No Warning Bells This Time - Lets Relax With Abdul Rahman!

Most Gracious ILites,
I know you are rather tired with the heavy stuff we had last week. So this week we will enjoy a poem of Abdul Rahman. This poem has been taken from his book Aalapanai for which he won the Sahithya Academy Award. Hope you will enjoy this!
Varalotti

கண்ணீரின் ரகசியம்

கவிக்கோ அப்துல் ரஹ்மானின்
ஆலாபனை என்ற தொகுதியிலிருந்து


'இறைவா எனக்குப்
புன்னகைகளைக் கொடு' என்று
பிரார்த்தித்தேன்

அவன் கண்ணீரைத் தந்தான்


'வரம் கேட்டேன்
சாபம் கொடுத்து விட்டாயே'
என்றேன்

இறைவன் கூறினான்:

'மழை வெண்டாம்
விளைச்சலை மட்டும் கொடு' என்று
எந்த உழவனாவது கேட்பானா'

ஆனால் நீ
அப்படித்தான் கேட்கிறாய்

கண்ணிரில் புன்னகையும்
புன்னகையில் கண்ணீரும்
ஒளிந்திருப்பதை
நீ அறிய மாட்டாய்

உண்மையைச் சொல்வதானால்
கண்ணீர் கண்களின் புன்னகை
புன்னகை இதழ்களின் கண்ணீர்'

வைகறைப் பொழுதில் மலர்களின் மீது
பனித்துளிகளை
நீ கண்டதில்லையா?

புன்னகை
தன்னைக் கண்ணீரால்
அலங்கரித்துக் கொள்ளும்
அற்புதம் அல்லவா அது!

மழை மேகங்களில்
மின்னல் உதிப்பதை
நீ பார்த்ததில்லையா?

கண்ணீரில் இருந்து
சிரிப்புப் பிறக்கும்
அழகல்லவா அது?

முத்து என்பது என்ன?
சிப்பிக்குள் இருந்து
தவம் செய்யும் கண்ணீர்த் துளி
புன்னகையாகும் அதிசயம் தானே அது

கன்ணீரில் மலரும்
புன்னகைப் பூக்கள்
வாடுவதில்லை என்பதை
அறிவாயாக!

மேலும்
கண்ணீர்தான்
உன்னைக் காட்டுகிறது


புன்னகையோ
சில நேரங்களில்
உனக்கு திரையாகிவிடுகிறது

'God, give me smiles,' I prayed
He gave me tears.
I asked for a boon
And you have cursed me' - I said

God said:
Your prayers is like that of a farmer
Who wants a good harvest
But not the rains.

You do not know
That there are smiles in tears
And tears in smiles

To tell the truth,
Tears are the smiles of the eyes
And the smile, tears shed by the mouth

Have you not seen the dew drops
On flowers
At dawn?

That is the miracle of a
smile decorating herself with tears!

Have you not seen the lightning flash
Hidden in the clouds?

That is the beauty of the smile
Being born of tears!

And, what my son, is the pearl?
That is the tear-drop
Doing penance inside an oyster
And the mystery of its
Being transformed into a smile

Know that the smile-flowers
Which spring from tears
Neither wilt nor wither

Again it’s the tears
That show who you are!
While the smile
Many times hides the real you!

A nice little poem Varalotti, although by Kavikko, it is you that i am praising. Because, if you did not bring this to us and me, I would not know of its existence. Like the tears and smiles that are mingled in this poem, the expertise of your translation and the talent of Abdul Rahman are intermingled:) For me atleast, one did not exist without the other.

L, Kamla

Dear Varalotti,
When I saw the post , I jumped - for joy ! Aha, Kavikko ! One of my fav. puthu-kavithai kavis. Who can forget his "PaalVeethi" !

There were some literateurs of the old order who were uncomfortable with his new wave style and , rather unsportingly, remarked that he was only playing around with pretty words. But what the heck, he produced memorable, sincere, heartwarming blank verses.
Since he won the Sahitya Akademi award for "Alapanai", nothing needs to be said again about this verse's virtuosity. ( that he had a none- too- complimentary opinion about the Akademi is another matter !) The translation does justice to his sentiment.

One thing I found praiseworthy in him is that, though he was much feted with awards and recognition in literary circles, he did not shun Film Lyrics as total garbage. In fact he often said Kannadasan as one of his influences.

