The new year’s most exciting literary pursuit — one project to bring them (publishers) all and in the translations, bind them — comes from a rather unconventional source: Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation. But, if you had happened to notice their work over the past few years, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. After having blessed the English-reading population with a translation of Ki Rajanarayanan’s Karisal Kathaigal in the form of Along with the Sun and a revival of Neelapadmanabham’s Thalaimuraikal (Generations) in translation, TNTB dives deeper into its initiative; one that has been undertaken to translate literary works that might enhance the reach of Tamil antiquity, tradition and contemporaneity and enrich world literature.
In translation we trust
“The main purpose of the project is to promote Tamil literature among the generation that is not reading Tamil. They may be members of the Tamil diaspora or Tamils living in other states who may not be exposed to such literature. Translating these books into English will benefit them. Another standard complaint was that even books that were already translated were not available in the market; be it Thirukkural or Vaadivasal (CS Chellappa). For they are not bestsellers, so they would not be available. We wanted to generate a market and so entered into an agreement with publishers, assuring that we will purchase 500 copies.
This way, we got them to republish books like Kural, translated by PS Sundaram and published by Penguin, and Vaadivasal of Oxford University Press,” explains TS Sankara Saravanan, deputy director (Translations), TNTB & ESC. Neelapadmanabhan’s Thalaimuraikal (Generations) was a part of 2021’s releases and The Dravidian Movement (Robert Hardgrave), The Province of the Book ( AR Venkatachalpathy) and Asokamitran’s book on Chennai are eagerly awaited over the next eight weeks, chimes in Mini Krishnan, co-ordinating editor for the project.
These re-publications, financed by the government, will be a great branding initiative for the publishers too. The government mechanism will also help promote the books where the publishers cannot reach — like the public libraries, curriculum, book fairs, government events, and visiting dignitaries. This would allow the books to reach non-Tamil speakers as well. For Mini, who brings in her vast experience in translated publications, this is a dream project come true. “I used to talk to Dr Arul Natarajan about government funding for translations. One day he asked me to meet Sankara Saravanan of the TNTB and I asked him the same question. Together we took the appeal to T Udhayachandran who, as the principal secretary of School Education, designed this project between 2017-18,” she recounts.
The road to revival
An advisory committee of writers and intellectuals put together a list of books for the project, ensuring a balance between ancient, modern, and contemporary writers, between poetry, fiction and non-fiction, points out Mini. An additional criterion for modern works was that they come from a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award, even if the book chosen wasn’t the one that fetched the writer the accolade, notes Saravanan. These conditions have brought to life Ilango Adigal’s Cilapatikkaram, translated by R Parthasarathy; In Defiance Our Stories: Short Fiction by Tamil Dalit Writers, translated by Malini Seshadri and V Ramakrishnan; Essays of U Ve Sa, translated by Prabha Sridevan and Pradeep Chakravarthy; Katha Vilasam by S Ramakrishnan, translated by PC Ramakrishna and Malini Seshadri; Stories by Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, translated by Prabha Sridevan; and Putham Veedu by Hephzibah Jesudasan, translated by G Geetha. An eclectic collection representing a diverse culture and its varied people.
While these books have been published, there are more — Maperum Tamil Kanavu, Tamil Heroic Poetry, TP Meenakshi Sundaram’s Kudimmakal Kappiyam, Kalki’s Alayosai, etc — in the pipeline. Under the initiative titled ‘Thisaidhorum Dravidam’, TNTB is going beyond the Tamil-English paradigm to get the books published in other regional languages. We’ll soon have Poomani’s Vekkai in Malayalam, a collection of Thi Janakiraman’s stories in Kannada and Sundara Ramasamy’s Oru Puliyamarathin Kathai in Telugu. “The purpose is to promote the diverse culture of these regions. Dravidian Movement and Tamil Nadu culture is based on women empowerment and social justice among other things. So, we want to give priority to those novels (that highlight this) in other languages. There is a lot of progressive writing here that we will bring from other languages to Tamil as well,” notes Saravanan.
TNTB’s impetus could not have come at a better time, says Mini. “There is already interest in those markets but the pandemic made it difficult to keep secondary lines going. Therefore, TNTB’s offer of support (total production cost funding plus substantial fees for translators) has been welcomed by the nine publishers identified so far by our three editors: AJ Thomas (Malayalam), VS Sreedhara (Kannada) and Gita Ramaswamy for Telugu,” she reasons.
Reaching far and wide
A recently announced second wing of the project – Muthamizhar Mozhipeyarppu Thittam – will help bring out academic books for students pursuing higher education and taking up competitive exams. Documentation reprint of old college textbooks (nearly 875 of them) published by TNTB is also part of the effort. This is where Saravanan brings his expertise to the plate, coordinating and curating the titles for the project.
The ambitious project has many a lofty goal. But it is all in good stead, suggests Mini. “This project at once high-minded and practical can help to stem the inevitable decline of language and literature within India and possibly followed worldwide. The TNTB is not publishing hoping for the best but publishing with a clear goal in mind,” she declares. It certainly looks like it.
Under the second wing
The initiative, Muthamizhar Mozhipeyarppu Thittam, will cover the subjects of History, Economics, Commerce, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Medicine, Biology, Agriculture, Literature and Political Science.
On the write note
G Geetha
Geetha’s translation of Putham Veedu was part of the project’s reprint roster. “Very rarely do books get a new lease of life in the form of reprints. So, I immediately agreed and we worked together,” she says. The project is an important tool in taking Tamil classics to a wider audience. “Even within India, there are lots of translations going on – be it from Bengali or Malayalam or even Tamil to English. (So far) classics haven’t received so much attention. So, it is a big step forward,” she offers. A fan of Ki Rajanarayanan’s works, translation of more works of the author would be an asset to any reader, she declares.
V Ramakrishnan
To this research scholar, who was introduced to translation by Mini Krishnan with In Defiance, there is no better way to express the nuances of a culture than through translated literature. “We hear about what’s happening through the news but we don’t get the voices of the oppressed or the minority. In the past 20-30 years, translated works have done that. Taking Tamil voices to a wider audience in the same manner will certainly be a great thing,” he says. TNTB’s project offered him great freedom in the process, making it a joyous effort. He dreams of translating works of Pramil.
P C Ramakrishna
His love for Tamil literature and his involvement with theatre was what brought him into the folds of TNTB’s translation project. “I’ve been a long-standing member of The Madras Players. The plays we’ve done – Water (Komal Swaminathan’s Thanneer Thanneer), Chudamani’s stories, Trinity – have increased the audience for us. It would be the same thing for translated books,” he suggests. S Ramaswamy’s Gandhi in Tamil Nadu and Jayakanthan’s Oru Manithan, Oru Veedu, Oru Ulagam are other translations that he has with the TNTB.
Malini Seshadri
A veteran in the field of translations, Malini Seshadri’s involvement with the TNTB initiative was thanks to Mini Krishnan. The project has much to offer from the world of Tamil literature to an otherwise challenged audience, she opines. “Anywhere in the world, we would hardly be reading English or American authors if not for translations. So translation as always brought literature to the world. It is true of academics too. The more interesting thing that they (TNTB) now started to do is to bring Tamil text in other Indian languages, which I think is fantastic,” she surmises.