Man who listens to the echo of the soul of society
 “You
and I have a job to do, Altynai”, he said with an air of mystery. “I’ve
brought these young poplars for you. We’re going to plant them together.
As they grow and gain strength, you, too will grow up into a splendid
woman.” …………………………………….
These saplings are like you, they’re so young and slender. Let’s
plant them with our own hands Altynai. And may you find happiness in
learning, my lovely shining star.”
This is an extract from Chingiz Aitmatov’s very famous novel The
First Teacher.
Its Sinhala translation Guru Geethaya, which was translated by
Dedigama V Rodrigo, is one of the widely read books by Sinhala
readership. Its political theme and the love story caught hearts of Sri
Lankan youth, especially of university students.
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Chingiz Aitmatov |
I can still remember how those who called themselves ‘progressive
students’ quote Guru Geethaya in their poster campaigns during
university election times.
Still whenever I see a poplar tree, the first thing comes to my mind
is The First Teacher. From the day I first read the book, Duishen,
Altynai and those two poplars had a permanent spot reserved in my inner
heart.
Aitmatov was bilingual in Kirghiz and Russian and wrote in both
languages. The year of his birth coincided with the publication of the
first written Kirghiz alphabet. He was awarded the Lenin Prize for
literature and the Arts in 1963 for his stories collection called ‘Tales
of the Mountains and Steppes’. Sinhala readers should have read many of
his works as translations.
They are Jamila (1958), The First Teachr (1963) (Guru Geethaya),
Mother Earth (1963) (Amma Saha Mihikatha),
Chingiz Aitmatov
at a glance |
- Born in 1928 in Shaker,
Soviet Central Asian Republic of Kirghizia
- Studied agriculture
- Attended Gorky Liter ary
Institute in Moscow
- Became a professional
writer while working for Pravda (Moscow) as their roving
reporter in Central Asia
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Farewell Gulzary (1966) (Samuganimu Gulsary) and The Cranes Fly Early
(1975) (Welasana Kokku Evith).
Among them, I have a special feeling on The Cranes Fly Early. That
short novel or more technically the novella starts with a stunning
description of Sri Lanka.
Aitmatov takes us to a snowy remote Kirgiz village school in a small
straw hut.
There are some kids who get a geography lesson while shivering from
cold. Their teacher tells them that people in a country called ‘Ceylon’
have no experience in winter. Those people enjoy sunny weather everyday
and warm sandy beaches.
This lesson raises the kids’ eyebrows with surprise as such weather
is beyond their imagination. Kirgiz summer stretches for less than 3
months. If my memory is correct, Mr. W A Abeysinghe, the translator of
the book writes in the preface that this description on our country made
a considerable motivation on him to translate The Cranes Fly Early.
‘Father, I know not where you lie buried. I dedicate this to you,
Torekul Aitmatov. Mother, you brought us up, the four of us, I dedicate
this to you, Nagima aitmatova’.
This is how Aitmatov dedicated his Mother Earth. Aitmatov’s father,
Torokul Aitmatov, one of the first Soviet-period national officials in
Kyrgyzstan, was executed by the Stalin regime in 1938 on charges of
being an enemy of the people.
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