JEDDAH — Jeddah Muththamizh Sangam's (JeMS), a grouping of Tamil community members, gave its literary wing a real baptism of novelty, when through ‘Aydha Ezuththu’ a first-time Tamil poet was given wings with the release of his book at the Star restaurant here recently.
With the will to give the literary division, which hopes to promote and sustain Tamil literature while adapting to the language’s evolution, a fillip, JeMS executive team members Sathya Shivaji and his wife Deepa, with the guidance of Paalaivana Lanther, organized the event through the literary team of ‘Aydha Ezuthu’.
It was the question of how best to portray ‘Aydha Ezuththu’ mission to the community that proved the trigger for the book launch. And it proved an ideal platform for Sathya Shivaji, who uses the pen name of ‘Araathaa’, to bring his imaginative creation to the community.
What indeed was incredible and novel was the book was not a work of fiction or fact, but of views projected through the clinical symmetry of poetry. The novelty was in the attempt at a new form of Tamil poetry that’s indigenous to Japan and its restrictive meters — Haiku.
The author has started on this unique journey with his first book that’s a compilation of 100 Haiku poems in a book for Tamil readers. The book, which came into print recently, contains some of his choicest nuggets from the Haikus he has jotted down and treasured for about two decades.
JeMS President Zakhir Hussain welcomed the chief guest noted Tamil writer Abul Kalam Azad, a Riyadh resident who came especially for the book release. Jeddah Tamil Sangam (JTS) members Perarasu and Jai Shankar, Sentamizh Nala Manram (SNM) member Ramnarayan Iyer and JeMS executives received the book from the chief guest, who had lauded the writer for his foray into a difficult metrics in writing poetry.
Paalaivana Lanther spoke about the author, his efforts and literary conquests and conveyed that Aydha Ezuththu is a platform for Tamil-related activities a place to promote new Tamil writers. International Indian School (IISJ) teacher Guru, Poorani Vimal, Ahmed Basha where the keynote speakers of the evening and they were called up to evaluate the poet’s effort.
They gave their inputs astutely while tasked to describe few poems from the book, especially all citing the inferences in some of the poems bore real life reflections. They also commented on the poet’s effort to stick to the Haiku metrics, and took his imagery of real life to a distinctive contemplative level.
Azad, while complimenting the poet, stressed Haiku, a short three-line poem with 17 syllables written in a 5/7/5 syllable count, could provide readers a true, life sense from a variety of perspective.
He stressed that Haiku is evolving, including its famous syllabic pattern, but the philosophy has been preserved: the focus on a brief moment in time; a use of provocative, colorful images; an ability to be read in one breath; and a sense of sudden enlightenment.
He also recited a Japanese Haiku poem and explained its meaning, rhythm and relevance in Tamil such that the cadence was in sync. He elaborated on the changing nuances in the approach to a Haiku in different language, but stated that the core essence of this form was being retained.
He shared his knowledge about Urdu poem structure and the Japanese Haiku styles and brought about a comparative study on their similarities and divergence.
He pointed out the variety of versions in both forms, but essayed that the Haiku structure was the key that made it still unique and relevant today while also touching upon the varying present day status of poetry itself.
The author received lots of love and appreciations from Jai Shankar, Perarasu, Ramnarayan, Dr. Jaishree Moorthi, Mythili Murali, Razine Srihari, Muhammad Ismail, from Madinah, Rajasekar and Senthil Raja. All of them, in their own perspective, spoke about the man and the poet in him, his efforts, visualization and personal traits that has enabled him to stand tall in this platform today.
The author, while humbly acknowledging the plaudits, shared his experiences on how and when he began writing poetry, why he chose Haiku and the need to express himself in Tamil his experiences and thoughts in Haiku.
While stressing that Tamil had always piqued him with its vastness and depth, he hoped that his efforts in using this language to bring forth his thoughts creatively was successful. He also told the audience why he chose the pen name ‘Araathaa’ and played the voice message received from his inspiration Hariraasu. His wife Deepa delivered the vote of thanks.
Ramya Perarasu, Parvin Rafiq, Fahima Umar, Saranya Azhagappan, Chitra Rajasekar and Vishalini Yegappan conducted games for children, who received gifts as well.
Dr. Savithri Manikandan hosted the function elegantly. Many leading members of the community from Jeddah and other cities attended and made this function, the first Haiku book release in the history of Jeddah, a grand success. — SG