'On Translating the Tamil Poem' by A. K. Ramanujan

TOPIC OF THE BLOG:-

In this Blog I discussed about the Article named 'On Translating a Tamil Poem' by A. K. Ramanujan from the book named 'The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan'.

A. K. RAMANUJAN:-

A.K. Ramanujan was born in Mysore, India, in 1929. He moved to the United States in 1959 and lived there until he passed away in Chicago on July 13, 1993. Besides being known as someone who lived in different countries, Ramanujan was a very smart person who did many different types of studies. He wrote poems, translated languages, studied linguistics (how languages work), and looked into folk stories. (Wagoner) - (To read more about him visit this website)

'The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan':-

"The Collected Essays of A.K. Ramanujan" is a compilation of the essays of A.K. Ramanujan, a prominent Indian poet, scholar, and translator. Ramanujan was celebrated for his contributions to Indian literature, folklore studies, and linguistic analysis. Born in 1929 in Mysore, India, Ramanujan made significant strides in various fields, including poetry, literary criticism, and translation.

This collection brings together Ramanujan's essays, which cover a wide range of topics, including Indian folklore, classical and modern Indian literature, linguistics, cultural studies, and comparative literature. Ramanujan's scholarship was characterized by his deep understanding of Indian culture and his ability to blend traditional Indian wisdom with modern analytical approaches.

Some of the notable essays included in this collection are:

• "Is There an Indian Way of Thinking? An Informal Essay": In this essay, Ramanujan explores the unique aspects of Indian thought and philosophy, examining whether there is a distinct "Indian way of thinking" that sets it apart from Western modes of thought.
• "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation": This essay delves into the diverse retellings of the Indian epic, Ramayana, across different regions and languages, highlighting the rich oral and literary traditions of India.
• Where Mirrors Are Windows: Towards an Anthology of Reflections": Ramanujan discusses the role of mirrors and reflections in Indian literature and culture, exploring their symbolic significance and metaphorical interpretations.
• "Is There an Indian Way of Reading Literary Criticism?": This essay reflects on the approaches to literary criticism in India and examines whether there is a distinctive Indian perspective on literary analysis.

These essays showcase Ramanujan's profound insights, interdisciplinary approach, and mastery of multiple literary traditions. Through his writings, Ramanujan contributed significantly to the understanding and appreciation of Indian literature and culture both in India and abroad. "The Collected Essays of A.K. Ramanujan" serves as a valuable resource for scholars, students, and enthusiasts interested in Indian literature, folklore, and cultural studies. (Open AI)

PRESENTATION:-

On_Translating_a_Tamil_Poem.pptx from Pooja Bhuva

YouTube Video:-

'On Translating a Tamil Poem' (Article)

Abstract:-

• This paper explores A. K. Ramanujan's approach to translating classical Tamil poems into English, acknowledging the challenges of bridging linguistic and structural gaps between Tamil and English. 
• Ramanujan highlights the intricacies of Tamil poetry, emphasizing the interconnected relationships, landscapes, and cultural elements within each poem. 
• He suggests that successful translation involves capturing these connections through layers, resembling circles within circles. 
• The article discusses the specific challenges faced in translating the classical Tamil poem "Ainkurunuru 203," emphasizing the importance of understanding cultural context and advocating for translating clusters of poems to convey intertextuality and systematic patterns. 
• Despite acknowledging the impossibility of a perfect translation, Ramanujan argues that if a translation effectively conveys the essence of the poem across languages, it becomes a valuable creative work.

KEY POINTS:-

• Translation Challenges 
• Translation Difficulties 
• Units of Translation 
• Interconnected Web of Tamil Poetry 
• Tamil Poetic Tradition 
• Clusters in Translation 
• Mimicking Structural Figures

KEY ARGUMENTS:-

• How does one translate a poem from another time, another culture and another language? 
• This paper doesn't just talk about the interesting life story of this writer. It also explores the process of translating old Tamil poems into modern English. 
• In which way can we Translates the Poem? 
• What are the units of Translation? 
• When we translates, one is translating not only Tamil, its Phonology, grammar and semantics, but this entire intertextual web, this intricate yet lucid second language of landscape which holds together natural forms with cultural ones in a code, a grammar, a rhetoric, and a poetics. 
• A Tamil poem is like a part of a big, connected web that includes family, surroundings, and a specific style. When translating, it's important to show these relationships and connections through different layers, like circles within circles. 
• What helps Translator to Translate? 
• (This Article is divided into three parts.)

