[lit-ideas] Re: The Oxford Book of Tamil Verse

In a message dated 2/25/2009 4:54:40 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Thank you for your time and consideration, though  they 
have come to nothing yet.

----
 
Don't say _that_!
 
It have kept me entertained many a night.
 
In fact, I've attempted a translation for Rmanujan Kuruntokai
 
Red earth and pouring rain
What could my mother be to yours? 
What kin is my father to yours anyway? 
And how did you and I meet ever?
But in love our hearts have  mingled
as red earth and pouring rain


குறிஞ்சி - தலைவன் கூற்று
யாயும் ஞாயும் யாரா கியரோ
எந்தையும்  நுந்தையும் எம்முறைக் கேளிர்
யானும் நீயும் எவ்வழி யறிதும்
செம்புலப் பெயனீர்  போல
அன்புடை நெஞ்சம் தாங்கலந் தனவே.
-செம்புலப் பெயனீரார்.

1 Red earth and pouring rain
2  What could my mother be to  yours? 
3 What kin is my father to yours anyway? 
4 And how did you and I  meet ever?
5 But in love our hearts have mingled
6 as red earth and  pouring rain

1 குறிஞ்சி - தலைவன் கூற்று
2 யாயும் ஞாயும் யாரா கியரோ
3 எந்தையும்  நுந்தையும் எம்முறைக் கேளிர்
4 யானும் நீயும் எவ்வழி யறிதும்
5 செம்புலப்  பெயனீர் போல
6 அன்புடை நெஞ்சம் தாங்கலந் தனவே.
-செம்புலப்  பெயனீரார்.


I'm using 'red' for தலைவன். Your marginal note reads, 'purple'. I hope you 
 are joking. 
Is that the earth, கூற்று, I hope My dictionary also has 'soil'. Your  
idea to translate it as 'planet' may work within a Greek neo-testamental  
context, but not here. I would think. 
குறிஞ்சி _has_ to be 'pouring'. I like  the concreteness of your 'cats 
and dogs' but not all hyperbole translates.
I'm taking the modal, யாரா, upon your advice, as 'epistemic', not 'modal'.  
And I _will_ use 'mother' -- not 'aunt'. It is the same iconograph for கியரோ
, I  know (how can I forget your address in "Kinship terms in Middle Tamil" 
at  Bombay?) but somehow to ask about the parentage between your aunt and mine  
sounds to me, er, less poetic. Ditto for 'father' நீயும் (line 4). Bob's 
your  uncle, but there's not evidence that avuncularity is at play in the 
couplet.  Your suggestin to translate "யானும்" (same line 4) as "for Christ's 
sake" I  find anachronic. I opted for 'anyway'.  யானும் I rewrote 'meet'. 
"End up  making love to each other" _is_ the direct, but can only confuse the 
Memphis  congregation who already have problems with the King James version 
'know'. Yes,  நெஞ்சம் can also mean 'kidney', but I think _heart_ is meant 
here. 
And again,  தாங்கலந் I prefer to render as the poetic love rather than 
f-ck. Incidentally,  is this a venpa? I mean, you write: "Some classical Tamil 
poetry forms, such as  Venpa, have rigid grammars for rhyme to the point that 
they could be expressed  as a context-free grammar." And I guess you are right 
that context-free grammar  cannot really hurt. But then again before lecturing 
on context-free  grammar, don't you think they need to repractice the 
context-bound one?
Have fun,
 
JL 
 
 
 
 
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