The Skylark Has Ceased Its Flight: Poet Puviarasu Passes Away!

Poet Puviarasu 

I learned the news of the passing of poet Puviarasu, who was affectionately called the patriarch of the Vaanambadi (Skylark) poetry movement, an outstanding poet, and an exceptional translator. He passed away at the age of 96. Although the demise of this Marxist poet due to old age was inevitable, it is a monumental loss. My deepest condolences to everyone grieving his passing.

In his memory, I am sharing the link to a documentary film about Poet Puviarasu, which was shared on Facebook by art and literary critic and poet, Indran - https://youtu.be/voUc3CTs4lI  

Additionally, I am sharing the note I previously wrote about The Brothers Karamazov, which was released in the poet's translation.

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, in the translation by poet Puhiyarasu  by V. N. Giritharan

'The Brothers Karamazov' is not only Dostoevsky’s greatest novel, but is also regarded as one of the greatest novels in world literature. In Tamil, it has been published by New Century Books (in the translation by poet Puhiyarasu) and by Kalachuvadu Publications (translated directly from the original Russian under the title Karamasav Sagotharargal). Many of our writers often shed tears wondering why they cannot write like him.  They should first develop the maturity to read Dostoevsky’s works properly. Once they read him in that way, they will surely shed tears again — this time understanding why even the writers they praise so highly have failed to produce works comparable to Dostoevsky’s.

Based on my reading so far, no one else has yet written about the human condition — the challenges of existence, the joys and sorrows of life, the conflicts between good and evil, and the search for the meaning of life — the way Dostoevsky has. Every single page of his works is impossible to dismiss. That is the hallmark of his writing and thought.

The Brothers Karamazov is a great novel woven around these central characters: a rich father full of perverse feelings and lust; his three sons, each with distinctly different personalities; another son born illegitimately to him and a beggar woman; the father’s servant; the women who enter the lives of the three sons; the complex web of love and lust involving one of those women, the eldest son, and the father himself; another woman who comes between the other two brothers; and a monk.

The latter part of the novel — the murder of the father, the eldest son being accused due to circumstantial evidence, the real mastermind (the illegitimate son) committing suicide, the eldest son being wrongly convicted by the court, and the powerful courtroom arguments and counter-arguments — are all sections that must be read and experienced with delight.

The novel spreads across its pages profound dialogues and thoughts on the human search for meaning, reflections on solutions to human suffering (whether through religion or political ideologies like socialism), and deep explorations of human emotional nature — the constant inner conflicts arising from good, evil, love, lust, and other feelings. 

Simply reading this novel is itself a powerful experience.When people speak of Dostoevsky, they often say that no other writer has explored human beings as deeply and extensively as he has. Those who have read Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov will understand how true that statement is.I had earlier read this novel in its English translation. Recently, I bought the Tamil edition translated by poet Puhiyarasu and read a few pages, but then set it aside without much interest. Only when I picked it up again recently and read it calmly did I truly realize how wonderfully Puhiyarasu has rendered the novel in Tamil.I am not comparing the translation with the original here. I am speaking mainly about the excellence of the Tamil prose itself. Because Puhiyarasu is a scholar of Tamil, he has given us the novel in pure, grammatically rich Tamil without any unnecessary English borrowings. Reading the novel in his Tamil is a pure pleasure.