Sign in / up

back to article Layla enjoys a Sanskrit makeover: Clapton set to become one of several Gods

Indian musician Krish Ashok is pleasing ears worldwide with a Sanskrit version of Eric Clapton's classic Layla, dubbed लीला, or "Leela". However, while the track is an agreeable homage to the original, its linguistic reach is limited. According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, while Sanskrit is a recognised language in India, …

COMMENTS

Post your comment
House rules Send corrections
Add to 'My topics' unstar *
  1. Voland's right hand Silver badge
    Happy

    Hehe

    This is what you get when you translate poetry into a language which is so strict that it was once considered a candidate for human-machine interaction.

    1 1 Reply
    1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov
      Reply Icon

      Re: Hehe

      Wait till they get round to "Cocaine".

      0 0 Reply
      1. solo
        Reply Icon

        Hehe

        According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia:

        "With more than 220000 (100000 shloka or couplets) verses and about 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is the longest epic poem in the world."

        +

        "The Mahabharata ... is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India,"

        +

        "About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined,"

        Comment: An individual's ability as a poet doesn't define capabilities of a language.

        0 0 Reply
  2. 45RPM Silver badge

    Heh Heh. The first bit of Layla looks like a willy. Snigger.

    2 2 Reply
  3. Doogs

    Which Leela?

    Doctor Who or Futurama?

    8 0 Reply
  4. Mark 85
    Holmes

    Hmmm.... Clapton and Sanskrit. Jerry Garcia and Bulgarian Folk Music. What hell were they smoking back then and why didn't they share?

    Icon---- for the pipe-------->

    1 0 Reply
    1. DrBobK
      Reply Icon

      Uncle John's Band

      Fine piece of cultural appropriation. There may have been more than smoking to it though.

      0 0 Reply
  5. Cliff

    Pretty good translation

    If the round-trip translation is indicative, and it rhymes, or at least line lengths hit all the right beats.

    I've seen far bigger liberties taken with French translations TBH

    0 0 Reply
  6. Chris Miller
    Joke

    लीला

    (which means "Garland of Flowers" in Thai)

    5 0 Reply
  7. Sealand
    Angel

    Check first

    Before posting articles, El Reg's writers should check who's a god and who's not.

    "... set to become ..."

    Ha!

    2 0 Reply
  8. Identity
    Facepalm

    And I thought

    Sanskrit is a written, not spoken language.

    ("It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.")

    0 0 Reply
  9. Trainee grumpy old ****

    Some of his other tracks on Sound Cloud are worth a listen too

    I quite like his version of Don't Fear the Reaper - https://soundcloud.com/krishashok/mrityum-ma

    No idea if the lyrics are true to the original.

    2 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      Re: Some of his other tracks on Sound Cloud are worth a listen too

      Thank you! I believe that qualifies as making my week, not just day.

      0 0 Reply
  10. Frumious Bandersnatch

    Govinda

    So if this is a hit, it'll only be the second one in Sanskrit. As Wikipedia has it, the Kula Shaker version is "unique in being the only British Top Ten hit to be sung entirely in Sanskrit."

    (so I guess that also means that Sanskrit isn't just a written language, to answer Identity's post above)

    1 0 Reply

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

Forgotten password ?

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon