Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, August 25, 2008
Poet Thamizhanban at Pittsburgh
Poet Thamizhanban presiding over a Poetic symposium at the National convention of Tamil Nadu Foundation Inc; held at Pittsburgh.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Limeraiku Poems Of Thamizhanban
The limeraiku is a form of poetry devised by Ted Pauker, consisting of a haiku in which five of the syllables (usually the ends of the three lines plus two more) rhyme in the pattern of a limerick. He gives an examplae:
There's a vile old man
Of Japan who roars at whores:
‘Where's your bloody fan?’
-Ted Pauker
Some authors have written limeraiku in an identical or very similar format, introducing the subject with "There's ...", choosing a place-name to rhyme with (cf. the stereotyped opening for limericks "There (once) was a ... from ..."), and dividing the second line as 3+2+2 syllables:
There's a latent queer
Of Tangier who brays at gays:
‘I'm hetero, dear.’
- Tim Hopkins
There's a cut-price whore
Of Cawnpore who hails all males:
‘Bed, Mattress - or Floor?’
- Pascoe Polglaze
There's a man at Crewe
station who buggers muggers
so well there's a queue.
- E. O. Parrott
Others have varied the form, changing the position within the lines of the five rhyming syllables, abandoning place-names as a source of rhymes, even forsaking the seemingly all-pervasive sexual humour in favour of historical or political themes:
John Keats rose at dawn,
Still forlorn, too chaste to taste
The amorous Brawne.
- Nick Enright
A limeraiku
needs two rhymes (used five times)
plus wit (which I blew).
- Anitra Freeman
(References:
* E. O. Parrott, The Penguin Book of Limericks, Penguin Books 1983
* A. Davie, The Limeraiku, an introduction, http://www.nospine.net/jellyfish/002_11.asp
* A. Freeman, Spontaneous Exercise: rhyme vs. rhythm, http://www.anitraweb.org/kalliope/limeraiku.html
Poet Thamizhanban,a prominent Tamil poet ,who is still ruling the literary world in Tamilnadu,by his supreme poetic skills,has brought out a volume of Limeraiku poems ,the first of its kind,in Tamil.
Instead of five rhymes,he prefers two rhymes,which appear in the first and third lines.
His thought-provoking poems are always a challenge to the translators.
As an ardent admirer and constant reader of his poems I ventured to translate some of the poems from the volume titled"Cleopatras of Chennimalai".Chennimalai is the native place of Thamizhanban.
Translations need not be craetive treasons,always.
I have done my best in transfering the sense of the poems.
Our beloved poet Thamizhanban,uses rhymes twice in every poem,in the first and third lines.
The linguistic and cultural barriers never allow anybody to present the original form of a poem in its source language after translating in the target language.
Hope you may enjoy my translations.
Monotanous life in forest
Deer and Rabbit wanted rest and haunted
In children's songs, they found a place,the best!
The wind lost its wings
Took rest In the bird's nest,swinging,
It stayed a while,puzzling?
A bird lost its life;
The heights it reached,while alive,
Wept with unending tears.
Fly away with birds
But forget that you are a man.
You don't need wings like birds.
'Bernard never recieved any bribery'
To pronounce such a witness
John recieved a bribery.
Smoke leads to death
Drinking also kills us
Selling them gives us wealth.
© ilakkuvanar., all rights reserved.
There's a vile old man
Of Japan who roars at whores:
‘Where's your bloody fan?’
-Ted Pauker
Some authors have written limeraiku in an identical or very similar format, introducing the subject with "There's ...", choosing a place-name to rhyme with (cf. the stereotyped opening for limericks "There (once) was a ... from ..."), and dividing the second line as 3+2+2 syllables:
There's a latent queer
Of Tangier who brays at gays:
‘I'm hetero, dear.’
- Tim Hopkins
There's a cut-price whore
Of Cawnpore who hails all males:
‘Bed, Mattress - or Floor?’
