Chamini Kulathunga
on translating Ruwan Bandujeewa
The four poems hand-picked for this submission are from a collection I am currently translating from my native language of Sinhalese, one of the official languages in Sri Lanka. The selection of poems weaves together metaphors from a pastoral, agricultural Sri Lankan setting unique to Bandujeewa’s poetry. In my English translations of these poems, I wanted to preserve the simple, pastoral elegance in Bandujeewa’s choice of language. I also attempted to preserve in English the melody produced through the simple, colloquial language Bandujeewa uses, which contrasts the conventional literary high variety of the diglossic Sinhalese.
One of the main strategies I adopted to bring the aforementioned qualities into English was the use of internal rhymes. I tried to produce music in English in places where the original poem flowed melodiously. End rhymes were also used when and where necessary, although I did not consciously try to employ them. I attempted to remain as close to the original word order as possible without, of course, distorting the meaning and language of the poem in English; I used anastrophe where applicable.
I believe that this selection of poems is capable of evoking, in its raw and pastoral essence, a sense of nostalgia, pain, and loneliness that blends with a feeling of comradery. Therefore, the poems highlight the existential bond between humans and nature, a controversial idea today among lovers of both.
about the author
Ruwan Bandujeewa is a contemporary poet loved by many Sri Lankan readers of poetry. One can argue that his subject matter has communist undertones, but in fact his perspective on the often-neglected masses is very much intrinsic to the fabric of Sri Lankan politics and, in a sense, to the world at large. While he draws most of his imagery from nature and local agricultural settings, simple, beautiful, honest, and melodic motifs are characteristic of Bandujeewa’s poetic diction.
about the translator
Chamini Kulathunga is a translator from Sri Lanka working with contemporary Sri Lankan Sinhalese literature. She is a second year MFA candidate in literary translation at University of Iowa’s Translation Workshop. She was a visiting fellow at Cornell University’s South Asia Program in the summer of 2019, and is the blog editor and a member of the editorial board of Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation.
photo by Chamini Kulathunga
