NPAT — Episode 1 — ‘A’ — Transcript
This is a transcript of an episode of a podcast that I run called NPAT. I run down the English alphabet and tell stories about names…
This is a transcript of an episode of a podcast that I run called NPAT. I run down the English alphabet and tell stories about names, places, animals, and things (NPAT). linktr.ee/npat
https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/idul-adha-hd — Idul Adha Hd Vectors by Vecteezy
If one were to give a clickbait title to this podcast….it would be ‘Chinese orphan tricked by Arab sorcerer’.
Welcome to the NAME PLACE ANIMAL THING PODCAST WHERE I RUN DOWN THE ENGLISH ALPHABET AND SHARE INTERESTING FACTS, STORIES, AND TRIVIA ABOUT NAMES PLACES ANIMALS AND THINGS. The first episode is on the letter ‘A’. We will go the beginning of Romanticism in the first half of the episode and then move further East for the ‘Place’ and ‘Animal’.
Antonie Galland was a French scholar archaeologist who was born in 1646 and died in 1715. He was most famous for his translation of a compilation of Arabic Texts which he called — Les milles et une nuits — published in 12 or 14 volumes, which shaped subsequent European Literature and European views on the Arabic world. Galland spent several years abroad, even once under Colbert.
aside: No not Stephen Colbert the late-night talk show host…. but Jean Baptise Colbert the French politician of the 17th century.
//Funnily enough, the bandleader at Late Night with Stephen Colbert is Jon Batise.
So anyways he worked under commission for the French East India Company to collect antique coins for Jean Baptise Colbert who was a minister in LOUIS XIV ‘s court. Previously he worked at the French embassy at Istanbul where he collected/copied several inscriptions. He always had the travel bug and was therefore well versed in Arabic, Turkish and Persian languages- therefore he later went on to work as an antiquary — someone who collects antiquities — n the French Court and assisted the French orientalist, Molainville at the Royal Library. Now, Molainville spent almost all of his entire 70 year life in completing the Bibliotheque orientale, ou dictionnaire universel contenant tout ce qui regarde la connoissance des peuples de l’Orient. No that’s not the Spanish rap from the NBC sitcom Community, but is in fact the French title for a very important contribution to European knowledge about the Middle East — Its English title is easier for me to read — the Oriental Library, or universal dictionary containing everything related to the knowledge of the peoples of the East. After Molainville had passed away, Galland continued with the Oriental Library and finished it in 1697.
But all these achievements are eclipsed by what has eternalised his name in history — Les milles et une nuits — or if you have not already guessed it — in ENGLISH — One Thousand and One Nights or as I grew up reading its name — ARABIAN NIGHTS.
Hey, can you stop that vaguely Arabian music? Please?
The Arabian Nights were originally compiled sometime between the 8th and 14th centuries — a period known as the Islamic Golden Age.
The frame story or the overarching story — concerns with Shahryar — a Sasanian king ruling over Indian and China who thinks all women are adulterers and therefore kills all women the night after he marries them. The vizier who was tasked to find virgins for the king eventually runs out of women. So, Scheherazade, the vizier’s daughter offers herself as the bride. I wanna tell you at this point this does not look like something kids should be reading. But, anyways Scheherazade on the night of the marriage starts telling a tale to the king and leaves it unfinished. And she does this every night and the king out of curiosity spares her life. Talk about cliffhangers!
Somehow these stories reach Galland.
He began working on the first volume in 1702. He seems aware of the enormity of the task and often complained in private letters about not being able to do more ‘serious work’. He had begun translating a manuscript he received from Aleppo, Syria which contained 282 stories. To stay true to the promise in the premise — of a thousand and one stories — his publisher wishing to cash in on the success — supplements material from vaguely Eastern sources.
