божидар Карађорђевић Записи о Индији Нови Сад – Топола: Матица српска – Задужбина краља Петра I Карађорђевића, 2018. xxxviii + 432 Pp., 32 illustrations. ISBN 978-86-7946-240-4 This is an unusual book, unique in more than one way; not least because it is a translation from two languages—French (Prince Bojidar Karageorgevitch, Notes sur l’Inde. Paris: Editions Calmann Lévy, 1899) and English (Prince Bojidar Karageorgevitch, Enchanted India. London & New York: Harper and Brother Publishers, 1899). The Serbian translation at hand, which appeared almost hundred and twenty years later, includes both versions, thus adding to an already sizeable volume. The translators, Aleksandar Petrović (French) and Aleksandra P. Stevanović (English), skilfully navigated this bifurcated text by tracing a number of sentences in the French version that do not appear in the English one, and vice versa, and embedded them in footnotes so that the Serbian translation is now the most comprehensive. Even though the Notes first started coming out in sequels in La Revue de Paris (1897–1899), the travelogue as a book entitled Enchanted India was actually first published in English in 1899, and only later that year in French as Notes sur l’Inde. Curiously, however, the English publisher did not choose to include the author’s Foreword to the French edition, presumably because of some inadvertent critical remarks about colonial India and the British hypocrisy in presenting their ‘civilizational mission’ to this ancient land. Just as the history of the two manuscripts on which the Serbian translation is based is unusual, so is the author’s life and personality. Though practically unknown to a wider Serbian public until relatively recently, Prince Božidar Karađorđević stands out as one of the more interesting and, in terms of creative talents, unusually versatile personalities in Serbian culture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Born in Belgrade in 1862, he spent most of his life in Paris, where the Karađorđević royal family moved once they lost the throne to the Obrenovićs. Božidar was the [End Page 203] yonger of the two sons of George and Sarka (Sara), a daughter of the wealthy Serbian businessman and one of the greatest benefactor of the 19th century, Miša Anastasijević. By age 22, Božidar completed his Law degree, but he never really intended to practice law. Instead, from early on he was attracted to arts and literature and devoted his life to writing, paintng, even giving music classes—and, yes, travelling. Fluent in multiple languages the young prince travelled all over Europe, but also parts of Africa and Asia. In 1896 Božidar set off to India, where over seven months he criss-crossed the Indian subcontinent visiting many major cities and numerous historic and religious sites: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain. He documented some of them in thirty photographs that are included in the book. For those who have lived in India and know her ways, this book with the author’s impeccable gift for detailed and vivid descriptions of the scenes from everyday life on the streets of Indian cities and villages, or places of worship, or of her rich flora and fauna, cannot but evoke images, sounds, and even scents of this land of “jasmine and sandalwood”—but also of colonial oppression, caste divisions, famine, and other hardships. India taught the young prince the double meaning of everything he witnessed. Garlands of flowers that he saw adorning the idols of deities in Hindu temples or the dark hair of graceful temple dancers were also adorning the slender bodies of the deceased wrapped in white cloth and carried on the biers to one of the cremation grounds on the banks of Indian rivers. Life and death unfolded right in front of Božidar’s eyes, and just as he did not shut himself off from the painful sights caused by famine and plague that were ravaging the country at that time, he did not hesitate to open himself fully to experiences that were so utterly different from anything he knew, but which he perceived as ultimately beautiful and life-affirming. At times his writing shows a tendency towards romantic overstatement, common among European writers of his time, but still not at...