THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: O N V Kurup has been translated and widely anthologised in English, German, Russian and Macedonian. Yet, the largely opaque channel of cross-translation in India has so far produced only one Tamil and a few Hindi translations of his isolated poems.Seeking to overcome this linguistic barrier, which stands in the way of cross-cultural interactions facilitated through literature, the Bharatiya Jnanpith has published an anthology of the Hindi translation of 35 of ONV’s poems, representing the major highlights of his oeuvre.Jnanpith had commissioned noted translator Thankamoni Amma, head of the Hindi Department of the University of Kerala, to do the work, after the award was announced in 2010.“The book was wrapped up in time for the award ceremony held in February 2011 and a complimentary copy was presented to O N V Kurup. It features almost all his critically acclaimed poems, apart from reputed individual verses from his collections,” says Thankamoni.Titled ‘Ek Dharti ek asman ek sooraj’, the book is expected to open the vistas of translation of ONV poems from Malayalam to other Indian languages.“Being a language spoken by a small community of people, Malayalam works remain unavailable to the enormous reading public in India. A Hindi translation can act as a catalyst for further translations within India, just as an English translation can place a book in the vernacular in global perspective,” she says.The anthology includes the translation of famed verses such as ‘Sooyra geetham’, ‘Bhairavante thudi’, ‘Bhoomikku oru charama geetham’, ‘Aparahnam’, ‘Sharnga pakshikal’ and others.Pointing out the hurdles she faced while translating, Thankamoni says, “ONV’s poems carry the essence of Kerala’s culture, history and tradition. His poems are loaded with images from the political and cultural milieu of the land, which are not easily viable to representation in another language.”The title of the anthology was suggested by the poet himself. “I had consulted him while making the selections for the anthology. And he suggested the title after the list was finalised,” says Thankamoni.“It is the gist of the philosophy which I have tried to convey through my poems,” says ONV Kurup, elaborating on his choice of the title. Confessing that he is not well-versed in the language to make any judgments about the Hindi version of his poetry, he underscores his faith in the translator.Thankamoni had earlier translated his acclaimed work ‘Swayamvaram’. “Reputed Hindi critic Namvar Singh had spoken highly of that translation and I do hope this effort also achieves its end,” he says.The book is yet to reach shops and therefore the reading public and the critics. ‘Ujjaini’, considered to be ONV’s magnum opus, had received a Hindi translation earlier, while his ‘Karutha pakshiyude pattu’ has been translated into Tamil as ‘Karuppu paraviyin padal’ by Sirpi Baalasubramaniom.
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