K. M. Balasubramaniam

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

K. M. Balasubramaniam
Died1974
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Political activist, writer
Known forTranslating
Tirukkural
into English

K. M. Balasubramaniam (died 1974) was a

Tirukkural into English. He came to be known as Thiruvachakamani for his translation of Manikkavacakar’s Thiruvasagam into English before translating the Kural text.[1]

Biography

Balasubramaniam was an advocate and an ardent supporter and one of the prominent lieutenants of the

Saivite literature.[1] Balasubramaniam was proficient in both Tamil and English. According to V. S. Srinivas Shastri, Balasubramaniam was a master of idiomatic, humorous and highly cultivated expressions.[2]

Dravidian historian K. Thirunavukarasu said that for an atheist, who moved the resolution in support of atheism at the self-respect conference in Tirunelveli, the transformation was something beyond comprehension. He has commented, "I have read that when a team of Dravidian leaders including Balasubramaniam went to meet Jinnah, they also took B. R. Ambedkar with them. Later I have listened to his Thiruvachagam lecture."[2]

Translating Thiruvachagam and Tirukkural

Balasubramaniam translated Manikkavacakar’s Thiruvasagam into English and published it in 1958, which made him know widely as Thiruvachakamani.[1] Of the 500 copies that he published, half were sold in South Africa.[2] The preface to the book was written by the then Home Minister Bhaktavatsalam.[2]

When

G. U. Pope’s translation of the Kural text, he considered that Tamils had the ante-natal advantage of a common nativity and closer affinity with Mancikavachagar.[2]

Balasubramaniam’s translation is considered by many as more comprehensive and poetic than the earlier translations of the Kural text. The publisher of the translation work ‘Sivalayam’ J. Mohan, who also published Balasubramaniam’s Thiruvachagam, said of Balasubramaniam thus: "In Tamil literature, commentators with felicity of expression matching the original authors were placed on a par with them. K.M. Balasubramaniam was one such commentator." According to

Dryden, George Herbert, Francis Bacon and Dr. Johnson. This can be corroborated from the fact that more than half of the 530 pages in the book are dedicated to detailed notes.[1]

Following his Kural translation, Balasubramaniam then started translating Sekkizhar’s

Periyapuranam, the history of 63 Saivite saints, into English, but his death in 1974 made it incomplete.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "A classic Tirukkural translation is reborn". The Hindu. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kolappan, B. (2 October 2014). "Periyar disciple's English translation of Thiruvachagam to be released again". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=K._M._Balasubramaniam&oldid=1219837852"