Transcreating Sanskrit Humour through Kūṭiyāṭṭam: the Translation and Performance of the Rasasadana Bhāṇa

This essay develops a collaborative, performance-oriented approach to the task of translating a nineteenth-century Sanskrit play, the Rasasadana Bhāṇa of Godavarma Yuvaraja. The bhāṇa is a genre of Sanskrit comedic monologue, with examples dating from the late Gupta period (c. 500 ce), that has had a significant but largely overlooked presence in Kerala since the fourteenth century. To better understand this presence, and to explore the potential of performance for aiding in translation practice we partnered with the Nepathya Centre for Excellence (Moozhikkulam, Kerala) to produce digital “transcreations” of select verses from the Rasasadana performed in a Kūṭiyāṭṭam style. This essay outlines our methodology and presents key outcomes from a series of collaborative research sessions conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assess how the juxtaposition of English translation and Kūṭiyāṭṭam performance may help to reveal the cultural power of Sanskrit humour in early modern Kerala.