A conversation with veteran Jaffna poet S. Pathmanathan

S. Pathmanathan 

As part of a pioneering effort to integrate electronic and print media content, the Harmony page of Daily FT today publishes the first segment of the interview broadcast live over LakNadha International Web radio on 27 October (Wednesday) with veteran Jaffna poet Somasundarampillai Padmanathan. The interview is published with the permission of Pathmanathan and the founder of LakNadha International Web Radio, Thilina Thissera as well as the interviewer, Frances Bulathsinghala who, is the founder of ThriBhasha – the local Knowledge brand of Universal Heritage Inspire.

The interview with S. Pathmanathan was carried out on LakNadha international web radio in collaboration with ThriBhasha as part of an ongoing knowledge series involving arts and literature which is a component of the ThriBhasha inaugural launch series. This interview was carried out to commemorate October as the National Reading month, complementing the wide-scale work in this regard carried out separately by institutions such as the National Library of Sri Lanka.

S. Pathamanathan (82) has dedicated over seven decades of his life for poetry and translation of Sinhala literature to Tamil using English translation versions as well as translating to English, Tamil poetry from the North and elsewhere in Sri Lanka. With regard to Sinhala writings, often he has chosen poems that speak of the psyche of the Sinhalese people. For example he has translated ‘Prabhuddha’ by Mahagamasekera, the poem ‘Podiduwa’ by Monica Ruwanpathirana, ‘White Saree’ by Kamala Wijerathne, the poem ‘Rahula’s Birth’ by Ariyawansa Ranaweera, and the poem ‘Father’ by Upananda Karunathileke, to name a few. His own poetry and literary works have been translated by scholars such as Dr. Praneeth Abeysundera.

The below interview is based on the first segment of the half-hour radio interview on poetry, literature and translations which will continue with S. Pathmanathan and diverse writers from all parts of Sri Lanka, carrying out their literary sojourn in Sinhala, Tamil and English. 

Following are excerpts:

Q: Tell us about your childhood in Jaffna and how you took to poetry and literature? 

 Yes. I grew up in Chippitharai, a village three miles from Jaffna town surrounded by paddy fields fringed by lush coconut palms. On the horizon was the sea. During school vacation, I would walk through the paddy fields to the sea shore to buy fresh fish. Close by was a crematorium fortified by a huge earthen bund.

Not bothered by the various ghost stories then shared among the old folk we boys used to crawl through the fence and pluck wood apple from the tall trees in the cemetery! The place seemed wonderful to us because of all those lovely trees and the fruit. Flying kites in the paddy fields was our passion. It was a beautiful setting to have one’s childhood in.

I attended Jaffna Hindu College. Growing up in this backdrop, I would have been about 10 years when my uncle who brought me up took me to temples all over Jaffna to listen to religious discourses by Variar. Variar was an Indian scholar – who would spend months in Jaffna delivering Kathākāladchepam, where stories of saints were narrated, with music accompaniments – a really beautiful experience – we can call it a kind of a sort of an opera. This was a major influence on me. Meanwhile I read whatever I came across and this was the time I was doing my precursor to the SSC exam which was then equivalent to the GCE Ordinary Level.

In 1954 a Sri Lankan Tamil Jaffna based agriculturist, Navaratnasami swam the Palk Strait from Valvettiturai to Kodikarai – a distance of over 30 miles. This was considered a great achievement and I wrote a poem congratulating him. This poem was published in Ananthan, a weekly magazine published from Jaffna. This Lankan became very famous for his exceptional swimming feat.

My first foray into translations was of African poetry that appeared in a local magazine and Prof. Kailasapthy who happened to read these encouraged me to continue with my translations. 

I soon took to translating Sinhala poetry which had appeared in English to Tamil. My Sinhala was generally average and although I could manage to vocalise the language in a coherent manner for everyday conversation, my mastery of written Sinhala was not sufficient to translate directly from Sinhala into Tamil. In the Sinhala-English- Tamil translation journey, I made a modest start and gradually translated various poems whenever I could.

