Presenting a long tradition of Tamil poetry: problems of presentation and selection
S Sivasegaram*
The Rapids of a Great River: The Penguin Book of Tamil Poetry. (Ed. Lakshmi Holmstorm, Subashree Krishnaswamy and K Srilatha), Penguin-Viking, 2009, pp. 222 + xxvii, Indian Rupees 499.00.
Tamil poetry spans two millennia, and a collection in English translation defining the development of Tamil poetry from the Sangam period to the present has been long overdue. Thus, the arrival of the Penguin Book of Tamil Poetry is welcome, and the thought of bringing out such an anthology is commendable.
A review of such a collection needs to deal firstly with the selection of poems and then with the translations. However, since the selection of poems itself raises many serious questions the review here will be restricted to the selection of poems and poets. Comments on the translations themselves will be made in a second article that will address questions ranging from accuracy of individual translations to broader issues concerning cross cultural translations.
Selection of poets and poems for an anthology of this nature is not easy. Many anthologies of Tamil poetry exist in Tamil, including a large number of theme-based anthologies, exist although not many seek to present a comprehensive picture of Tamil poetry through the ages. Thus, the Tamil reader has the opportunity to gain a fair overview of Tamil poetry over two millennia. An anthology for a global readership has the benefit of access to existing anthologies in Tamil and to a large collection of good English translations in printed form, as well as to electronic versions of a large volume of Tamil literature accessible through the Internet, thanks to its widespread use by Tamil writers.
Since not many anthologies of Tamil poetry in English translation are likely to be published in the foreseeable future, the Penguin anthology is likely to be an important reference work for those seeking information about Tamil poetry. Thus the case is strong for great care in the selection of the poets and poems as well as in the precision and quality of translation.
It is clearly not possible to accommodate all important Tamil poets in a short anthology such as that of Penguin-Viking. But it is, however, possible to have a fair representation of the different periods, styles, schools of thought and content. The poems in the anthology are presented in two parts, the first comprising selections from the Sangam period to the 19th Century and the second since the beginning of the 20th Century.
The Introduction itself has serious flaws. It dwells on the impact of Saivaite and Vaisnnavaite contributions to the wealth of Tamil literature and acknowledges Buddhist and Jain contributions. But there is hardly a mention of Muslim and Christian contributions. This is particularly worrying in the context of the abundance of Muslim Tamil poetry including the classic “Ciiraappuraanam” by Muhammad Omar, better known as Umarup Pulavar, and the impact of Christianity on the modernisation of Tamil writing and the large volume of Christian literature in Tamil since Costanzo Giuseppe Beschi, better known as Veeramamunivar, who besides his immense contribution to the development of Tamil also composed the Christian masterpiece Thempaavani.
In this context questions also arise regarding the poor representation of Buddhist and Jain thought in the collection amid a strong presence of Saiva and Vaishnava thought, despite the wealth of vibrant Tamil Buddhist and Jain literature to which there is ample access. The two selections from the Buddhist work Manimekalai are songs of praise that poorly represent the scope of Buddhist thought. The works associated with Jainism that are accommodated are Cilapatikaaram, authored by a Jain sage, and Tirukkural, with strong Jain influence, are both secular in approach. In contrast, for example, Cekkizhaar’s narration in verse of the lives of the canonised Saiva saints finds a place in the collection as ‘poetry’, while far more poetic writings have been left out.
The Introduction correctly points out that the great Tamil work, the Ramayana of Kamban radically differs from its source, the Ramayana of Valmiki, and that the attributes of Rama linking him to Vishnu derive from the Tamil Vaishnava tradition of several centuries earlier. But it fails to note that Kamban’s reference to Rama as an incarnation of Vishnu is much less emphatic than in earlier Vaishnava writings. Also it is uncertain whether Kamban’s text was originally titled “Iramakaathai”, or “Iramavatharam” as claimed in the Introduction. The absence of the last book of the Ramayana in Kamban’s text, if intentional, deserved a comment, since the deviation of Kamban from Valmiki is a not just a matter of personal choice but needs to be explained in the context of social and ethical values that prevailed at the time as well as political considerations, including the nature of the state.
Reference to Siddhar poetry is not altogether complimentary, and particular attention is drawn to their contempt for women, without reference to the fact that contempt for women pervaded all Indian religious traditions. Bakthi poetry of the 7th to 9th Centuries is reduced to personal poems of love and devotion to god, thereby negating its social and political significance and making it possible to lump it together with devotional poetry of later times. There is also a rather strained effort to forge a strong link between the hero-gods of Sangam period and the god-kings of several centuries after, when Tamil kings with the connivance of the Brahmin clergy tended to portray themselves as living gods.
The portrayal of the development of modern Tamil poetry in Tamilnadu is rather distorted, and gives undue importance to a style which was essentially an imitation of free verse in English with little understanding of its poetic aspects. Rejection of the traditional Tamil metre and an abundance of imagery became criteria for poetry, and even mediocre anecdotes often passed for poetry. Free verse in Tamil took some time to mature into poetry.
Comments on the development of Sri Lankan Tamil poetry appear to be rather condescending. Besides, the glib remark that the works of the Sri Lankan poet Ceran “reflect to a remarkable degree the changes in the perspectives of the Sri Lanka poets have experienced” implies a superficial understanding of the trends in Sri Lankan Tamil poetry.
