(This is my humble attempt at translating Mr. E.S. Unnikrishnan's beautiful Malayalam poem 'Anyam Ninnu Poya Jeevithangal)
The tribe of slates having gone forever
extinct without heir
...
Read full text
A gem of a poem /translation indeed! The poem reminds us of the changing time with nostalgic poignancy. Though I have not read the original poem, this translation has satiated my hunger. Moreover, having done my schooling outside Kerala, I am not well conversant with the Malayalam script. Anyway, my thank also goes to Sri Unikrishnan for having captured the intricate and yet simple rural life of Kerala.
Eraser pepper a well deserved name. Maybe we can find a new use to erase malice in society. Beautiful translation.
If it could do it, sir, the plant can have the satisfaction that it has served the purpose of its existence. If we, everyone of us could do this with our lives, world would become a much better place to live.
All I can say is that the poem echoes poetic beauty; as I am not familiar with its original language, hence I cannot pronounce myself. The beautiful comments I have read, share the beauty of your work.
Well done my friend, thanks for translating a malayalam poem.
And, the translation of the name of the poem too is wonderful. Fantastic selection of words. The translation of the line Edavazhiyil parungi nilkunnu into stands waiting even today, perplexed on the alleyway, is exquisite. Nair Sir holds an immense treasure of vocabulary.
This poem is extremely beautifully rendered. I would like to call it the original, and my poem, which Nair Sir has acknowledged, only an imitation. The efforts taken by him to find out the correct English name of 'mashithandu' is remarkable. And the correct popular name he has selected, so that it easily communicates with the non-Malayali readers. About slate and pepper elder: As Nair Sir has mentioned in the note, those were the days, when we used stone-slates and stone-pencils to learn writing. And mashithandu was used to erase and wipe the slates clean. He has taken pains to post a picture of the plant too, so that the reader can identify what the poem speaks about. Thank you sir, for the fantastic translation and the magnanimity of linking my name with it. Thank you Nosheen and Bharati for reading the poem. The appreciation by both of you is not due to me; it is due to Nair Sir. This is a moment of pride for me!
I am humbled Unnikrishnan-ji. The lofty theme is yours. The poem is your baby. I just baby-sat!
Profoundly expressive in few words.The translation looks so original. The world is always changing.At a time, pepper elder was used as eraser by school children who were writing on slates.Now children are using paper and pencil.and pepper elder has lost its significance. In our ever changing life many old things go into oblivion.But many of them live on as fond memories.
A beautiful translation of a very profound work. I'm sure you have captured the essence n mood of the original. It's a delight to read. Thanku for the translation. You deserve 10.
A gem of a poem /translation indeed! The poem reminds us of the changing time with nostalgic poignancy. Though I have not read the original poem, this translation has satiated my hunger. Moreover, having done my schooling outside Kerala, I am not well conversant with the Malayalam script. Anyway, my thank also goes to Sri Unikrishnan for having captured the intricate rural life of Kerala