300-year-old Urdu Mahabharat in Lucknow home

LUCKNOW: The Manjuls in Old City's Karbala Colony never thought that their forgotton legacy could be so precious. Sifting through the library started by his great grandfather Hawali Hussain Naseerbadi in his native village in Rae Bareli, Farman came across a Mahabharat written at least 300 years ago.

The surprise element was that the Mahabharat was written in Urdu with each chapter containing an introduction in Arabic and Persian languages. The script is Arabic. His mother Shahin Akhtar revealed that the family had been preserving this book as a lucky icon for the past five generations. "It was probably misplaced after my father's death," says Farman, who is going to get the book restored.

Family friend and a Kari (religious teacher), Waheed Abbas, studied the book in detail. "This is an emblem of our Ganga-Jamuni tradition and must be saved for generations to come," he said, adding that Haji Talib Hussain and his friend Durga Prasad wrote the book for Urdu readers. Abbas also said that the Manjul family, which can trace its roots to a Shia prophet Hazrat Imam Ali Naqi, was also keeping the tradition of communal amity alive by preserving their prized possession.

"Though it is not a literal translation, it has covered the details of the book in easy language in a story form," explained Abbas. Each chapter has been beautifully introduced by Arabic verses. Citing an example, Farman said, "Ba une khaliq e maqan ... azamin-o-asman" for example means this book contains personalities who are found on both earth and sky... I assume that reference is being made to Lord Krishna." Abbas added that the descriptions were quite vivid as well.

Ever since the book has been reclaimed from the library of 10,000 books, Shahin is reading it. And as it is said about Mahabharat, the book has stirred her thought process. On Thursday morning, she was heard telling her son to quit anger. "Krodh patan ka karan hota hai (Anger is the cause of one's downfall)," she said. She also feels that reading the book was far better than watching TV serials on the epic. "There is no retention and recall value in TV after all," she reasons.

The 300-year-old Mahabharat has also changed their life. "We are getting unprecedented guests these days...and all want to take a look at this age-old book," said Shahin.