Good news: There will not be an interruption in the publications due to the end of the Van Buitenen translation.
I've mentioned before that the translation of the Critical Edition into English was begun, but not completed, by J.A.B van Buitenen. I've been relying on the print edition of his translation for the bulk of this podcast. The only complete translation is by Ganguli, and I only have that version in my iPhone!
I can't really write my episodes while referring to a 3" iphone screen, so as we get near the end of Book 5, I was getting desperate for a solution. Amazon carries the full Ganguli translation-- all 18 books-- for the low low price of $350 US!
I sort of threw this conundrum out there to my audience to see if anyone had any suggestions on how I might find a cheaper copy. I guess you all are too used to "free" stuff on the internet, because I got a rather tepid response.
One listener kindly offerred to look into buying a copy in India, where it should be cheaper, but it was all rather hypothetical and time is running out. I guess I would have drawn more attention if I'd waited until the end of Book 5, and the podcast came to a stop...
But all that is water under the bridge now. It turns out that Amazon is selling the Kindle edition of Ganguli for $6! All 18 books! Kindles are running for about $189, so for the price of a Kindle, I get Ganguli nearly for free. As long as I use the kindle for something other than Ganguli, I can at least say that I didn't blow another $200 on a podcast that nets me $0 in return. So that's good news...
Now the Kindle is in the mail, so as long as the mail gods keep the deliveries on schedule, our podcast should continue to run on its normal schedule!
I've mentioned before that the translation of the Critical Edition into English was begun, but not completed, by J.A.B van Buitenen. I've been relying on the print edition of his translation for the bulk of this podcast. The only complete translation is by Ganguli, and I only have that version in my iPhone!
I can't really write my episodes while referring to a 3" iphone screen, so as we get near the end of Book 5, I was getting desperate for a solution. Amazon carries the full Ganguli translation-- all 18 books-- for the low low price of $350 US!
I sort of threw this conundrum out there to my audience to see if anyone had any suggestions on how I might find a cheaper copy. I guess you all are too used to "free" stuff on the internet, because I got a rather tepid response.
One listener kindly offerred to look into buying a copy in India, where it should be cheaper, but it was all rather hypothetical and time is running out. I guess I would have drawn more attention if I'd waited until the end of Book 5, and the podcast came to a stop...
But all that is water under the bridge now. It turns out that Amazon is selling the Kindle edition of Ganguli for $6! All 18 books! Kindles are running for about $189, so for the price of a Kindle, I get Ganguli nearly for free. As long as I use the kindle for something other than Ganguli, I can at least say that I didn't blow another $200 on a podcast that nets me $0 in return. So that's good news...
Now the Kindle is in the mail, so as long as the mail gods keep the deliveries on schedule, our podcast should continue to run on its normal schedule!
I bought my Kindle for the same reason last year -- it's a great way to read the epic.
ReplyDeleteHey did you look at this source ?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/index.htm#maha
It contains the Ganguli translation in text format.
Hi Lawrence,
ReplyDeleteHave you considered setting up a donation method? Another podcast that I listen to regularly (The history of rome by Mike Duncan) started a paypal donation thing on its website, which has been working very well. I for one would be very happy if I felt like I am contributing to this podcast in any way considering the great joy it provides me. And I am certain others feel similarly. If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of personal financial compensation, the donations could certainly go towards materials and services required for the production of the podcast.
Thank you for the offer. When I first started this, I partly justified the effort because I already had all the tools I needed. I am a programmer by profession, so I already had the computer equipment, the internet bandwidth, and the recording software. So this podcast, in normal circumstances, requires no additional cost-- just my time.
ReplyDeleteSo far, the only unanticipated expense has been this Ganguli publication, which was expensive enough to elicit a complaint on my part.
I've sort of resolved this by going with the Kindle, since I could use it for other things. So now I'm back on track again. I don't expect any more big expenses, so hopefully I'll be able to get through the rest of this epic without having to beg for money! That's a good thing for all of us!
Thanks again,
Lawrence