Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh): His love for Urdu was enough of a reason for Vinay Babu to make the most important epic of Hinduism easily available and understandable to a larger audience. It took him 14 years to be successful in bringing out the 'Vinay Ramayana', through the spirit and verses of 'shayari' (couplets), a feat in itself for two reasons - first, he is a school dropout and second, the epic was not available in Urdu, so far.
"It is not a translation but the interpretation of the Ramayana through verses of poetry. I felt people who only read and understand Urdu must not be deprived of knowing what Ramayana is all about. Understanding it verse by verse is important as the text is a part of our history and has life lessons," explains Vinay, a resident of Asgarnagar Majitha village in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district.
Vinay dropped out of school after class eight but his fascination for Urdu took him to experts in the language. "Whenever I heard Urdu, I was drawn to it. I would often eavesdrop at places where people engaged in conversations in Urdu. In the process I learnt picking up words," he says.
In a few years, Vinay started making verses and recited the shayari to a gathering of people who understood. With encouragement coming in, Vinay thought of going to a guru (teacher) to learn the nuances of the language. "I was advised by many to go to Aziz Barabankvi, a known poet in Urdu. After regular interactions with him, my skills got honed," acknowledges Vinay.
Ask him what sparked his interest to opt for the Ramayana as his first work of free translation (conveying the intended meaning and overall message of the text) and Vinay says it is one of the two most important epics in Hinduism and it has not been completely translated in Urdu. "A whole section of people who read and write Urdu were deprived of reading it or understanding. I found parts of the epic being translated but not the entire text. So it became my mission in life to bring out this book," he asserts.
It took Vinay 14 painstaking years and hours of hard work to translate the essence of the Ramayana into Urdu couplets. The Vinay Ramayana is now a 500-page poetry comprising over 7,000 couplets spread over 24 sections.
He had to travel to Ayodhya and Prayagraj for references. He also went to the Himalayas to seek solace and inspiration. "I completed the work in the silence of the Himalayas," admits Vinay.
But for him writing the book is not an achievement. "It is a transformation, for me as the writer and for those who read it. It has the power to change readers' perspective. The epic has strength to make a lot of sense in the present day context," explains Vinay.
The Vinay Ramayana is now complete and ready for the press. "I hope the Governor agrees to release it. I would also expect the Urdu readers to lay their hands on the book and give me a feedback," says Vinay who has already started work on Mahabharata, the other epic of Hinduism, written in Sanskrit.
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