Poetic Joy
Translated by Sharma, Irish poet Cathal O Searcaigh’s poems are full of joy and pleasure
By A CORRESPONDENT
The poets have no specific boundary. Although Irish poet Cathal O Searcaigh, who has been descried by the Irish Times as one of Ireland’s finest working poets, was born in Ireland and has written a number of poems, he spends five months a year in Kathmandu with his adopted son Prem Timalsina and his family in Nepal.
Every one loves his/her mother tongues. Irish poet Cathal, too, loves his culture. “Cultures are colliding and co-mingling with each other all over the place. Anyhow, the challenge for all of us who belong to minority cultures is to find ways of creating collaborations between our past and our present,” writes poet Cathal. “We have to ensure the continuation of lesser used languages. It would be a great loss to lose that native repository, that storehouse of tribal experience, be it Gaelic or Nepali.”
His poems written in Irish languages have been translated into several other languages. Having translated various Nepali poems into English and various English and other poems into Nepali, Poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma has now completed the translation of Searcaigh's poems.
Being a poet himself, Yuyutsu’s poems have also been translated into various languages including German, French, Italian, Hebrew, Spanish and Dutch. He also edits Pratik, a magazine of contemporary writings and contributes literary columns.
“My Journey to the world hidden behind the eyes of Irish poet O Searcaigh’s poetry has two stories interwoven within it. One is about how he came to Nepal the first time; and second how he came to know each other,” writes Sharma in his introduction. “Cathal was first brought to Nepal by the Irish Squad, a team of mountaineers then headed by famous trekker, Dermot Somers. The basic idea was to take a poet to the Himal and see what would emerge. But interestingly, instead of buying the empty idea of overcoming the 20,000 feet summit of Langtang Himal, Cathal found solace along the trekking trail, in meeting colorful people and alluring cultural patterns on the banks of the raging rivers.”
In all his poems, the poet depicts the combination of nature and his world. “The translation of these poems took me three years. More I delved into Cathal’s World, the greater grew in my heart and urge to share these pristine images with my South Asian readers,” writes poet Sharma.
In his poems on Kathmandu, poet O Searcaigh describes vivid picture hills, people and their surroundings. The translation was so original that one cannot feel that they are translated from Irish poet.
“Most of the poems collected in this anthology, except a few like “Lament” and “Well” that celebrate the fight of Irish Culture and language against the senseless modernization and globalization have in one way or other a slice of Nepalese life feel about them. For last decade Cathal has adopted Nepal as his second home. Every winter he comes to Nepal to relish the mellow yellow light of Kathmandu’s winter. Unhappy with Irish skies that become sullen with somber winter grays, Cathal flies every winter to Kathmandu to celebrate the golden glamour of Nepalese evenings,” writes Sharma.
This is a very interesting book to read as the translation is flawless and original. For this, poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma deserves commendation. From choosing words to preserving the originality of poem, Sharma has made very hard efforts.
Kathmandu
By: Cathal O Searcaigh
Poems Selected and New Translated
into Nepali with an introduction by Yuyutsu RD Sharma
Published by: Nirala Publications
Distributed in Nepal by: White Lotus Book Shop, Kopundole
Price: Indian Rs. 250.00
