The Hindu : New Delhi News : IAS officer finds Hindi readers for Akkitham

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IAS officer finds Hindi readers for Akkitham

Rhyming collaboration: Umesh Kumar Chauhan and poet Akkitham. A file photo.

New Delhi: He learned Malayalam as part of his job but the language left such a deep impression on him that IAS officer Umesh Kumar Chauhan mastered its literature and translated poems of a well-known Malayalam writer into Hindi.

Mr. Chauhan, a native of Uttar Pradesh and an officer of Kerala cadre, translated poems of Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri, a recipient of Kabir Samman and Kendra Sahitya Academy award.

“As I was posted with Kerala cadre, I had to learn Malayalam. I was interested in literature and began to read newspapers and books,” he told PTI.

In ‘Selected Poems of Akkitham,’ Mr. Chauhan, who already has to his credit two volumes of Hindi poetry, has translated 21 poems including the poet’s famous ‘Irupatham Noottandinte Itihasam’ (The Epic of 20th Century) which is often compared to T.S. Eliot’s monumental ‘Waste Land.’

“To read popular poems of Akkitham in Hindi will be a rare experience for poetry lovers. Mr. Chauhan has successfully captured the emotions and charm of Akkitham’s poetry. The conversion of lyrical Malayalam verses into free Hindi verses too has been aptly done,” Aarsu, Head of Calicut University’s Hindi Department, said. — PTI

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