The US-based playback singer on translating Ruskin Bond’s short stories into Tamil, his love for Nature depicted in Bond’s works, and his passion for singing
A number of artists in the Tamil film industry have transitioned between various roles. From actors donning the director’s hat to filmmakers getting into acting, and lyricists showcasing their skills in front of the camera, this fluidity has only made the industry all the more richer. Now, renowned playback singer Harish Raghavendra has joined the league of artists switching roles.
Known for lending his voice to popular Tamil cinema tracks like Vaa Sagi Vaa Sagi (Arasiyal, 1997), Nirpadhuve Nadapadhuve (Bharathi, 2000), Hey Azhagiya Theeye (Minnale, 2000), Melliname, Melliname (Shajahan, 2001), Sakkarai Nilave (Youth, 2002), and Anbe Anbe (Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal, 2014), he has turned to translation.
Ruskin Bond Sirukathaigal, Raghavendra’s Tamil translation of 44 short stories selected from Bond’s various collections, has been published by Zero Degree Publishers. It was released at the ongoing Chennai Book Fair, and has piqued the readers’ interest. The collection spans a smorgasbord of genres, including children’s writing, semi-autobiographical narratives, spooky tales, romance, and coming-of-age stories.
This is not the first time Raghavendra has ventured into the world of writing. He published a poetry collection, Kaadhal Kavithai Puthagam Alla, in 2014. He also wrote the lyrics for films like Kalyaana Samayal Saadham (2013) and Vaanavil Vaazhkai (2015). “These attempts actually gave me a lot of confidence as far as my command of Tamil goes,” Raghavendra, who has also acted in a few films, like Vikadan (2003) and Tirupathi (2006), told The Federal.
Though further opportunities have eluded him as a lyricist in the film industry, he continues to write for his own musical compositions, including devotional songs. “Maybe they cannot believe that a singer can become a lyricist,” he quips.
The laws of attraction
Known for pronouncing Tamil words with proper diction while singing, Harish grew up reading Tamil literature, especially the works of popular writers like Jayakanthan, Balakumaran, Rajesh Kumar and Pattukkottai Prabakar. “I wouldn’t call myself an avid reader but a reader with a voraciousness for information about the world that we live in, much before the era of Internet and Google. It was books of varied genres that caught my attention; I was not just confined to fiction or non-fiction specifically,” he added.
After writing a set of his own short stories which have not been published, Raghavendra had taken a break from writing and started focussing on learning and familiarising himself with various forms of music. “I was coincidentally connected with the founding partner of Zero Degree Publishing, Gayathri Ramasubramanian, and expressed my interest in translation. Having seen some of my writings on Facebook, she believed in me and offered me the role of a translator,” he said.
When asked about his choice of selecting Ruskin Bond for translation, Raghavendra said that it was the ‘laws of attraction’ that played its cards well. “Stories of Rudyard Kipling and Ruskin Bond fascinated me as an adolescent and continue to do so till this date. The Bond thing happened by coincidence or probably I attracted it into my life through the law of attraction. I just grabbed it at the first opportunity and gave my best since I felt it was a dream come true,” he added.
A Bond With Nature
Asked why he chose stories that evince feelings of loneliness and longing, Raghavendra said it was his love for Nature and commonality of thoughts that brought him to these stories. “In this era where screens, AI, social media and other high-end technologies have engulfed our life, most of us seek quiet moments for ourselves. Bond, a single man who lives in the mountains, has created stories which have shades of loneliness. It was his love for trees, water bodies, birds, plants, rain and other things that drew me close to his works since childhood,” he said.
Talking about the process of translation, Raghavendra underlined that he adopted several methods for the first few weeks to see which worked best, producing the best results. “First, I sought to determine whether Bond was a character in the stories or merely the narrator recounting incidents from another person’s life. Once I grasped this aspect, I looked for specific terms and references to the local flora and fauna of the settings, often centred around the unique wildlife, birds, and flowers found in the Himalayas,” he said.
“The topography is vastly different from Tamil Nadu, where I grew up. Hence, I had to make extra effort to identify appropriate Tamil equivalents. With many lacking direct correlations, I opted to provide the names in English or Hindi while also including their qualities. This approach allows Tamil readers to relate,” he explained. It’s worth noting that the translator has used colloquial Tamil for all dialogues and literary Tamil for narrations, creating a seamless reading experience.
Singing, his first love
Asked about the possibility of exploring writing in the future, the US-based Raghavendra said that singing remains his foremost passion. “I have taken a long break from acting as crossovers between various departments of cinema were not welcomed back in the day. But now, thanks to the efforts of people like Vijay Antony and G V Prakash Kumar, the industry has accepted it. I may act if some interesting offer comes up. Each avenue — singing, composing, and acting — demands sincere efforts, time, interest, and dedication. As of now, I enjoy all of them,” he said.
“I am aware that literature or translation is not isn’t as lucrative a profession as cinema, but sometimes certain things give us a lot of satisfaction and an avenue for soul-searching. This is one such thing. I am surely looking forward to having my own stories and also other poetry collections published,” he added.
