It has been an arduous journey from a child labourer to the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize 2018 for Kulachal Mu. Yoosuf, 60. His translation of Malayalam writer G.R. Indugopan’s Maniyan Pillaiyuda Athma Katha into Tirudan Manian Pillai in the Tamil has won him the distinction. The story has already been made into the successful Malayalam film Kallante Katha .
The laurels have arrived not a moment too soon. Mr. Yoosuf was forced to discontinue his studies after Class V when his family fell on hard times. bad days. A passion for reading, picked up in school, stayed with him. “There was a library run by the Hindu Ilaignar Iyakkam in my native town of Colachel. I sat in the library and read while other students played,” says Mr. Yoosuf, who became a child labourer when his family moved to Kanniyakumari.
Malayalam language and literature arrived serendipitously while he worked in a provisions shop in Nagercoil.
Tamil and Malayalam
“Customers would sell old books for raddi and among them were Malayalam books. I would read them. I was fascinated by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s short stories. One customer suggested that I should read them in Malayalam and I followed his advice,” recalls Mr. Yoosuf. Gradually, he gained mastery over the Malayalam language. “The sentence patterns are similar in Malayalam and Tamil. If there were a cinema poster, I would stop for a second to read it,” laughs Mr. Yoosuf.
He recalls that books on revolutionary movements like the Punnapura-Vayalar upsurge in Kerala, the life of naxal leader Ajitha, and Basheer’s works, motivated him to learn Malayalam with greater determination. His first article supported the Supreme Court verdict in the Shah Bano case.
As he gained confidence, Mr. Yoosuf tried his hand at translation. His first work was a translation of Sahitya Akademi-winner Punathil Kunjabdulla’s Smarakashilakal into Tamil as Meesan Karkal in 2004.
Over time, he translated more than 30 works, particularly by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, from Malayalam into Tamil.
“Even though there were [other] translations, friends, particularly [publisher] ‘Kalachuvadu’ Kannan, were particular that I translate Basheer’s works. I have translated his [Basheer’s] short stories, novels and letters,” says Mr. Yoosuf.
His translations restored the legendary writer’s fame among Tamil readers.
Other important works
His translation of M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s Naalukettu as Naalukettu and Nalini Jameela’s autobiography as Oru Paaliyal Thozhilaliyin Kathai , and the rendering in Tamil of the autobiography of social activist K. Ajitha were other important turning points. Mr. Yoosuf has written a detailed book on the Great Poets of Persia, Paarasika Mahakavikal , and taken Tamil Sangam works to readers in Malayalam.
“My translation of Naladiyar [post-Sangam Tamil poetic work] was appropriated by a writer from Kerala. I sent it to a writer to read the proof, but another writer published it in his name. I have filed a case,” he says.
When asked what it means to be a full-time writer, Mr. Yoosuf says, “Literature cannot be considered a revenue-generating venture.”
He adds, “I have a good publisher and they are paying me well. Literature never leaves me poor.”
