A classic Tirukkural translation is reborn

A classic Tirukkural translation is reborn B. Kolappan
Balasubramaniam's book is being released 54 years after it was first
published

At a public lecture on May 13, 1961 at the Kapaleeswarar temple in
Chennai, one member of the audience, Sarvepalli S. Radhakrishnan
listened attentively to K.M. Balasubramaniam, who was speaking on the
Periyapuranam . Impressed with the talk, he urged the speaker to devote
his skills and translate the Tirukkural into English, just as he had
rendered the Thiruvachagam .

Balasubramaniam, whose work on Manickavachagar's composition had earned
him the title of Thiruvachakamani, told Dr. Radhakrishnan, who was then
the Vice-President, that he was on the job. The author then expressed
his wish that he become the President. That moment came exactly a year
later, on May 13. The year also witnessed the release of
Balasubramaniam's Tirukkural work, dedicated to Dr. Radhakrishnan, who
had written the preface.

Now, 54 years later, the same book will be released on Wednesday for a
new generation of readers.

"In Tamil literature, commentators with felicity of expression matching
the original authors were placed on a par with them. K.M.
Balasubramaniam was one such commentator," said Sivalayam J. Mohan,
publisher of the book. He has already published Balasubramaniam's
Thiruvachagam .

As an ardent disciple of Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar and
subsequently, as collaborator of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, he
accompanied the two leaders to Bombay to meet Mohamed Ali Jinnah to
discuss the idea of 'Dravida Nadu' (Dravidian land). "Later, he became a
spiritualist and delved deep into philosophy and Saivite literature. But
he had a rational approach towards his translation. He even started
translating Periyapuranam , but died in 1974 without completing it,"
said Mr Mohan, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur.

Comprehensive, poetic

Many scholars including Rev. Fr. C.J. Beschi, popularly known as
'Viramaamunivar', G.U. Pope, freedom fighter V.V.S. Iyer, Rajaji and
V.R. Ramachandra Dikshitar have produced translations of the Tirukkural
, but Balasubramaniam's version was, to many, more comprehensive and
poetic.

The point is reiterated by Kamil Zvelebil, who in his preface to the
book, had said, "at last the English speaking world will be in
possession of a poetic translation of Tirukkural , in possession of an
able rendering of this unique Tamil classic into English verse, which is
without exaggeration and almost adequate to the original."

Balasubramaniam also rendered into English the commentaries of
Parimelazhagar, Manakudavar, and Kalingarayar, drawing substantially
from parallels in the Bible and the Koran, from Shakespeare, Milton,
Alexander Pope, Dryden, George Herbert, Francis Bacon and Dr. Johnson.
In fact, 50 per cent of the 530 pages in the book are dedicated to
detailed notes.

Suddhananda Bharathi, who has also translated Tirukkural into English,
describes the essence of the book thus: "the author takes the ideas of
Valluvar, and embellishes them, so the reader needs no other
commentary."


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