As part of its attempt to introduce contemporary Russian poets to Kerala, the Russian Cultural Centre in Thiruvananthapuram is bringing out a translated collection of poems by Bella Akhmadulina, a 20th century Russian poet. A selection of 26 poems translated into Malayalam by K Jayakumar, Vice-Chancellor of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, is slated to be released in November. The project is being funded by Russkiy Mir Foundation.
“We are trying to bring out and popularise the works of at least three Russian authors or poets every year,” said Ratheesh C Nair, Russia’s honorary consul in Thiruvananthapuram. “In the past years, we’ve had poets D Vinayachandran and Rosemary translate the works of contemporary Russian poets like Sergei Esenin, Andrei Voznesensky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Anna Akhmatova.”
This year, it’s the turn of Bella Akhmadulina, one of the few prominent female figures in Russian literature, and who other giants like Joseph Brodsky had called “the best living poet in Russian language.” Her poems are strictly apolitical and deal with everyday life, and the art of poetry itself.
Nair, feeling that “Akhmadulina’s wavelength matched that of Jayakumar,” handed him a collection of her selected works in English to be translated into Malayalam. “Well I don’t know about that,” the former Chief Secretary, a poet and lyricist in his own right, said when this was mentioned to him. “But I enjoyed doing the work because I could relate to her sensitivity.”
Read more here.
/ New Indian Express /
