Ondu Hidi Surya mattu Itara Kavanagalu , a translation of Padma Sachdev’s poems by Prathibha Nandakumar Sahitya Akademi, Rs. 90
Padma Sachdev’s collection of poems – A Handful of Sun and other Poems is originally written in Dogri.
Pratibha Nandakumar has translated it into Kannada as Ondu Hidi Surya mattu Itara Kavanagalu.
The 65 poems in this collection are held together in six sections which have fascinating titles – Hambalada Kavanagalu (Poems of Longing) , Iichege Naanu Kayuvudilla (I do not Wait These Days) , Mannina Vasane (The Scent of the Earth) , Uriyuttha Udubatthiyenthe (Burning Like Incense) , Novina Samputa (The Box of Pain) and Santriptiya KavanagaLu (Poems of Fufillment). These poems have a variety of poetic experiences to share on many issues that confront a sensitive woman - from the love for mother tongue (Dogri language) and to the love of the language for its ability to be used as a tool for creative expressions, from the deep desire to live in absolute freedom to pleasures of domestic life, from loneliness to the craving for the beloved, pain, helplessness, frustration and loneliness. Sun, moon,dawn, dusk, nature... are the motifs of most of the poems. The poems are subtle, elegant and also vibrant to many contemporary issues. The soft textures of Dogri language can be felt even in the translation. In fact, the Kannada translation sounds more organic than its English counterpart. The poems are vivid with domestic details, surrounded by intense experiences. Reading these poems in Kannada is a sheer pleasure and the credit goes to the translator.
All the poems in the six sections of the collection seem to emanate from the perspective of neither an adolescent nor an adult, but of a matured woman, who looks at the world with wonder and bewilderment. However, it is hard to figure out these categories as there is hardly any specific theme that runs through each section.
For the ideologically inclined, there are some moving poems. Koodihakabedi Nannannu (Don’t lock me up) , Manushya mattu Devva (Man and Ghost) and Naanu Mukhthe (I am liberated) offer the best examples for woman’s desire for freedom coupled with its inconsistencies. Similarly, Mombatti (The Candle) , dwells at length the perennial destruction of the woman’s self, Kaanada Kai (The Invisible Hand) speaks about the blood-stained state , Pace Maker (Pace Maker) is one of the best poems which takes up the complexly intertwined issues of environment, poverty and the tourism industry.
There are many poems which remind oneof other good poems. For example, Soorya (Sun) reminds of Donne’s Sunne Rising , Manushya mattu Devva of Emily Dickinson’s Soul Selects Her Own Society, Belagaayithu (Dawn) compares well with Bendre’s Belagu . Some of the titles like Mannina Vasane and Terada Baagilu might remind one of the images created by Adiga and Narasimhaswamy though they are used differently here.
The poems are marked by highly idiosyncratic symbols whose interpretation is quite risky. For example, poems like Terada Bagilu (Open Door) , Hoge (Smoke) , Keeli Kai (The Key), are some of the poems which can be interpreted in more than one way.
K. Sundara Raj
