Poet Erode Tamizhanban’s 80th birthday was celebrated recently by his fans and admirers in Chennai. Glowing tributes were paid to him, while many personalities in the fields of literature and journalism were honoured.
According to Prof. K. Chellappan, “Tamizhanban is unique among the contemporary Tamil poets as he combines commitment to Tamil roots and traditions with a universal vision and a willingness to expand his poetic horizon by accepting the best of great poetry in the world.”
A discerning reader would observe in Tamizhanban’s poems, traces of influence of Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet, whose works contain visions of revolution and equality. When this was pointed out, Tamizhanban replied, “Well, a poet is remembered for the ideals he holds dear to his heart. Neruda held Walt Whitman, the great poet of American democracy in high esteem, as Bharathidasan held his guru Subramania Bharathi”.
“I have named my son Pablo Neruda!” says Tamizhanban with a tinge of pride. “I have translated more than 50 poems of Pablo Neruda incorporating salient phases of his poetic career.”
Tamizhanban, in his acceptance speech of the Sahitya Academy award in 2005, acknowledged the contribution of his mother who sang the songs of Pattinathar, Thayumanavar and Mastan Sahib. Perhaps this must have influenced him to pen isai-padalgal and isai-natakangal to be tuned by artists, purely for musical renditions. “I can mention the Bombay Sisters in this connection among many others. Especially for the children, my songs have been set to choral music by none other than M.B. Srinivasan. I remember, maestro Ilaiyaraaja Sir had played guitar for those numbers!”
“I had participated in the National Symposium of poets in New Delhi, where I had the chance to interact with other regional poets. This has widened my vision and outlook. However, what I consider the greatest honour in my poetic voyage is that the Madras University had arranged a two-day national seminar on my work. I must humbly say that no other Tamil poet had this opportunity of thorough analysis of his or her writings!”
Tamizhanban has also tasted success in the field of cinema. “Yes, I did the story and dialogue for Vasanthathil Oru Vanavil , in which I worked as Assistant Director. This was an Indo-Sri Lankan project. It won the Best Creation Award in Rome, in 1983.” He has also penned lyrics for a few films.
On the present day film lyrics, he says candidly, “Film is a joint effort of individuals including the music director, filmmaker, actor and producer. You may not like to call it a poem, but the lyrics are written according to the demands of the scenes. Compromise cannot be ruled out in such ventures, but how far one can go is left to each individual. It is a mass media and there are certain compulsions.”
Tamizhanban’s Tamil ghazals are unique and have been translated into English by Prof. S.A. Sankaranarayanan. According to Dr. V. Jayadevan, “the translation has kept the subtleties of the original poems.”
Some of the original ghazals have been beautifully set to tune by Shaukath Shamsudin and sung by Shamsudin. Singer Deepan Chakravarthy has rendered a ghazal in Tamil in his sonorous voice.
Tamizhanban is widely travelled and has visited Walt Whitman’s house in the U.S. In 1996, he had written a collection of poems, ‘Un Veettukku Vanthirunthen Walt Whitman’ (‘I had come to your home, Walt Whitman’). Admirer of Periyar and Anna, Tamizhanban admits that he had a range of influences outside their ideals that has moulded his thoughts.
He still remembers the poem by Swami Sivananda, which he had read when he was 16, hymns of Vallalar and words of Vivekananda on social issues and equality. “Spirituality to me is not merely rituals. One may label them as spiritual, but I would differ with this view and single out the humanism, which is embedded in their writings,” avers Tamizhanban.
“I developed a passion for socialism, when I was in high school. I was fascinated by the ideals of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ashok Mehta. I attended their lectures taking a day’s leave from class. In my leave letter, I mentioned the true reason for my absence, for which I was rebuked!” he laughs.
Writes Prema Nandakumar: “Having experimented with Haiku, he arranged a marriage in Limeraiku , on the lines of Ted Pauker. The poesy and aesthetic meditation of a Japanese Haiku was transcreated by English poets such as Pauker in terms of the dry (often nasty and male chauvinistic) humour of English limericks. Tamizhanban refines this approach and takes the Limeraiku to politics, romance and family life.”
Creativity, experimenting with words and brevity in expression are the hallmarks of Erode Tamizhanban’s writings.
Recognition
The list of honours and awards Tamizhanban had received is very lengthy. For his poetry collections, he won the award of the State Government in 1973 and again in 2000. Kural Peedam Award, Murasoli Award, Tiruppur and Salem Tamil Sangam Awards, Sirpi Poetry Award, Periyar Award and the Kamban Kazhagam Award are some of the significant recognitions that Tamizhanban had received in his long poetic journey. He received the Sahitya Academy Award in in 2005 for his work on Tirukkural, Vanakkam Valluva ! (Salutations to Valluvar).
