New Delhi

Scholar Dr Robert Gafrik, who spent five years translating the Upanishads from Sanskrit into Slovak, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appreciation of his work during his recent visit to Slovakia gave the translation "a second life" by turning it into a bridge in India-Slovakia diplomatic relations.

He made the remarks during an interview to ANI.

Dr Gafrik, a scholar at the Institute of World Literature of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, said translating the Upanishads was intellectually demanding due to the complexity of the texts and their long tradition of interpretation. He said he chose to follow the traditional Indian interpretation of Adi Shankaracharya while translating the philosophical texts into Slovak.

"The Upanishads are very difficult texts. They have a very rich and long history of interpretation in India and also in the West. They have been interpreted for the past 200 years. So it was also very difficult for me to find an approach to these texts and how to translate them," he said.

"That's why I decided to choose a traditional Indian interpretation. I follow the interpretation of Adi Shankaracharya in my translation. Thus, I presented the text as a philosophical text to the Slovak audience because this traditional interpretation gives the text one meaning," he said.

Recalling his interaction with Prime Minister Modi during the latter's recent visit to Slovakia, Gafrik described it as a unique and memorable moment.

"I had a very short interaction with the Prime Minister and, of course, it was a very unique moment for me to meet him. I am greatly honoured that he noticed my work and praised it," he said.

"When I was working on the translation, I didn't anticipate that this would happen. The translation, which was actually meant for the Slovak audience, will take a second life in the diplomatic relations between Slovakia and India," he added.

Speaking about the growing popularity of India in Slovakia, Gafrik said yoga and Ayurveda have witnessed increasing acceptance among Slovaks.

"Yoga is very popular in Slovakia. One can find yoga studios in every major Slovak city. Ayurveda is also very popular. There are Ayurvedic clinics and spas in Slovakia," he said.

"People in Slovakia are increasingly interested in Indian religions... So the interest in India is definitely growing," he added.

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Underlining how the Indian diaspora is now the second largest group in the country, he called it a testimony to the deepening bilateral ties between New Delhi and Bratislava.

"We also have a growing Indian community in Slovakia. Now Indians are the second largest community of foreign workers in Slovakia, just behind the Ukrainians. So definitely the relations between Slovakia and India are growing," he said.