Then in 1709, he meets the Maronite Christian Syrian — Hanna Diyab. From a manuscript autobiography found only in 1993, we know that he supplied some of the stories himself and that his creative contributions were not acknowledged by Galland. In fact there are some parallels in these stories and Diyab’s own picaresque life. Hanna meets Galland in Paris where he tells him stories from yonder …in FRENCH. This Diyab was a clever cookie. Not only was he embellishing folk tales and presumably making them better whilst adding references to his own life — he was also translating on the fly. Galland was envious of Diyab as he thought he might be eyeing for a seat the Royal Library — which Galland wanted for himself. Perhaps, facing pressure from Galland and his contemporaries Diyab returns to Aleppo and runs a very successful cloth business. So all’s well that end’s well- I guess.
It should be obvious that the Arabian nights were not just Arabian but rather a smorgasbord of North African, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Indian fables, stories, legends, and retellings.
Alladin’s story is perhaps the most famous — at least one that I have the most personal connection with. I fondly remember playing an Aladdin video game for hours and hours with my childhood best friend. I was not very good. sigh.
In Galland’s translations and in the oldest English translation — Alladin lives in “a city of the cities in China”. Even Victorian-era illustrations show the locale and people as Chinese. Aladin a young man, is tricked by an Arabic sorcerer, to retrieve a magical lamp. Somehow — Aladdin manages to defeat the sorcerer and gets hold of a large genie that resided in the lamp and a lesser genie that resided in a magical ring. Yes, there are TWO genies. Your childhood is a lie!! The princess Badr-al-Budur — NOT Jasmine — was already married to someone. Aladdin kidnaps the groom using help from the genie and holds him in a dark cell for two days when he finally succumbs and agrees for the marriage to be annulled. Alladin then woos the princess with lavish gifts and they get married. Aladdin was not the goody-two-shoes we think him to be.
Oh yeah, by the way, the thing about there being only 3 wishes — totally made up.
Galland’s role in shaping European-Arabic interactions and the building of the Orient, in the Western imagination as a magical land can be discussed at length. He was, after all an Orientalist — a term that has now come to carry negative connotations. But now is not the time, nor am I the appropriate conduit for these discussions.
Catch you on the flip side ..after this short break.
Aladdin often features on the hugely popular Japanese arcade game — pachinko. Which takes us to Japan. WOW! That’s a very awkward segue. You would hope I would put in more effort in the first episode.
I want to talk about the very famous Akita Dogs. Akita Dogs are a kind of spitz from the mountainous Akita Prefecture in Japan. They are rather high maintenance and almost died out during WW-II because of a lack of nutritious food. Many were even killed for sustenance. These dogs were saved by either crossing them with German Shephards or letting them loose in their native mountains.
The most famous Akita owner was Helen Keller who traveled to Japan in 1937 and was presented with a few months-old puppy called Kamikaze-go. One month after she returned to the USA, the dog died of Canine Distemper. A second Akita — Kanzen-go was sent to her.
But the most famous AKITA Dog was HACHIKO.
HACHIKO was the pet dog of Hidesaburo Ueno — an agricultural scientist at Tokyo Imperial University. Hachiko would wait for Ueno to come back from work outside the train station every day. At the age of 53 — Ueno died of a cerebral hemorrhage while giving a lecture.
HACHIKO would appear — at its regular spot at the appropriate time for nine years, nine months, and 15 days until he died at the age of 12 in 1935. Hachiko became a national symbol of loyalty and faithfulness, particularly in the context of the Japanese monarchy. But, the idea and legacy along with a stuffed and mounted Hachiko is on display at the National Science Museum in Tokyo. Every year on March 8 -Hachiko’s death anniversary — a solemn ceremony is held in its remembrance outside the Shibuya Railway Station.
That’s that for the first episode of the NPAT Podcast. Send me your comments, criticisms, and condemnations at npatpod@gmail.com
My thanks to Jalaj Maheshwari, Bhushan Patel, and Vyom Vyas for their editorial inputs and for making this podcast happen.