“Farewell, Gandhi”, Devibharathi’s 10 stories translated from Tamil into English by N. Kalyan Raman, is a commendable effort as it presents to non-Tamil readers, stories which continue to be contemporary and relatable. Spanning over three decades they try to decipher human nature while vividly depicting political and social conditions. Inspired by life itself, Devibharathi says, “I wanted to explore the meaning of life through language. Though these experiences are not from my own life, I wanted to understand life as it exists.”
Revealing that Marxism helped him understand life from a different perspective, in his early short stories his main concern was poverty. He had witnessed firsthand the struggles of fellow residents of Erode, most of whom were labourers. “Thangarasu tailor in ‘The Tool of His Trade’ (1983) was one of them. ‘Staying Alive’ (1980) is also a story about the life and struggle of the rural poor,” reveals the author.
Later, reading Russian masters and some other Western literary works changed Devibharathi’s view. He was further impressed by the discussion on feminism and post modernism in Tamil literary circles. “I read a lot of fiction and non-fiction from different parts of the world, available in Tamil. It made me rethink my values in life,” he says. Thus in 1989 he penned “Ruin” wherein the protagonist believes that his beautiful wife is going to kill him. During this period he concentrated on the form and language and cites “Victim” (1993) as an experimental work of that kind. The influence of post-modernist view of the world brought forth “Farewell, Mahatma” (2008), “Reversal” (2009), “The Curse of Resurrection” (2010), and “A Place Called Home” (2011) from the storyteller.
Published by Harper Collins, the compilation’s first story “Farewell, Mahatma” came into being when Devibharathi engaged with Tolstoy and Gandhi’s works leading him to believe that the struggle for morality and compassion was the most essential feature of human life. Distressed by the 2002 Gujarat violence when the author saw some duplicate Gandhis in a school function it became the starting point of the story. “Through this, I wanted to discuss the present state of politics, which has completely lost its moral compass,” maintains Devibharathi.
The presentation of changing contours of man-woman relationship in modern times is bound to strike a chord with present generation readers. Devibharathi feels that life has changed for everyone, but moral values are still the same. Thus new ways of life challenge the old morality.
The author agrees that he does not confine to mere storytelling. “I want to convey a definite message to my readers. I want to share what I understand about the economic and political system in which we live in the present day India.” Thus he raises questions about the State’s inability to provide succour to the needy while talking about ideals likes democracy, socialism and welfare state. On the other hand he interrogates the concept of justice which destroys a person’s home and his innocent wife. Yet in another story he examines how the caste system in India makes a person strong or weak.
Growing up to be an early reader thanks to his teacher father, Devibharathi had access to a library at home, with a collection of around 50 books, giving him a chance to read a wide range of fictional works by great Tamil writers like Bharathiyar, Puthumaipithan and Jeyakanthan. Writing came naturally to him. He edited and produced a handwritten magazine and participated in writing competitions and won prizes. “I grew up wanting to be like the writers I read avidly – popular and famous,” he comments.
Though fictional, in the narratives, one can decipher many facts. “They have many layers that a reader has to uncover. I hope it will be an interesting and engaging task,” concurs Devibharathi. A case in point is “The Curse Of Resurrection” a famous folktale about a woman of olden times victimised by the value system of the society. It holds true in the modern context as the situation has not changed.
‘Translation is never easy’
Raman’s excellent English rendition of the soulful stories with all its inherent depth and underlying layers ensures that none of the original feelings, sentiments and sensitivity of the narrative is lost. Moreover, the ambience, atmosphere and the environment of each story is deftly portrayed. Having earlier translated two stories for Devibharathi when the latter had attended writers’ residency programme abroad in 2010 and 2012, he was commissioned by the publishers to translate this collection. “The list of 10 stories was finalised after a brief discussion between Devibharathi and me,” he reveals.
Asked how difficult it was to translate these stories, Raman, says, “If one intends to do it well, it is never easy. Never. You read the text several times over till you get an instinctive sense, unavoidably uncertain, of its flow, character and voice. That’s your starting point.” About his method of translation, he states that first he puts down a rough, lexically equivalent, first draft, which is the hardest part. “The rest,” he says, “is a cycle of increasing fastidiousness and endless revision.”