- Pascoe Polglaze
There's a man at Crewe
station who buggers muggers
so well there's a queue.
- E. O. Parrott
Others have varied the form, changing the position within the lines of the five rhyming syllables, abandoning place-names as a source of rhymes, even forsaking the seemingly all-pervasive sexual humour in favour of historical or political themes:
John Keats rose at dawn,
Still forlorn, too chaste to taste
The amorous Brawne.
- Nick Enright
A limeraiku
needs two rhymes (used five times)
plus wit (which I blew).
- Anitra Freeman
(References:
* E. O. Parrott, The Penguin Book of Limericks, Penguin Books 1983
* A. Davie, The Limeraiku, an introduction, http://www.nospine.net/jellyfish/002_11.asp
* A. Freeman, Spontaneous Exercise: rhyme vs. rhythm, http://www.anitraweb.org/kalliope/limeraiku.html
Poet Thamizhanban,a prominent Tamil poet ,who is still ruling the literary world in Tamilnadu,by his supreme poetic skills,has brought out a volume of Limeraiku poems ,the first of its kind,in Tamil.
Instead of five rhymes,he prefers two rhymes,which appear in the first and third lines.
His thought-provoking poems are always a challenge to the translators.
As an ardent admirer and constant reader of his poems I ventured to translate some of the poems from the volume titled"Cleopatras of Chennimalai".Chennimalai is the native place of Thamizhanban.
Translations need not be craetive treasons,always.
I have done my best in transfering the sense of the poems.
Our beloved poet Thamizhanban,uses rhymes twice in every poem,in the first and third lines.
The linguistic and cultural barriers never allow anybody to present the original form of a poem in its source language after translating in the target language.
Hope you may enjoy my translations.
Monotanous life in forest
Deer and Rabbit wanted rest and haunted
In children's songs, they found a place,the best!
The wind lost its wings
Took rest In the bird's nest,swinging,
It stayed a while,puzzling?
A bird lost its life;
The heights it reached,while alive,
Wept with unending tears.
Fly away with birds
But forget that you are a man.
You don't need wings like birds.
'Bernard never recieved any bribery'
To pronounce such a witness
John recieved a bribery.
Smoke leads to death
Drinking also kills us
Selling them gives us wealth.
© ilakkuvanar., all rights reserved.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Senryu Poems of Thamizhanban
Senryu Poems of Thamizhanban
Now you can have a glance of some Senryu poems written by Thamizhanban(translated by me).
The satire and sarcasm about the society by the poet are reflected through powerful images and provoking metaphors.
The defeat is assured
But only
The constituency needs be finalized
One hundred Mirrors
He who had looked through these
Had just gone to buy a new face.
After 3 years he received
First premium of pension
to finance his funeral rites.
God asked a boon from
His devotees;
'Do not drag me into politics'
Satan started a party
The first member..
God!
Who taught you?
Blow to the student
Pain to the teacher
The song came
Fully afraid
From the singer’s throat.
The Leader
On a tour abroad
Peace and pleasure in inland.
Security beefed up
In police station
Rifles stolen.
Filed his nomination
With a procession of a thousand persons
Secured fifty votes!
Where is the answer?
Not only the students
But also the questions were unable to find it.
The reader and librarian
Had a sound sleep
But the books never slept.
The Will wrote down by the father
Everybody has equal share-
In my death!
He slept forgetting to take
The medicine
Which never forgot him.
The answers asked a question
‘Dear student
Will you get success?’
Party members boycotted the conference
Dissatisfied with-
The Food arrangements.
Borrowed smile-
How long will be there
In the lips?
He who asked for a place in the boat
Was keeping a storm
In his pocket!
The Minister who was sacked
Gave a press release
‘Hereafter I will work for our country’s welfare.’
The operation was a success
But the patient was a different person
Who did not need the operation.
The fish from the fish tank
While dropped at the pond
Swam to a distance of the fish tank.