The editors, who are very much aware of Tamil poetry among sections of the Tamil diaspora, do not seem aware of Tamil poetry not only in Malaysia and Singapore but also in a sizeable part of Sri Lanka that was, until recently, outside government control, to which people among the Tamil diaspora and some in the rest of Sri Lanka have had reasonable access. Muslims, who have been the most prolific writers of poetry in Sri Lanka outside LTTE-controlled areas, are under-represented, while the Hill Country Tamils are unrepresented. This is a matter in which the resource persons of Sri Lankan origin whose assistance has been acknowledged could have usefully advised the editors.
Of the many serious omissions among leading modern Tamil poets, two are glaring: Bharatidasan of Tamilnadu, a contemporary of Subramanya Bharathi, and Murukaiyan of Sri Lanka, who passed away in June 2009, rank high among the greatest modern Tamil poets and represent two powerful trends in Tamil poetry, the former a radical Tamil nationalist tradition and rationalism; and the latter some of the finest poetry in Tamil with a subtle Marxist undercurrent. The editors have dwelt on Bharati at length in the Introduction and included four of his poems, but to the exclusion of his powerful political poetry. They have paid tribute at some length to Mahakavi of Sri Lanka, without including any of his poems. While neither Bharatidasan nor Murukaiyan is mentioned, relatively poor poets like Ka. Naa. Subramaniam, Sundara Ramasamy, and Ci. Cu. Chellappaa are hailed as ‘giants’.
The list of modern poets referred to or are included in the volume suggests that the editors have not read widely enough or searched far and wide as necessary to fulfil a task as demanding as compiling an anthology of its nature and have been poorly advised.
There is, besides, a clear bias towards writers belonging to certain ‘circles’ of writers. The Introduction names besides Vaanampaaadi, three Brahimin owned and operated literary magazines, Ezhuttu, Kaalachuvadu and Kanaiyaazhi, as having encouraged modern Tamil poetry. Vaanampaadi is, however, charged with using free verse as a means of promoting left-wing political messages. Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, Inquilab, who emerged as a powerful left-wing Tamil poet in that period, is left out. It is also wrongly claimed that Vaanampaadi greatly influenced new writers from Sri Lanka.
The best of free verse in Sri Lanka was not guided by Ezhuttu or Vaanampaaadi. Sri Lankan Tamil free verse in the period up to the late seventies was mostly poor poetry, and as a result free verse was rejected by leading poets and critics of all political hues. Sanmugam Sivalingam, a pioneer of Sri Lankan free verse, was probably inspired more by trends in Malayalam poetry than by those in Tamilnadu, while many others broke with traditional metre in their own ways to develop their distinct styles. Tamil translations of international poetry contributed in a big way since the late1970s.
The strong left tradition in Sri Lankan poetry did not emerge from a vacuum, but was inspired by a surge in social and political awareness at national and international levels, especially since the mid-1950s. Remarkably, a theme that most inspired Sri Lankan left literature in Tamil was the struggle against caste oppression; and some of the best literature on caste oppression and the struggle against it came from Sri Lanka following the uprising against caste discrimination and untouchability led by Marxists in the north of Sri Lanka. It included powerful and pioneering militant poetry, well ahead of Dalit writing in Tamilnadu.
The introduction fails to take notice of these developments, but refers to Dalit writing in Tamil since the 1990s and comments favourably on its ‘intention to shock and disturb the reader’ and argues that it ‘impels the readers to reconsider their definition of poetry’. There is only one poem in the anthology suggesting Dalit militancy, but hardly shocks or disturbs.
One may be tempted to think that ‘political’ poetry has been entirely excluded. But it is only the Marxist and anti-Brahminist political traditions that have been shunned. Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism is, however, represented but more as a plea for salvation than as militant assertion of national rights.
While it is commendable that women poets are fairly well represented in terms of the number of writings available, although not necessarily in terms of content or region, Muslims are poorly represented, especially in the context of the abundance of Muslim writings in Sri Lanka.
A most serious omission concerns the folk tradition. The folk styles of kuravanci, pallu, and nontic cintu (nondi nadagam??) of an earlier era are referred to and a sample of the first is included in the volume. But the wealth of folk poetry in Tamil, which flourished through the centuries even when classical forms of poetry faced stagnation and decay, has failed to attract comment. It is here that I am reminded of the Penguin Book of Caribbean Poetry, where the might of the oral and folk tradition enjoys due recognition.
I have also read the Penguin books of modern Arab and African poetry. The care taken to place the poetry in proper perspective impressed me. Notes on the poets and even the poems have been carefully compiled and presented in a balanced way. It made me wonder if Penguin in India is not the same class of animal as Penguin elsewhere.
A close look at the choice of poets and their poetry in the present collection, as well as introductory and biographical remarks on the poets suggests that the omissions, like the choices, are intentional and influenced by political and parochial considerations. It may have helped the less informed reader if the editors had, in addition to stating their criteria for translation, declared their basis for their selection of poets and poems.
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*
Writer of poetry and literary criticism in Tamil, and retired Senior Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
