THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special event in Malayalam literature will mark the 151st birth anniversary celebrations of writer C V Raman Pillai on Tuesday.
The first English translation of ‘Dharmaraja,’ that most intricately-woven of CV’s novels, will be released on the day, 96 years after it first hit the stands.
But there’s something else that adds sparkle to the occasion; the man who has taken the pains to translate ‘Dharmaraja’ is a descendant of one of the only three historical characters in this greatest of Malayalam classics.
G S Iyer, a former Indian Ambassador to Morocco and Mexico, is an eighth generation descendant of Subbayyan Dalawa, the only real-life person in the novel apart from the Maharajah of Travancore and Kesava Pillai. “In the novel, Subbayyan Dalawa is a minor character. There are only a few references to him,’’ says Iyer, talking to Express at his family home at Thycaud.
“In real life, he died young. He had some land near Varkala. Dalawapuram near Varkala is named after him. From what we know, he was involved in a number of projects of the time, including land survey.’’
But a barely-remembered ancestor was hardly the reason why Iyer translated ‘Dharmaraja’ (1913). He’d been introduced to it at a young age. “My father Ganesha Iyer was a teacher who retired as deputy director of education. He was quite a fan of the novel and used to read it to us. In fact, I’ve read the novel at least 20 times. It’s like reading Shakespeare. You go back to certain books,’’ Iyer, 67, says.
Iyer’s translation of ‘Dharmaraja’ is the first, arguably. In fact, many fervently believe that it is indeed the first. But there have been several failed attempts at translating this complex work, which tells the story of the vengeful plots woven by the descendants of the Ettuveetil Pillais to dethrone the king.
‘Marthanda Varma,’ CV’s 1891 novel, was translated in the 1930s by B.K. Nair and ‘Ramarajabahadur’, which followed ‘Dharmaraja,’ a few years ago by Nair’s granddaughter. “I’ve heard there’s an earlier translation of ‘Dharmaraja.’ I didn’t go looking for it, though,’’ Iyer says.
Though he had the prior experience of translating select essays of Sanjayan and Kalki Krishnamoorthi’s 800-page ‘Alai Osai’ into English (to be published), Iyer did some serious thinking before embarking on ‘Dharmaraja.’
“Two years ago, I decided to do a test. I’d translate Chapter 18 of the novel, which, in fact, was the first to be dictated by CV to his son-in-law E.V. Krishna Pillai. If that went well, I’d continue.’’
Chapter 18 was pure description with no dialogues. Sentences ran into seven and eight lines. “If you break them up, you lost the balance.’’
Chapter 18 was translated over one summer. It took another seven-eight months to complete the rest. “I wanted a contemporary translation. I wanted this book, which is indeed one of our great classics, to reach a larger audience - a new audience,’’ says Iyer.
So why read ‘Dharmaraja’ today at all? “It’s a historical adventure at the first level. But that’s like saying ‘Hamlet’ is a revenge play. ‘Dharmaraja’ is about the idea of governance, the idea of loyalty to the state and the loyalty of the state to the people. It’s a political novel, ultimately.’’
Translating the dialogues was the difficult task. For the most part, Iyer stuck to simple, colloquial English, avoiding slangs. “I didn’t get into the dialect business,’’ he adds with a chuckle.
It’s a popular misconception that ‘Marthanda Varma,’ ‘Dharmaraja’ and ‘Ramarajabahadur’ form a trilogy, says Iyer. “Marthanda Varma was not part of it. There ought to have been a third novel after ‘Ramarajabahadur’ which CV had tentatively titled ‘Dhistadamshtram.’ He did write some four chapters, but died before completing it.’’
Iyer, an IFS officer of the 1965 batch, served in a number of countries, including China, Iran, Bhutan and Japan and the UN, before being posted as Ambassador first to Morocco and then to Mexico. He retired in 2002, and today lives in New Delhi.