By the year 2002 – it was the time of the peace process – and the Hiru group came down to Jaffna and those of us in Jaffna went up to Colombo. During this time I published ‘Thennilakai kavitha’ – a collection of poems translated into Tamil by me.

Q: Could you speak of the Sinhala poetry you have translated and explain which your favourites are and why? I understand you have translated ‘Prabudha’ by Mahagamasekera and poems such as ‘Podi Duwa’ by Monica Ruwanpathirana and ‘Father’ by Upananda Karunathilaka among many others?

 This is correct. These are the poems that appealed to me. And yes, I have translated many others. I selected poems that appealed to me and although I am a Hindu I have always been a great enthusiast and follower of the Buddhist middle path and this is why I chose to translate the work titled ‘Prabhuddha’ by Mahagamasekera.

The Lord Buddha has been a spiritual teacher I greatly respected and I was intrigued by how the legendary Sinhala poet Mahagamasekera looked at the aspect of renunciation from the point of view of an average man in this so called modern world of material comfort yearning. For Mahagamasekera, ‘Prabhuddha’ is a basic questioning as to how the average man in quest of comfort and monetary gain survives. He cannot comprehend the cognisance of renunciation. 

Sekare addresses Gautama: “You had a palace for summer. Another one for winter. You could just give up and go. But when my friend died – he was a labourer – his widow and son were starving. I took upon myself his burden. Lord show me the way how I could redeem all the miserable people. Until then I won’t seek my personal Salvation!”

Kamala Wijeratne is a veteran poet who writes in English. She holds the scale even. Her ‘White saree’ was written when Sri Lanka was going through a dark phase in her history and young men were being killed. The poet has just returned after attending a funeral. She has bathed and washed her clothes. She is folding her white saree and is about to keep it in the almirah but she has second thoughts.

 “I might need it tomorrow

First it was Jagath

Then Hiran

And today Ajith

I don’t know who it will be next.”

The poem is an indictment of the senseless carnage the country was witnessing.

References

1. D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke – ‘The Penguin New Writing in Sri Lanka’ (1992) (Writings in English, Sinhala and Tamil)

2. Chelva Kanaganayagam, ‘Lutesong and Lament’ (2001)

3. Halpé, Nuhman and Ranjini Obeysekere – ‘A Lankan Mosaic’ (Translations of Sinhala & Tamil short stories (2002))

4. Rajiva Wijesinha – ‘Mirrored Images’ NBT, India (2013) (An anthology of Sri Lankan Poetry)

5. ‘Time will write a song for you’ – French Institute, Pondicheri (Penguin Books (2001))

6. Shyam Selvadurai – ‘Many Roads through Paradise’ (Penguin Books (2014))

7. ‘Journal of South Asian Literature’ ed. Ranjini obeysekere (1987).

Sopa’s works

1. ‘Vadakiruthal’ (Poems) – 1998

2. ‘African Poetry’ (Translation) 2000

3. ‘Thennilankai Kavithai’ (Translation) 2003

4. ‘Ninaivu Chuvaduhal’ (Poems) 2005

5. ‘Shanmugalingam: Three Plays’ (Translation) 2007

6. ‘Suvattecham’ (Poems) 2010

7. ‘Burmiya Bhikku Sonna Kathaihal’ (Translation) 2011

8. ‘Tamil Short Stories from Sri Lanka’ (Translation) 2013

9. ‘Prose Du Transsiberien Et De La Petite Jeanne De France’ – French to Tamil 2013

10. ‘J’ai tué by Blaise Cendrars’ French to Tamil 2014

11. ‘Sri Lankan Tamil Poetry’ (Translation) – 2014

12. ‘Thennasiak Kavithakal’ (South Asian Poetry in Tamil) – 2017

13. Nōkku (Collection of Papers – Tamil) – 2019

14. Sopa Miscellany (Collection of Papers – English) – 2019