![\"Abhay](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/to9zqj\/article70147607.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/abhay%20k.jpg\" "\\"Abhay")
<\/p>\nTum upkar sugrivahi kinha, Rama milaye rajpad dinha<\/p>\n
Tumharo mantra vibhishana mana, Lankeshwar bhaye sab jag jaana<\/p>\n
(Amity between Rama Sugriva\u00a0sown, You helped him to reclaim his throne <\/p>\n
Vibhishana receiving\u00a0your counsel sane, The world knows, gained Lanka\u2019s reign)<\/p>\n
The couplets from Tulsidas\u2019 Hanuman Chalisa deeply resonated with Abhay K., a career diplomat and prolific poet. \u201cThey reveal Hanuman not merely as an alliance-maker but as a kingmaker,\u201d says Abhay, who currently serves as Deputy Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. His book, Hanuman Chalisa: Rediscover Hanuman\u2019s Legacy in a Voice for Our Times, was launched recently.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAs a diplomat, I could see how he understood and aligned the interests of both parties. When Ram arrives in Kishkindha searching for Sita, Hanuman introduces him to Sugriv, who has been betrayed by his brother Bali. Later, he counsels Ravan\u2019s brother Vibhishan to support Ram, assuring him the throne of Lanka in return.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abhay says the urge to translate came from bringing out a singable version of\u00a0Hanuman Chalisa (Bloomsbury)\u00a0in English. \u201cI met a delegation from Trinidad and Tobago, and they said they need a spiritual text in English, but not in complex and dense English. They don\u2019t understand Awadhi and Devanagri \u2014 the linguistic connections have diminished, but the spiritual bonds are intact. They wanted a translation that they could sing with music.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are several English translations of the Hanuman Chalisa, including a recent one by Vikram Seth. However, Abhay, who has previously translated Kalidasa\u2019s Meghad\u016bta, feels it\u2019s difficult to capture the rhythmic and lyrical essence of the original. \u201cTulsidas wrote in Awadhi for its mass appeal. In Sanskrit, rhyming shlokas are rare. I drew on my experience as a poet to channel the energy of the original into English, keeping it simple and singable.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Abhay drew on his experience as a poet to channel the energy of the original into English
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\n Special Arrangement\n <\/p>\n
It is said that Tulsidas wrote the Hanuman Chalisa around 1575, when Akbar summoned him to Fatehpur Sikri to showcase his mystical powers, after the Ramcharitmanas had become a household name and stories of his encounters with Lord Ram and Hanuman reached the royal chambers. \u201cAccording to a legend, when Tulsidas told the emperor he had no magical powers to bring the dead back to life, he was put behind bars. It was then that Tulsidas invoked Hanuman, and troops of monkeys wreaked havoc in Sikri,\u201d says Abhay.<\/p>\n
Describing the recent depiction of Hanuman as an angry god is a misconception, Abhay believes that the biggest quality of Hanuman is his humility. \u201cMahatma Gandhi described a true Satyagrahi to be like Hanuman, who believed in inner strength and selfless devotion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hanuman Chalisa is introduced\u00a0to children as a simple text to overcome the fear of ghosts and spirits, but Abhay\u00a0holds that it carries deeper meanings that have kept scholars occupied over the centuries, making Hanuman a universal figure revered across different cultures. \u201cA tool for mindfulness and focus, its verses are rich in metaphor and spiritual symbolism and offer guidance, reassurance, and empowerment in today\u2019s fast-paced life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abhay recalls how former U.S. President Barack Obama carried an image of a Thai Hanuman, known as Anuman, in his pocket. The authors also takes us back to the days when sailors navigating the Indian Ocean kept figurines of Anuman with them, believing in his power to safeguard their journeys.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is believed that the Andaman Islands were named\u00a0after him. He is a link between the Shaivaite and Vaishnavite sects and has been a constant presence in different epochs. In the Mahabharat, he is present on the flag of Arjun\u2019s chariot and teaches Bhim a lesson in humility. The Nawabs of Awadh initiated a Maha Mangal Festival, during which Hanuman was venerated\u00a0every Tuesday. Now, followers of Neem Karoli Baba celebrate his living presence.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nThere is a connection between the global appeal of the Hanuman Chalisa and Abhay\u2019s historic account of\u00a0Nalanda, which was released earlier this year and remains\u00a0a bestseller. In Chinese folklore, a white monkey called Sun Wukong travelled with monk Xuanzang to India, protecting him from demons. Xuanzang visited Nalanda during the reign of Harshvardhan and took Sanskrit manuscripts with him for translation.<\/p>\n
Hailing from Nalanda, Abhay has a great affinity with the place where the idea of university took shape. \u201cThe book is prescribed for the students of Nalanda University, which has been launched\u00a0as a successor to Nalanda Mahavihara with students from 21 countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Abhay is focused on shaping the upcoming global conference on Indian civilisation. \u201cWe\u2019ve named it INDIC \u2014 International Dialogue on Indian Culture. Scholars from 65 countries will explore the wide-ranging influence of Indian traditions on world culture,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Published – October 10, 2025 03:29 pm IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tum upkar sugrivahi kinha, Rama milaye rajpad dinha Tumharo mantra vibhishana mana, Lankeshwar bhaye sab jag jaana (Amity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[457,96,83463,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-190201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-hanuman-chalisa-rediscover-hanumans-legacy-in-a-voice-for-our-times-abhay-k-diplomat-poet-english-translation-popular-deity","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}