Martin Wickramasinghe’s writing in Thamil
 Celebrated literary giant in Sinhala, Martin Wickramasinghe
(1891-1976) is fairly known to Lankan Thamil readers of quality writing
via introductions, features, pictures and translations of his works into
Thamil.
One of the earliest translations was in 1964 and the novel concerned
was Gramap Piralavu (Gamperaliya. The translator was the late scholar M
Muhammdu Uwise from Panadura. The Martin Wickremasinghe Trust has
brought out a second edition in late last year.
It would be interesting to note that the late Sinhala intellectual
wrote this novel first in 1944. An excerpt from M W’s Preface is also
given in Thamil. The key points there are: the locale in which the story
is narrated lies 10 miles away from Gaalla (Galle) on the Matara- Gaalla
road. The writer left his village Koggala by 1924.The story begins with
the history of a stone slab.
Venerable Kiriwathtuduwe Sri Pragnasara Thera, who was the Chairman
of the Sri Lanka Sahithya Mandalaya writing in 1963, attributed this
novel as the first fiction to depict the lifestyle of the Sinhala
people.
The changes that take place in a village in the aftermath of foreign
domination are depicted in this novel. Social changes in a feudal setup,
capitalistic modes, the lifestyles of the middle class and the
uneducated people are depicted in this great work.
The translator opines that due to changes in the atmosphere not only
the village but also the people had to undergo changes in many respects.
Heritage of languages
The translator the late Emeritus Professor M M. Uwise was one of the
first Muslim students to do a special degree in Thamil from the
University of Peradeniya... His mentor was the late Professor in Thamil
at this University and later the first Vice-Chancellor of the University
of Yaalpaanam (Jaffna) Emeritus professor S. Vithiyananthan.
The latter writing in 1961 wrote praises the translation as the
translator was proficient in both Sinhala and Thamil and had understood
the nuances of the novel and rendered it in Thamil without distorting
the heritage of both languages in use.
This 228 page book is available from Martin Wickramasinge Trust,
18/3, Kirimandala Mawatha, Nawala, Rajagiriya, and priced at Rs.300/-
per copy. The book has a few appropriate illustrations and has 16
chapters.
Emeritus Professor of English Ashley Halpe’ has already translated
Gamperaliya into English. The great maestro of the Sinhala Cinema, Dr.
Lester James Pieris made an innovative film based on this novel. It’s
all history. Purpose here is not to comment on the original work but to
introduce to readers the importance of this novel in overall Lankan
Literature.
That includes not only works in Sinhala but also in Thamil and
English. The necessarily to translate works in each of these languages
into the other two languages is stressed here.
Apart from the remarkable portrayal of a Southern Village and the
people involved eight decades ago, what attracted me most were the
structure and the creative use of language (even if it is in Thamil) by
the great Sinhala Icon of the last century.
One other translation is a collection of Martin Wickramasinghe’s
Selected Short Stories (Siru Kathaikal). The translator is emeritus
professor Saba Jeyarasa. The publishers are the same as above. Here too
illustrations are found. The book is priced at Rs190/- per copy.
Appreciative introduction
The English translation of the titles of the 10 Sinhala stories
included are Diversion, Cemetery, Love, Bondage, Money, Mother, Eve of
the New year, The Torn Coat, Woman, and Exploits of Andoaoiyah. We learn
that the first realistic Sinhala anthology of short stories was
published in 1924. Out of the 108 stories M W had written only 10 are
included in the collection in Thamil.
I am not sure the former President and the present Vice president of
the Kolumbu Thamil Sangam has directly translated these stories from
Sinhala or the English version of these stories.
Nevertheless it is a laudable attempt because Prof. Saba Jeyarasa has
compiled a bibliography of M W’s works and written a useful and
appreciative introduction of the latter for the benefit readers in
Thamil.
M W’s multidisciplinary facets and his imposing personality in
Sinhala literature helped him to combine tradition with modernity. He
was in many ways a pioneer in modern Sinhala literature.
An enthusiastic admirer of MW, Gunarathinam of Inuvil, had initiated
the translation project as he says and thanks Saba Jeyarasa and Inuvil
T. Sivasubramaniam for the help rendered. He was inspired by reading the
story titled “New Year” and remembered his own young village life in a
note in this collection.
Prof Saba Jeyarasa deserves thanks for his efforts to translate the
stories in the collection for the benefit of readers like me who are not
proficient in reading the originals in Sinhala.
Early literary ventures
Another publication in Thamil pertaining to Martin Wickramasinghe is
a book published by the Cultural affairs Department. The book is an
introduction originally written in Thamil by S.Muralidharan from the
hill country.
We understand that he is a Deputy Director of Education attached to
the Ministry of Education in Isurupaya. He writes poems and essays and
his books on Puthumai Piththan and Jeyakanthan (two Thamilnadu writers)
have been translated into Sinhala. He has also written a book on Pablo
Neruda.
In writing the book on Martin Wickramasinghe, Muralidharan thanks
Trust, the wife and children of M W, Anthony Jeeva, Saaral Naadan,
Shiela Sridharan and Jeevan. This 136 page book may be available from
the Cultural Affairs Department.
The book is divided into the following heads:
M W’s life, a decade of early literary ventures, three decades of the
intermediary period, three decades of the concluding years, four
different essays on M W’s short stories, three different essays on M W’s
novels and a bibliography of the works of Martin Wickramasinghe. The
bibliography is in English and that is helpful.
I appreciated the critical appreciation of Martin Wickramsinghe by
the author. One wishes similar translations of Sinhala writers should be
made available to readers in Thamil. At the same time it should not be
one way street. Lankan writers in Thamil (both Thamilians and Islamites)
write commendable fiction depicting the life of people in the north and
the east.
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