Tamil poetry in translation
 In this week's column I wish to present translations of a few poems
written in Tamil by a Lankan writer. Coming from the village Vathiri in
the North, S Ravindran had been writing new poetry, fiction, articles
etc since the 1970s. His first book, a book of poems, published by S
Godage Brothers was launched two weeks ago in Colombo. The title of the
book is Meendu Vantha Naadkal (The Days that were obtained). Without
much ado, let's see how his poems read.
This columnist has made an attempt to translate into English a few
poems from this book for the benefit of non-Tamil speaking readers. Here
is the first poem, Antha Rail Pokirathu (That Train Moves On). This poem
was written in 1972 and published in Mallikai.
Fort Railway Station
Surrounded by crowds of people
On all four sides crowded
To leave the country.
As if crying in hesitation
The Thalaimannar Steam locomotive
Enteres the station slowly and
Stopped.
 The sad song.
Our beloved workers
Dried with immovable tongue
Blurts their hearts out
Of leaving the country
As refugees saying
What benefits did
We accrue for working hard
Except for raw blood
Shed dead.
Love's pulsating beat.
Touched and smelt
The soil that grounded the heads
The hapless woman feeds
The Milk to
The embraced babbling infant
Board the train
Even within darkness
Even the future ahead is dark
The train moves
Puffing out smoke
With the nave workers
Crying and weeping
The above poem describes the poet's observation on the feelings of
the expatriated plantation workers in the 1970s.
The next one is a small poem of an ironical situation in regard to a
spinster left unmarried. It's called Enathu Album (My Album)
Suitors came and came
To see me and returned
Brokers and foreigners too
Called for my photos
And went back
But my album is like
A full- bloomed pregnant
Woman
But not even a
Single photo of mine
Here is one both satirical and ironic, titled Poli Vaalvu (Pseudo
Life)
Wearing silk veatty, shawl
In the neck a chain with pendant
Torch Light chucked in hips
Thirunaamam conducts the
Thiruvila (Festival)
His wife
Standing aside in the field around
Watches wearing a faded saree
Without any jewelry.
Here are some more poems in brief that I rendered into English.
Betham ( Difference)
In the hut the children cried of hunger
In the Opposite Storey rice bags were unloaded
From a lorry
Sillaraikal (Cheap)
We are cheap to him in our factory
In remembrance of a great man
He collects coins
The cheap coins are
We indeed
Pirivu (Division)
In our village two JPs
Now my village
Split into two
Thadai (Taboo)
He + She = Love
Caste+ Religion
Suitability+ Status
Prevented- Blocked
Bhakthi (Devotion)
Near the house Big Temple
Boarding bus going there
Yet for them Bhakthi Liberation
Worshipping from a secluded area
Upadesam (Advice)
The father asks the daughter
To promise on the bible
To forget the love
She has for one
Low in caste
The Bible says
"Love everyone alike"
The poet Vathiri Ravindran says that in his school days in his native
place, he as inspired by the poetry oh teacher and poet Kaarai S
Sundarampillai. He had as his fiend another writer Nanthini Xavier. Both
were from Chavakachcheri. They had fruitful discussions on literature
and grew together. His mother is from Vathiri and that's why he has
added Vathiri before his name.
In 1972 he had an opportunity to participate in radio programs and
got know many writers and poets. He came to know prominent writers like
Theniyan and Dominic Jeeva, L Murugapoobathy, Sillayoor Selvarajan,
Theva Gowri, Dickwella Kamal, Raja Sri Kanthan, Shelly Thaasan, Memon
Kavi, and the late Pon Rajagopal of Virakesari who encouraged him to
write. For a short time he stopped writing as he had to working the
Middle East to earn money to pay back the heavy loans he had incurred.
In this book, Theniyan has written an analysis of Vathiri Ravindran's
poetry. In Lanka witting in Tamil with Lankan consciousness begins in
the 1950s and as he says it evolved vigorously in the 1960s and 1970s.
Since the 1980s literature produce in the north and south did not get
noticed because of the war situation, even though lot of writing took
form in the south and central hills. Anbu Jawahar Shah in a note to this
book says that Vathiri Ravindran is a Registrar of Marriages and a good
football player.
He also mentions some of the 'New Verse' collections that promoted
that kind of poetry in the 1970s. The strong poet in this collection is
the poet's social consciousness and the empathy he has for the
downtrodden in the north. He writes in simple language that any one can
understand. The cover is designed by the versatile Memon Kavi.
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