Thousands of words in hand
But unable to write a Poem
Dictionary!
The wife while giving a send off
Told with tears:
Please do not forget to send money
Now you can have a glance of some Senryu poems written by Thamizhanban(translated by me).
The satire and sarcasm about the society by the poet are reflected through powerful images and provoking metaphors.
The defeat is assured
But only
The constituency needs be finalized
One hundred Mirrors
He who had looked through these
Had just gone to buy a new face.
After 3 years he received
First premium of pension
to finance his funeral rites.
God asked a boon from
His devotees;
'Do not drag me into politics'
Satan started a party
The first member..
God!
Who taught you?
Blow to the student
Pain to the teacher
The song came
Fully afraid
From the singer’s throat.
The Leader
On a tour abroad
Peace and pleasure in inland.
Security beefed up
In police station
Rifles stolen.
Filed his nomination
With a procession of a thousand persons
Secured fifty votes!
Where is the answer?
Not only the students
But also the questions were unable to find it.
The reader and librarian
Had a sound sleep
But the books never slept.
The Will wrote down by the father
Everybody has equal share-
In my death!
He slept forgetting to take
The medicine
Which never forgot him.
The answers asked a question
‘Dear student
Will you get success?’
Party members boycotted the conference
Dissatisfied with-
The Food arrangements.
Borrowed smile-
How long will be there
In the lips?
He who asked for a place in the boat
Was keeping a storm
In his pocket!
The Minister who was sacked
Gave a press release
‘Hereafter I will work for our country’s welfare.’
The operation was a success
But the patient was a different person
Who did not need the operation.
The fish from the fish tank
While dropped at the pond
Swam to a distance of the fish tank.
Thousands of words in hand
But unable to write a Poem
Dictionary!
The wife while giving a send off
Told with tears:
Please do not forget to send money
Senryu Poems in Tamil
.
"A TRUCKLOAD OF SENRYU"----
Senryu Poems in Tamil by Thamizhanban
I.Introduction to Senryu:
Senryu is a Japanese poem structurally similar to the haiku but primarily concerned with human nature. It does not rhyme and takes the form of three lines (line 1 has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line 3 has 5 syllables).
There are multi various definitions of senryu.Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines sen·ryu as " a 3-line unrhymed Japanese poem structurally similar to haiku but treating human nature usually in an ironic or satiric vein."
In ‘Modern Haiku E-Journal’ Hiroaki Sato gives the following definition:
"Unlike the haiku which normally deals with natural or seasonal phenomena, the senryû is expected to deal with matters of human and social nature, often in a playful, satirical, or knowing manner.
The haiku carries a seasonal reference; the senryû does not have to. The distinction between the two genres has been tenuous, however, from early on.
In recent years the blurring of the differences has become such that Ônishi Yasuyo has said, "If someone asks me how senryû differ from haiku, I tell the inquirer that the only distinction that can be made is by author’s name"—that is, if the author is known to write haiku, the pieces he or she writes are haiku; if the author is known to write senryû, the pieces she or he writes are senryû."
In’Aha Poetry’ Jane Reichhold presents a clear explanation:
"Senryu in Japanese means "River Willow." It is the pen name of the most famous poet who conducted maekuzuki (linking contests) has been given to this genre in his dubious honor. Because haiku and senryu are written much alike, often on the same subjects and usually by the same authors, great controversies have ensued over which is what. For a time, in America, senryu were considered to be faulty haiku. Actually, if one must differentiate, the senryu form is satiric, concerned with poking fun at human behavior as opposed to the profound, sublime world of nature where haiku shine.
"A good senryu is not merely a knee-slapper, though it can be that. It's not just a showcase for puns or wit, although a good senryu can include cleverness or humour as part of a more resonant purpose. Rather, a senryu is a poem that wakes us up in a small way with its distilled, one-breath moment of heightened awareness focusing on human nature. It's a window into the human condition, freshly squeegeed. Senryu are, ultimately, poems of human self-awareness. They don't have to be funny, but often it is good to laugh at ourselves through senryu." is the Definition by Michael Dylan Welch.
