Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
Treading Bharati's path
|
Sahitya Akademi award winner Sirpi Balasubramaniam reflects on his works and shares his views on poetry and literature in a tête-à-tête with M. ALLIRAJAN.
|
IT IS not often that one comes across people who remember their inspiration and speak fondly about them long after they become popular. Sirpi Balasubramaniam is one such person. An avid fan of Subramaniya Bharati, he took to writing poems, inspired by the works of the legend. That inspiration, which turned into a passion, has taken him to great heights. Sirpi who has been conferred with the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award twice in two years, says that even now he cannot spend a day without reading Bharathiar's poems.
"For me, his writing is scripture and every word of his law," he states. "Sirpi" is a man of many faces— a translator, an academician and a literary journalist. He won his second Akademi award for his poem "Oru Gramathu Nadhi" in 2002. The work revolves around Sirpi's village Athupollachi, situated on the banks of Aliyar river near Pollachi. "The poem portrays life in my village and my memories about the place. Urban life is the same anywhere in the world and one faces the same kind of problems in all cities and towns. But, life in an Indian village is very different."
Does Sirpi's village represent the common Indian rural community? "It has some features which are seen in any village in the country. After moving out of my village, I used to go there once in a while. Unfortunately, rich rural customs, traditions and values are fast disappearing. The poem goes to the roots to reflect on the pristine past." "Azhigira gramathu panpadu pizhigirathu manadhai", (The dying village culture wrings my heart) Sirpi wrote in his foreword. And, he regrets that Western ideas find place in Indian literary works. "Some are copying the West without realising that our way of life is a lot different. You cannot have characters that are alien to our culture in our novels and poems. In India, we have a village life and our problems are peculiar". He says that R. K. Narayan's "Malgudi Days" became popular as it realistically depicted life in a South Indian village. "It was appreciated even by western scholars," he points out.
"I have tried to highlight the real problems of society in all my works from the very beginning. Contemporary life also provides ample scope for narration and I depict them by adding an artistic touch. Otherwise people won't read."
What according to him is good poetry? "Poetry should reflect the society of our times. Over the years, it has been told in different forms. The impact of Bharathiar's poems cannot be brought out even in an article running to ten pages."
People now have little time to read and so poetry thrives in shorter forms like Haiku. Short literary pieces are nothing new to Tamil, he avers. "The Tirukkural contains only couplets. Traditionally, there has been a place for such things in Tamil literature." Haiku is not a modern form and has been in existence for over 500 years. "There is a clear set of guidelines for writing Haiku. However, a poem must not be constricted beyond a certain point", he states.
Sirpi, who won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2001 for translating Lalithambika Antharjanam's "Agnisakshi" in Tamil, believes that "translation enriches the language into which a work is translated. Translating literary works into other languages is now needed more than ever before. It helps one society learn about the other and to know the developments in the literary field."
"To translate, one must have sound knowledge of the language in which the original work is written. One should delve deep into the language and only a poet can do that. As I studied Malayalam till higher secondary, I could translate the works of Malayali poets," he says. What does he think about the present generation Tamil writers? "There are a lot of promising writers and a large number of women has also started writing novels and poems. The voice of feminists and issues Dalits and issues pertaining to them are being heard louder than ever before." Sirpi asserts that they cannot remain on the fringes for long. "It will take some time for them to stabilise. But they will have to come to the mainstream," he feels.
Ask him about film lyrics and he says tersely: "Though there is a poetic touch, lyrics in cinema cannot be called literary pieces. There is very little space in cinema for a poets' creative talents."
"There may be some exceptions. But, these lyrics are written to suit a particular trend. How can one call them the product of the poet?" he asks. He changes his theme every time and this, he says, is a conscious decision. "There is no point in writing about the same thing over and over again." Does he plan to try out prose? "Poetry is like a flash. I have told stories in pudhukavidhai. But, one should not express emotions in prose. A novelist does not give vent to his emotions. I am still trying to learn that. Once I get a grip on it, I plan to write a novel." Sirpi served as the Head of the Department of Tamil, Bharathiar University and was one of the pioneers of the "Vaanambadi" poetry movement, which made even commoners read poems. "The movement was started by Tamil lecturers. Traditionalists came out and started writing pudhukavidhai. It created a big readership base even in countries like Malaysia and Singapore," he reminisces.
How did he manage to combine the roles of an academician and litterateur? "The passion for writing and the creative instinct kept me going. I wrote Poojayangalin Sangili in just two nights while it took me seven days to complete Bharathi Kaithi En 203." Though he has written many poems, his latest work on Bharathiar is the one that has been the most satisfying, he says.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
|
