Apart from his obvious virtues as a great dramatist, I particularly relish and unequivocally applaud Kalidas’s extraordinary attention to visual details. I have written about it a few times in these columns in the specific context of his Vikramovarshiyam’. I do return to the superb simultaneous Hindi translation from the original Sanskrit and accompanying commentary published by Ramnarayan Lal Benimadhav, a well-known publisher of Allahabad, now Prayagraj.
What I have is a remarkable first edition priced at three rupees and fifty paises.
Early on, Kalidas is describing the revolution of a chariot’s wheels. The first thing that struck me is that there is a specific name for the wooden spokes. It is Ar. There is a term also for the gap between the spokes; it is called Arantreshu. The Hindi commentary points out that that the "sticks" between the fulcrum and rim of the wheel.
Kalidas notices that when the chariot’s wheels revolve rapidly the gaps between the wooden spokes disappear and create an illusion of there being spokes even within those gaps.
When you read it by itself, it may seem like a trivial detail but actually it is a great tribute to a great writer who is paying attention to even the smallest of details even while tacking grander themes of love and longing. Brilliant.