"The difference between a comic haikai and a senryû are hard to define, but we might say that in general, haikai poetry deals with nature and senryû with human beings. This choice of subject matter is reflected by the insistence on seasonal words (kigo) in haikai poetry, but not in senryû. Haikai, at its best, tries to capture in seventeen syllables both the eternal and the momentary, but senryû is content with a single sharp observation. The importance of the "cutting words" (kireji) in haikai stemmed largely from the division they established between the two elements they contained, but a senryû needed no cutting words, since only one element was present. The language of senryû is generally that of the common people, and is sometimes even vulgar, but haikai, despite its occasional daring uses of such words, was essentially restricted to the vocabulary of the man of taste. Parts of speech that were considered inconclusive in a haikai often ended a senryû, as if to signify it was flash of wit rather than a rounded-off poem."
(Definition and Comments by Donald Keene, "World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867", Holt, Rinehart, Winston, p. 527.)
II.Generic Migration:
Just like races,literary genres also migrate from one place to another and the Japanese Haiku,Senryu and Limeraiku have migrated to almost all other languages-eastern andf western-and have spread successfully.
III.Senryu in Tamil:
Thamizhanban’s compilation of Senryu poems in Tamil titled"A Truckload of Senryu" is a pioneer attempt to give senryu poems in Tamil and now there are many followers in this trend.
"A TRUCKLOAD OF SENRYU"----
Senryu Poems in Tamil by Thamizhanban
I.Introduction to Senryu:
Senryu is a Japanese poem structurally similar to the haiku but primarily concerned with human nature. It does not rhyme and takes the form of three lines (line 1 has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line 3 has 5 syllables).
There are multi various definitions of senryu.Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines sen·ryu as " a 3-line unrhymed Japanese poem structurally similar to haiku but treating human nature usually in an ironic or satiric vein."
In ‘Modern Haiku E-Journal’ Hiroaki Sato gives the following definition:
"Unlike the haiku which normally deals with natural or seasonal phenomena, the senryû is expected to deal with matters of human and social nature, often in a playful, satirical, or knowing manner.
The haiku carries a seasonal reference; the senryû does not have to. The distinction between the two genres has been tenuous, however, from early on.
In recent years the blurring of the differences has become such that Ônishi Yasuyo has said, "If someone asks me how senryû differ from haiku, I tell the inquirer that the only distinction that can be made is by author’s name"—that is, if the author is known to write haiku, the pieces he or she writes are haiku; if the author is known to write senryû, the pieces she or he writes are senryû."
In’Aha Poetry’ Jane Reichhold presents a clear explanation:
"Senryu in Japanese means "River Willow." It is the pen name of the most famous poet who conducted maekuzuki (linking contests) has been given to this genre in his dubious honor. Because haiku and senryu are written much alike, often on the same subjects and usually by the same authors, great controversies have ensued over which is what. For a time, in America, senryu were considered to be faulty haiku. Actually, if one must differentiate, the senryu form is satiric, concerned with poking fun at human behavior as opposed to the profound, sublime world of nature where haiku shine.
"A good senryu is not merely a knee-slapper, though it can be that. It's not just a showcase for puns or wit, although a good senryu can include cleverness or humour as part of a more resonant purpose. Rather, a senryu is a poem that wakes us up in a small way with its distilled, one-breath moment of heightened awareness focusing on human nature. It's a window into the human condition, freshly squeegeed. Senryu are, ultimately, poems of human self-awareness. They don't have to be funny, but often it is good to laugh at ourselves through senryu." is the Definition by Michael Dylan Welch.
