Indian Histories of India trans.

[Madhav Deshpande]

	In connection with Indian historians of India, I realize that not 
too many members of this list can read materials written in the modern 
vrnaculars of India.  However, it needs to be noted that some of the best 
'Indian' points of view come across only through the vernacular 
writings.  For example, V.K. Rajwade was one such historian from 
Maharashtra who wrote almost exclusively in Marathi.  However, his 
voluminous contributions represent a distinct point of view on Indian 
history.
	Within my own field of Sanskrit grammar, there are some 
monumental works of scholarship in modern vernaculars, e.g. the only 
complete translation of Patanjali's Mahabhashya in seven volumes by 
Vasudev Shastri Abhyankar and the equally fascinating volume of 
introduction by his son, K.V. Abhyankar.  The Bengali work Byaakara.n 
Dar"saner Itihaas by Guruprasaad Haldar is another such monumental 
contribution.
	Some of these monumental vernacular works need to be made 
available to wider audiences.  For example, Bhatkhande's multi-volume 
work on North-Indian music was originally written in Marathi.  It is now 
widely read and used in India through its Hindi translations.  Some works 
of this monumental category need to be rendered into English.  For a 
number of years, I have been thinking of translating K.V. Abhyankar's 
Introductory volume to the translation of the Mahabhashya from Marathi 
into English.  It has enormous amount of localized info about the 
specific continuities of the grammatical traditions from Bhattoji till 
now in various centers such as Varanasi, Pune, and Satara.  None of this 
info is available in any English language materials.  Similarly, there 
are Marathi works by N.C. Kelkar on the history of Sanskrit traditions 
during the last century.  Professor Varnekar's extensive history of 
modern Sanskrit literature (written in Marathi) is another such 
monumental work.
	Madhav Deshpande