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Some poetry from the land of Dracula

MINDSCAPES Participants at the Hungarian Poetry Day event

It was a rare literary evening organised by the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre in Delhi, on the occasion of the Hungarian National Poetry Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Hungarian poet, Attila József. It was a unique gathering of poets, translators, and lovers of Hungarian language. The theme for this year was "Hungarian poetry from Transylvania", which happens to be the landscape of creativity for Hungarian literature."We do not wish to confine Hungarian culture within its geographical boundaries. Transylvania is indeed a good testimony of this," says Imre Lázár, director of the Centre. As Margit Köves, lecturer of Hungarian language, remarked, "this is not merely an effort in popularising the Hungarian literature, but also identifying the commonalities in the literary traditions of the two countries." It was testified in the Hindi translations and renderings by the poets and translators like Giridhar Rathi, Indu Mazaldan, and Indukant Angiras, apart from a group of young, enthusiastic students of Hungary. The bilingual rendering of the poems added colour to the event. Dr. Köves highlighted the salient features of the poetry of these great masters like Benedek Elek, Jeno Dsida, Dezso Kosztolányi, Sándor Kányádi, Domokos Szilágyi, Gizella Hervay, Aladár Lászlóffy, and Zsófia Balla.

Indian sensibilities

In all the cases, the Hindi translations seemed to resonate eloquently with the Indian poetic sensibilities. Whether it was love poetry of Dsida, which reminded one of the spring in Kashmir, or the profound lines of Kányádi about the montage and memories of a graveyard in Vienna, rendered by Dr. Rathi, the audience could feel the cross-cultural bonds of poetry.

"It was also interesting to realise that most of these poets spoke of the role of poets in society. There is a definite engagement with experimentation and tradition too. The similarities with India are too striking to be ignored," Dr. Köves said in her concluding remarks.

The landscape, especially the motif of the tree and the grass, are indeed remarkable characteristics of the poetry of Transylvania. As the poet Kányádi tellingly puts it, the landscape becomes as intimate as a skin, yet torments him with its memories. The range of themes, the poetic forms, and the techniques sounded uncannily familiar. It was poetry bordering on the musical, as many of these poets were inspired by the renowned composer Béla Bartók.

SANJAY KUMAR

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