Please, can you give a translation of "Theekkuliyal" from the Paal Veedhi anthology also, so that those who may not have read it can also read and appreciate ( yaan petra inbam peruga ivvayagam!) though i really cant see how a translation can bring out the fervor and intensity of the tamil words:
"Oruvar ninaivai oruvar kolitthikkondu iruvarum erivom medhuvaaga...."

Thanx for Abdulrahmaning memories.
Manjula

PS: Being a Maduraiite too, have you met him?

Dear Sridhar

Thank you for your nice poem i.e. your translation. As I said before we are lucky to have a person like you in IL to translate the best of Tamil literature. Thank you once again.

Varudhini

Thank you,Varalotti. But for you, I would have never read Abdul Rehman or Bharathi or Kambar. Thanks for an educative session. As always, translation rocks!

Can you post a piece from Mansion Kavithaigal? I read that the poet is a fellow Maduriite. It speaks so strikingly about the pathos of urban youth, am sure will resonate atleast with some of us here.

(PS: IF u write one line responses to my posts, I will respond in similar vein.Not a warning, a statement of intent).

Dear Sridhar,
Enjoyed the Tears and Smile poem in Tamil and your translation too! So much meaning and depth in this poetry.....i have not been exposed to Tamil litt and poetry...so i am enjoying all this....
Keep them on and you are doing a great jobon Translation front.....amazing how u r fnding the right words to bring in the original sentiment! thats really a talent ......i can see! So keep up the good work....

Dear Vidya,

In accordance with my standing custom I am prioritizing you for reply because of your clear statement of intent.


Now first let me finish with the controversy. The one thing I learnt as an accountant is that I have to measure everything. Coming from Madurai we also have this powerful adage,
ஆத்துல போட்டாலும் அளந்துதான் போடணும்
Having said that I measure my response and as far as practicable see to it that my reply measures up to the post, at least in quantity. It is difficult for me to match the quality of ILites' posts. I always match what I can as an accountant effectively match - quantity.

So, Madam, if you bring to my notice any instances of an inequal or disproportionate match, well I will do my best to remedy the injustice done.

Now you have talked about Mansion Kavithaikal. Before we take up a discussion on that we owe a duty to the ILites to explain what is a Mansion.

Many young ILites prospering in the siliconvalley-related affluence may not even know what is a mansion. It is for those who belong to the lower middle class, who are unmarried and have to share a room with three or four others in a large building in the centre of a city like Chennai with very few amenities.

I have visited a few mansions. Many have a common toilet in the ratio of about 1 for every 15 or 20 participants.

Mansion dwellers are mainly those who have missed their marriage bus, imprisoned in a low paying job but have some good pastime activities - writing for example. But by and large their lives are sad. I have known persons living in mansions for 50 years.

Mansion Kavithaikal is a attempt to capture the pathos of a mansion-dweller in poetry - pudukavithai format. My friend and fellow-writer Bauddha Ayyanar (a convert to Buddhism) did that. The book was released not by a big shot but by a person who lived in a mansion for 30 plus years.

I was surprised to get a call from this poet. He praised my book Vetriyin Vidhaikal. I was floored. Because writers of his type normally shun us as "popular writers" who feed to the whims of the people instead of writing with conviction.

I had a long talk with him the other day. I am now trying to buy his book. When I get it I will post some thing here.

Thanks for giving me an opportunity to make a supplementary post. I will have to particularly thank your post script.
regards,
sridhar

Varalotti,

Am truly humbled and touched by you prioritizing me. Wish I had a sweet n snarky Tamil phrase to capture the true range of my emotions at this given nano second.

However, am a bit surprised by your jumping to conclusions and talking of 'lags'.

I think the way things are going, Mansion experiences are not very far off, even for first time Silicon Valley aspirants. The experiences may not be so infinite and insidious, but the life of vulnerable workers, is never much different.

Thanks.

Let's shake on this and part for the week. (the glove is sometimes iron, sometimes velvet).

always an admirer
Vidya

Dear Varalotti,
Thank you for info. about Mansion Kavithaigal. Had not heard of it or Bauddha Ayyanar. Education sine die .

Dear Vidya 24, thank you for catalysing said education.

Manjula

Welcome,Manju. Just trying to live up to my erudite name.