Abstract
This essay argues that Daljit Nagra’s idiosyncratic adaptation of the Ramayana, in which the poet combines multiple versions of the ancient epic (from different parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia) is more than just a comic version of the Sanskrit classic but represents a serious attempt to ensure an old text’s relevance for a new readership. One way that Nagra manages to reach a highly diverse and widely dispersed audience is through the extensive use of interlingual wordplay, a technique that stylistically echoes the earlier diasporic writer Salman Rushdie. Reading this transnational version of the Ramayana through the lens of Jahan Ramazani’s concept of a macaronic poetics, the essay analyzes the lexicological, phonological, and typographic effects of Nagra’s poem, which combine to produce a faithful retelling of the ancient Hindu epic in a language and style that is thoroughly of the 21st century and that uses translingual puns to connect the Ramayana to a western audience as well as the Indian diaspora.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: ariel: A Review of International English Literature
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