PART 1:-

• In the first part of the Article A. K. Ramanujan discussed translating the classical poems of Tamil which are forgotten over time by the poets. 
• He started this journey of discussion by quoting the idea of Frost, that He identified Poetry as that which is lost in Translation. (Robinson) 
• He said that The chief difficulty of translation is its impossibility. 
• To understand it we have to first look into the sounds; old Tamil has six nasal consonants: a labial, a dental, an alveolar, a retroflex, a palatal and a velar. 
• Further, he compares these Elements of Grammar with English and it’s impossible to translate Phonology of language into that of another. 
• Tamil syntax is mostly left branching and English is Rightward, Tamil sentence is a mirror image of the English one. 
• The man who came from Michigan (English) 

• Michigan-from come-[past tense]-who man (Tamil) 
• Translators try to keep the beauty of poetry when changing it into another language. They use different tricks to make sure it still sounds rich and nice in English, even when the original poem has fancy and well-structured sentences. 
• Tamil Classical Poem divided into two terms: Interior (Akam) and Exterior (Puram) The classical Tamil poetic tradition maps its five (hills, seashore, agricultural areas, wastelands and pastoral fields) iconic regional landscapes - named for native plants - into a rich symbolic taxonomy structuring poetry genres representing specific moods, times, seasons, loves and wars. 
• Thus, a language within a language becomes the second language of Tamil Poetry. 
• He ended the first part by quoting Wilhelm Humboldt that ‘an infinite use of finite means’.

PART 2:-

• A closer look at the original of Kapilar's poem, ‘Ainkurunuru 203’ (What She Said). 
• Annay-Mother-Friend 
• Waterholes-Animals Drinking Place 
• He still could not bring the word ‘sweeter’ (iniya) into the middle of the poem as the originals does. 
• The poem is a Kurinci Piece , about the lovers' first union, set in the landscape. 
• The poem speaks of the innocent young woman's discovery of sex, in the hills, with her man. 
• Mood and Purpose of Poem: 
• Great Wonder-Life's Goodness 
• Sadness-Persuade the Lover to marry her 
• Ten poems in the anthology, Ainkurunuru, are part of a hundred of the theme of kurinci by a single great poet, Kapilar. 
• All the poems of a landscape share the same set of images and themes, but use them to make truly individual designs and meanings. 
• Any single poem is part of a set , a family of sets, a landscape, a genre . Translator has to translate each poem in ways that suggest these interests, dialogues, and networks.

PART 3:-

What help Translator to translate? 

• Universals: Universals of structure in both signifier and signified are crucial for understanding how languages work and what they mean in different cultures. As Voltaire said of God, we would have to invent them if such universals did not exist. 
• Interiorized Context: Classical Tamil poems encapsulate the culture that produced them. To fully understand these poems requires studying the intertextual web of commentaries and grammars that contextualize and interpret them over time. 
• Systematicity: Classical Tamil poetry forms highly systematic bodies of work where poetic elements interconnect within a master code. Rather than translating individual poems alone, it is best to translate clusters that shed light on each other, so the intertextuality allows the translator to represent the conceptual world these works create. 
• Structural Mimicry: The most important task of the translator is to mimic the unique structural figures of individual poems to convey relationships rather than isolated items. Though a translation may not perfectly represent the original, if it succeeds in carrying the essence of the poem across languages, it has value as a separate creative work.

CONCLUSION:-

• In conclusion, translating classical Tamil poems into modern English, as discussed by A. K. Ramanujan, is a challenging process that extends beyond language. 
• It involves capturing the intricate web of cultural and natural elements through phonology, grammar, and semantics. 
• Ramanujan underscores the complexity of Tamil poetry, where each poem is a part of a connected web, suggesting that translation should reveal these relationships in layers, resembling circles within circles. 
• Acknowledging linguistic challenges, such as sounds and syntax, Ramanujan emphasizes the impossibility of a perfect translation. 
• Ramanujan recommends translating clusters of poems to capture the systematic and intertextual nature of classical Tamil poetry. 
• In the end, he said that While recognizing that a translation may not perfectly replicate the original, it asserts that if it successfully conveys the poem's essence across languages, it holds value as a distinct creative work.

REFRENCES:-

• Open AI. "Chat GPT-3.5" 
• Ramanujan, A. K. “On Translating a Tamil Poem”. The Collected Essays of A. K. Ramanujan, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2013, pp. 219-231. 
• Ramanujan, A. K. Poems of Love and War. Columbia University Press, 1985. 
• Ramanujan, A. K. The Interior Landscape. Indiana University Press, 1967. 
• Robinson, Peter. "What Is Lost?" Poetry and Translation: The Art of the Impossible. Liverpool University Press, 2010. 23-47. 
• Wagoner, Candy. “Ramanujan, Attipat Krishnaswami – Postcolonial Studies.” ScholarBlogs, 11 June 2014, https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/11/ramanujan-attipat-krishnaswami/. Accessed 12 January 2024.

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