HIS SERVICES TO TAMIL
P.
N. APPUSWAMI
It
is good to owe good things to good people. I owe my introduction to K.
Ramakotiswara Rau to K. Chandrasekharan, scholar and
savant. That introduction ripened into close association, friendship, and
collaboration: and was rewarding to me in many ways.
I
would surprise many–or perhaps not–to know that such a staunchly loyal Andhra
as Ramakotiswara Rau was, should yet be very sympathetic to the Renaissance
spirit as reflected in many sub-national units of
In
the very first number of Triveni published in January 1928, there was a
translation of a Tamil poem ascribed to Oppilaamani-Pulavar,
though it is really an abridged form of a poem by Perumtalai
Saattanar included in Pura-Naanooru,
one of the Sangham anthologies. The translator was T.
G. Aravamuthan, advocate, archaeologist, historian,
numismatist, and scholar, who passed away recently. It was followed in later
issues by translations by other Tamil scholars.
It
was this particular feature which interested me most. At that time, I had not
met Ramakotiswara Rau, though I had heard of him, and had seen a few numbers of
Triveni, which then appeared once every two months. I had been impressed
by the splendid Sangham poems, which had intensity,
brevity, rhythm, tenderness, and restraint, and wanted a wider world to
appreciate them.
I
had been reading some of the other translations from Tamil published now and
then in Triveni. I felt that Ramakotiswara Rau was doing a service to
Tamil by making these excellent poems known to a larger public. I too wished to
translate some which appealed to me, but I could not muster the necessary courage,
or daring. A few years later when Ramakotiswara Rau had become my friend, I
showed him some attempts of mine. He suggested that I publish a few of them in Triveni.
I told him about my faint heartedness in view of the fact that I was not a
poet in my own right. His infective enthusiasm and the
respect I had for his judgment, combined to make me venture into the field. The
first translation of mine to appear in Triveni was of a poem by Avvai entitled “Am I to sing of you?” It appeared in April
1937. I do not know which one of the many Avvais (Avvai merely means “grand-mother”, and seems to be a
nickname rather than a given name) composed that poem. Though there is some
internal evidence that it was the Avvai of the Sangham classics, its value seems doubtful. Mahavidvan R. Raghava Aiyangar who saw the translation in manuscript form, and
liked it for its simplicity, and blessed it, said that he felt that the author
was not the Sangham classics Avvai.
We
soon coaxed Professor K. Swaminathan to translate two
lovely
gems from Jayamkondar's “Kalingathu-p-parani”,
entitled “Open wide your door”, and another bigger from “Narrinai”
entitled “Green parrot with red bill”. In the meantime, I
was being drawn more and more into the stream, into which some others had been
drawn already–Sri K. Ramaratnam, V. Narayanan and P.
Sri Acharya, to name a few. The encouragement my friend gave me made me forget
my fears; and so also did the need to keep myself afloat. I plunged.
The
climax came a few years later, when he decided to publish a long translation of
mine. The original was a poem of 261 lines included in the Sangham
anthology, “Pattu-p-pattu” (Ten Idylls). The poem was
by Kapila, and is known as Kurunchi-p-pattu.
I had translated it as free verse, and into lines of more or less equal length.
It contains many more lines than the original, and had inversions and the like,
for the sake of emphasis or rhythm. He said that it was too long to be printed
as written, since it would take much valuable “Triveni” space and paper and so
he would prefer to run it on as prose. His words were, “I am going to sacrifice
you for Triveni's good. The idea of the
poem is a novel one. I am shortly going to jail, and so you must agree.
However, you will not be a laughing stock.” I had to agree, and did so somewhat
reluctantly. It was published under the title “Love in the valley”, and covered
eight pages of Triveni (Vol. XIV, No.3). My opening words were “O mother
dear! Long live thou mother dear. I pray thee hearken unto me.” I would not use
thee and thou today, but I did then for the sake of
producing an archaic effect as I thought, and was greatly afraid.
Sometime
thereafter, I received a letter from the Rt. Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, which
I reproduce below.
“Swagatam” Mylapore
Feb. 1, 1943
My dear Appuswami,
It
is long since I read Oenone. After reading your
idyll, I shan’t be in a hurry to go back to it. The haunting effect is felt
deep down.
The
story is new to me. It is a pastoral into which the divine element intrudes,
but with a marvellous mellow effect. I am in your
debt for an hour of exquisite enjoyment.
Let
me say too that I envy you your taste of the original. To be unable to enjoy it
is to be kept out of it great heritage.
Yours ever affly,
V. S.
Srinivasan
I
could not believe my eyes. I could not be grateful enough to Sri Ramakotiswara
Rau for two reasons, one was subjective and the other objective. I knew that
Srinivasa Sastri’s letter was an expression of the
affection he had for me. Yet I was proud and happy. I knew also that it was
partly Ramakotiswara Rau’s affection for me which made him publish the
translation in Triveni. Objectively I was glad that its publication made
a great scholar see and admire the beauty of an ancient Tamil classic, and feel
a pang that he was not able to enjoy the original. Ramakotiswara Rau served
Tamil well by his publication through the years of translations from that
language, and by making others see its beauties which otherwise might have lain
hidden in unfathomed caves.
One
other aspect of our association I must touch upon. Triveni owed
everything to Ramakotiswara Rau, but it often ran out of funds. In order to stabilise the regular issue of Triveni I was
appointed as Trustee by a small group of lovers and well-wishers of Triveni in
which Sir Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyer and V. Govindarajachari
were members. I was entrusted with some funds, from which I met all the
necessary expenses through cheques drawn by me
on that fund. As Ramakotiswara Rau was living about a furlong or so from my
house at Mylapore, this arrangement gave me much
opportunity for enjoying his company, knowing him intimately, and sharing his
hopes and fears.
He
was a rare combination of patriot, scholar, journalist and a loving and lovable
friend. He drew out the best in his friends by offering them the best in
himself. He was an incurable optimist in all matters notwithstanding the
setbacks he had. Such men make the nation richer and nobler.
May
his spirit enthuse others to do dedicated so that the
nation may be welded together!
NAWAB HASSAN ALI MIRZA
Nawab
of Masulipatam
Andhra Pradesh
Sri
K. Ramakotiswara Rau was one of the true patriots of our land and a nationalist
and humanist in the real sense. He led a simple life with a noble mind. He was
confident of the success in what all he attempted. He never compromised with
principles.
As
a journalist he was devoted to the high ideals of the profession. His death is
an irreparable loss to the country, especially to the people of Andhra Pradesh.
May
God give rest and peace to the departed soul!