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Udhayanan (Canada)

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Udhayanan (Canada)

இந்தப் பக்கத்தை தமிழில் வாசிக்க: உதயணன் (கனடா)


Udhayanan (Canada) (May 25, 1935 - July 23, 2019) (R. Sivalingam) (Ramalingam Sivalingam) was a Tamil writer, lived in Toronto, Canada. He was a translator of Finnish texts. Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland, was translated in Tamil by Udhayanan.

Birth, Education

Udhayanan was born on June 25, 1935 in Uduvil, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. His father Ramalingam retired from Sri Lanka Railways. Udhayanan lost his mother a few days after his birth. Udhayanan had his education from Congesan Roman Catholic School, American Mission English School, Anurathapuram Saint Joseph's College and Parameswara College in Jaffna.

Personal Life

Udhayanan

From 1955-1957, Udhayanan worked as an English assistant teacher at Navalapitti Katiresan Tamil School and Katiresan College. Later, in 1957, he joined as Government Clerk in the Department of Social Services, Colombo and worked in Puthalam Kacheri, Jaffna State Education Center, Batticaloa District Court and eventually retiring in 1979. After that, Udhayanan worked for three years as a warehouse manager in an Arab company in the city of Kirkuk in Iraq, and returned to Sri Lanka in December 1982 after the Iran-Iraq war. After the ethnic riots of 1983, he moved to Finland in October of that year.

Udhayanan was appointed in 1986 as a Research Assistant and Part-time Lecturer in Tamil Language at the University of Helsinki in Finland. He was given the task of translating Epic Tamil literature into Finnish language. In that way, Udhayanan had contributed in works like Thirukkural and Silappathikaram. Udhayanan, worked with Professor Dr. Asko Parpola. He was responsible for Indology Education in the Department of Education for Asian African Countries. Udhayanan taught Tamil at the University of Helsinki for 19 years.

Udhayanan moved to Canada in 2008.

Journalism

Udhayanan helped with the development of Eazhadevi magazine and was also a pioneer in the development of the magazine Kalaiselvi' published from 1958 to 1966 with Sculptor Sivasaravanbhavan as its editor.

Literary Life

Early Works

Udayanan recalls E. Ketheeswaranathan, Tamil teacher of Jaffna Parameswara College, and scholar Vendanar and Pandit M. Gnanaprakasam as the mentors of his writing. In 1957, Udhayana's first poem appeared in Veerakesari magazine. Udhayanan wrote more than seventy short stories in the period 1957-1980 in Veerakesari, Dinakaran, Suthanthiran, Eelannaadu, Chintamani, Dinapathi Malar, Sudar, Anjali, Kalaiselvi, Tamilosai, Tamilinpam etc. In the year 1961, Udhayanan's short story Thedi Vantha Kankal won the first prize in the short story competition organized by Kalki magazine. His works have also appeared in Indian magazines like Kalki and Kumutham.

Novels

In the magazine Kalachelvi, Udhayanan has written novels like Ithaya Vanile and Manaparai and from Veerakesari's publications novels like Ponnana Malarallavo and Antharageetham (published as Manaparai with some changes) . The serial Manakottai has appeared in Mithran newspaper and the short novel Kodimallikai has appeared in Chintamani. He has also written humorous essays, involved in journalism and translation. Two of Udhayana's novels, Ponnana Malaralallavo and Antharageetham, have been published in the Veerakesari publications series.

Translation

Udhayanan translated Kalevala' Finland's national epic poem from the original Finnish language into Tamil. Kalevala was published in 1994 after three years of hard work. It was the first book from Finnish to Tamil. (See Kalevala)

Demise

Udhayanan died on July 23, 2019.

Literary Significance

Udhayan's books are for common readers, with plot lines designed to convey social ideas. Udhayana's translation of Kalevala was almost completely rejected by Tamil readers. Jeyamohan states that Udhayanan translated the folkloric and heroic Kalevala into an artificial, cliched, complex language. As the Poetic form (Yappu) did not find literary acceptance, he rewrote it in prose form. Nor did it receive any attention in prose.

Books

Essays
  • Finlandin Pasumai Ninaivugal
Novels
  • Ithayavanile
  • Manaparai
  • Ponnana Malarallavo
  • Antharageetham (Came with small corrections as 'Manaparai')
Short Stories
  • Pirinthavar Pesinaal
  • Ungal Theerpu Enna
Translation
  • Kalevala

References


✅Finalised Page