Publisher's Synopsis
Ilampirai is an authentic daughter of the soil. Her words sprout from the grassroots. Lyrical nostalgia breathes through her poetry. No glitz, no artifice, no rhetoric, no fake 'revolution'. Everything rooted in lived experience; emanates from deep anguish, intense joy, muted anger, helpless resignation and determined self-worth. As opposed to empty bombast, the impact of studied understatement throbs in her poems. Her whispers are more impactful than pompous pronouncements.Poetry is an integral element in Ilampirai's life and work space....as a soulmate, as a constant companion, as a guiding light and as a dependable counsellor. Her own words are significant in this context: "As a mirror reflecting the personality reinforced or crushed by the inner and exterior actions, as a loving mother feeding me with solicitude during times of intense hunger, as a shade providing succour in times of distress, as a mentor teaching love and understanding, as a never-failing companion, I treasure poetry."Through her poems, she impresses upon us her passion to share her poignant experiences. The span of her poetic world throbs with the warmth of her life's experiences, emotions which have enhanced and scarred her, is suffused with the aroma of her rural world, with the simple charm of humane and somewhat naïve vignettes, with a nostalgia coming to us naturally with no contrived embellishments, with simple but profound humanism reflected in day-to-day occurrences, with the immersion in nature, with the intense warmth of motherliness.As a curtain raiser to this book of translation, I believe it would be meaningful to cull out and present a sample of her poetry touching upon a few important areas. Not pretending to be comprehensive, it is my hope that this approach would help capture the spirit of her poetic world and also encourage a fuller immersion. Now, to her poetic fragments.Appa and Amma: First things first. Her Appa and Amma, the seedbed of her personality. They are simple village folks. Love and goodwill constitute the core of their being. Guileless they are but full of native wisdom - Appa: "Expert are you in counselling friends about the 'good bull' by looking at the type, teeth, horn and 'chuzhi' the whirl-like formation of hair.Alas! You had learnt nothingto size up fellow beings.You trusteveryone.... always!....."To your guileless lifeTo your simple friends who much like you drink toddy smoke sturdy cheroot bathe sans soap wear no shirt remain unlettered don't know cycling keep chatting with you in our house thinnai in booming voices about bulls and broking. To you and these friends is dedicated This Book".Amma: O Amma!You lovingly gave me birth!Your 'school daughter' composes sings songs many wherever I tend to wander my first song for you lodged lovingly in my heart _ the lullaby strummedby my very life."these observations made by Dr.K.S.Subramanian, the renowned translator who has a significant number of English translations and original works in English to his credit, highlight the significance of Ilampirai's poetry. A MUST READ POET!
