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A patch of land / காணி நிலம் வேண்டும்
A patch of land / காணி நிலம் வேண்டும்
SUBRAMANIA BHARATHI
TRANS. USHA RAJAGOPALAN
PREPARED BY
MS. B. POOVILANGOTHAI
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
PG DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
GOVERNMENT ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE, ARAKKONAM
TAMIL NADU – 631 051
SUBRAMANIYA BHARATHI
• C. Subramania Bharathi - 11 December 1882 – 11 September
1921
• He is known for his fiery diction in his poems. His imagery and
the vigour of his verse were a forerunner to modern Tamil poetry.
• Then the poem becomes a long list of specific things the poet desires – a house
with decorated pillars and white balconies, coconut trees etc. which surprises or
even amuses the readers. The readers are surprised because while asking a
favour he is so demanding – not any house, the one with decorated pillars and
balconies painted in white. As the specificities continue the readers are amused.
ANALYSIS
•If not – why? After all his list seems never ending.
கேணியருகினிலே – தென்னைமரம்
கீற்று மிளநீரும்.
காணி நிலம் வேண்டும்
பத்துப் பன்னிரண்டு – தென்னைமரம்
தென்றல் வரவேணும்.
காணி நிலம் வேண்டும்
பாலித்திட வேணும்.
COMPARING ENGLISH AND TAMIL VERSIONS OF THE
POEM
• English version is faithful to the Tamil version in its meaning and structure.
Both the poems have 24 lines each. The demands remain the same in both the
poems.
• The rhythm of Bharathi is completely lost in the translation even though the
poem repeats the word Parashakti in every other line whereas in Tamil
Parashakti is used only once.
• A beautiful metaphor – the white light of the moon being called the shiny
whiteness of the pearl (“நல்ல/முத்துச் சுடர்போலே - /நிலாவொளி”) is replaced with “veil of
white” which is mundane and Christian (veil reminds us of the bride’s veil)
• Bharathi says, “கத்துங் குயிலோசை – சற்றே வந்து/ காதிற் படவேணும்.” The word “கத்துங்” which
means loud is an unconventional adjective to describe the music of the cuckoo.
The English version uses the conventional “The soft cooing of the cuckoo.”
COMPARING ENGLISH AND TAMIL VERSIONS OF THE
POEM
• The combination “கத்துங்... – சற்றே” leaves it unclear whether Bharathi wants the
cuckoo’s loudness to be toned down or should it be heard from a distance. The
translation removes the ambiguity and declares that Bharathi wants the music
of the cuckoo to fall in his ears.
• The last line in Tamil also exemplifies the pride that Bharathi took in being a
poet.