"The difference between a comic haikai and a senryû are hard to define, but we might say that in general, haikai poetry deals with nature and senryû with human beings. This choice of subject matter is reflected by the insistence on seasonal words (kigo) in haikai poetry, but not in senryû. Haikai, at its best, tries to capture in seventeen syllables both the eternal and the momentary, but senryû is content with a single sharp observation. The importance of the "cutting words" (kireji) in haikai stemmed largely from the division they established between the two elements they contained, but a senryû needed no cutting words, since only one element was present. The language of senryû is generally that of the common people, and is sometimes even vulgar, but haikai, despite its occasional daring uses of such words, was essentially restricted to the vocabulary of the man of taste. Parts of speech that were considered inconclusive in a haikai often ended a senryû, as if to signify it was flash of wit rather than a rounded-off poem."
(Definition and Comments by Donald Keene, "World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867", Holt, Rinehart, Winston, p. 527.)
II.Generic Migration:
Just like races,literary genres also migrate from one place to another and the Japanese Haiku,Senryu and Limeraiku have migrated to almost all other languages-eastern andf western-and have spread successfully.
III.Senryu in Tamil:
Thamizhanban’s compilation of Senryu poems in Tamil titled"A Truckload of Senryu" is a pioneer attempt to give senryu poems in Tamil and now there are many followers in this trend.
Haiku Poems of Thamizhanban
Haiku Poems of Thamizhanban
Thamizhanban is a prominent poet of Tamilnadu,who has contributed volumes of Modern and modernist poems in Tamil and celebrated by millions of Tamil readers throughout the world.
He has produced meaningful and thought-provoking Haikus and they can be seen in the volume titled"Crescents of Sun"(Sooriyap Piraikal).
I have translated some Haikus and do hope it may be of interest to you also.
Satire
The Dawn's feet bound in chain
The Moon is varnishing
The Jail's iron bars.
The writings invited for
A Royal dinner-
The writer's soul hanging in the pen-nib.
I just dug a fountain in my mind-
Thousand people rushed
To sit and drink.
Self-pity
I was lying as a corpse
Felt immense pleasure
Never intended to stand again.
Metaphysics
Death--
The torch of the soul
In the journey of life.
Personality-builder
To the person who fell down ten times
Mother Earth kissed and told:
Already you have stood erect nine times!
Again andf again
The moonlight fell on it-
The rock blossomed into a flower!
Realism
Darkness remained in the hands
Which pushed out
The night.
Poetry --
Possesses thousand hands
Its begging bowl has a lot of holes!
Irony
The sky is beautiful!
The Earth is also beautiful!
I have a loaf of bread in my hand.
The fishes in the glass tanks
Dreaming much about
Rubbing shoulders with oceans.
Thamizhanban is a prominent poet of Tamilnadu,who has contributed volumes of Modern and modernist poems in Tamil and celebrated by millions of Tamil readers throughout the world.
He has produced meaningful and thought-provoking Haikus and they can be seen in the volume titled"Crescents of Sun"(Sooriyap Piraikal).
I have translated some Haikus and do hope it may be of interest to you also.
Satire
The Dawn's feet bound in chain
The Moon is varnishing
The Jail's iron bars.
The writings invited for
A Royal dinner-
The writer's soul hanging in the pen-nib.
I just dug a fountain in my mind-
Thousand people rushed
To sit and drink.
Self-pity
I was lying as a corpse
Felt immense pleasure
Never intended to stand again.
Metaphysics
Death--
The torch of the soul
In the journey of life.
Personality-builder
To the person who fell down ten times
Mother Earth kissed and told:
Already you have stood erect nine times!
Again andf again
The moonlight fell on it-
The rock blossomed into a flower!
Realism
Darkness remained in the hands
Which pushed out
The night.
Poetry --
Possesses thousand hands
Its begging bowl has a lot of holes!
Irony
The sky is beautiful!
The Earth is also beautiful!
I have a loaf of bread in my hand.
The fishes in the glass tanks
Dreaming much about
Rubbing shoulders with oceans.
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