Dr. T. Marx has established
himself as an impactful translator, by bringing out the aura and the cultural
baggage of the original Tamil novel, with such a nuanced ‘reality of representment’ in his translation of Poomani’s Piragu into English. On
this count, The Hindu ‘Bookworm’
review of 06 December 2019, has a raving caption for this translation which
says, ‘True to the Land and its tongue: In
And Then, Prof. Marx succeeds in capturing the Karisal flavor, which Poomani
did in Piragu’.
Personally, me had the
blessed opportunity of going through the manuscript to the book’s English
version, way back in July 2018. One cursory glance through the manuscript, and
one cannot but be quite astounded at Dr. Marx’s way with words, and the finesse
with which he has captured the nuances of the original in all its grandeur!
Something that comes to him so naturally, as a fish takes to water!
The novelist Poomani has woven
a brilliant tale that depicts the pathetic and impoverished lives of the
Chakkilyar community, under the influence of an oppressive caste structure and
social stratification that has been widely prevalent in society.
The abrupt and conversational
opening sets the tone and the tenor to the novel. The hierarchical power
structures that are rampant in the village are subtly foregrounded in the
conversation between Pothi Naicker and Karuppan! Karuppan, the cattle tender,
addresses Naicker as ‘sami’ or ‘Lord’, which is a revered form of addressing a
person of a upper caste! Naicker’s insolent spirit and Karuppan’s subdued
temperament present a profound study in contrast!
As a representative of the
powerful bourgeoisie class that controls wealth and power, Pothi Naicker is
shown sleeping or taking rest, and his eyes turn red in anger when one of his
sleeping bouts gets disturbed. On the other hand, Karuppan, who tends to his
landlord’s buffaloes, has to always be on the alert!
From the hierarchical world of
his landlord, Karuppan is shown entering an integrative world of equality, when
he meets up with his uncle, Alagiri, a cobbler by profession. When Karuppan
narrates the ignomious spat between him and his landlord, Alagiri asks him to
take all that abuse and throw it away, as there was no use, whatsoever in
getting upset!
Alagiri then ruminates on how
he migrated to Manaloothu, after bidding farewell to his people in
Duraisamipuram. Although his sickly wife protested his move to migrate to this
haughty and bigger place, Alagiri was forced to come to Manaloothu, as the big
men of the village had asked him to come there, and he could not refuse them,
as they were his landlords.
The writer also highlights some
social practices that were in vogue like the kaani system, whereby each man in
chakkili cheri was assigned to a landlord on whose land the chakkili worked for
a share in the produce. This provided assured supply of labour for the
landlords in the village as well as means of sustenance for each chakkili
household.
Soon, he gets accustomed to the
new place, and he is also allotted a kaani
quite soon. He also takes care not to antagonize the landlords, and goes about
doing his kaani service in a very
obliging and obsequious way.
But unfortunately, however much
he earns, it does not prove enough for him. It was like feeding an elephant,
since the expenditure on his wife’s treatment had almost wiped out his entire
income. Although they tried every treatment and remedy possible, like oils,
herbs, salves, etc., there seemed to be no remedy in sight! And soon Kali, his
wife breathes her last.
Alagiri is so inconsolable and
too stunned for words at the death of his wife. Now, he also has the burden of
looking after his baby, and hence he decides against travelling out of the
village. He confines himself to his child and the neem tree.
Soon, because of Kandiah’s
suggestion, Alagiri marries Aavadai, and his second wife takes very good care
of his daughter too.
Sakkanan and Chithiran are some
of the other characters who make such an impact on the reader’s sensibilities.
On the romantic plane, Karuppan is shown to have a great love for Muthumaari,
although he does not propose to her, because of societal taboos.
Poomani beautifully brings out
the transformation of the village in the course of the novel. Moreover, the
novelist has also brought out the pain and the angst of the people because of
social oppression, and the prevalent hegemonic structures both at the social
and at the economic levels.
Without being overtly crude or excessively
satiric, Poomani has beautifully woven a tale that brings out the way of life
of the Chakkiliar people in all its myriad intensity.
And this tale has become quite
a sensation in its English avatar, thanks to Professor T. Marx, [my beloved
brother and friend], for beautifully bringing out the cultural milieu of the karisal region with such ‘reality of
representment’ in this, [novel] ‘And Then!’
And therein lies the astounding
success of the novel’s appeal in English!
Well, on behalf of this amazing
team that made Poomani’s Piragu
possible in its English version, it is my pleasure to invite you, dear friends,
academics, and students, to be part of the grand book release that happens on
Monday, 23 December 2019 at the F-50 Hall, Centenary Building, First Floor,
University of Madras, Chepauk Campus, Chennai.
Be there!
Best Regards,
Dr. Rufus
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