Rev.Fr. Dr. Leonard Fernando, S.J.
Rector- St. Joseph’s College, Trichy
“No one has so far attempted to present the translation of Tirukkural in English language in the way Dr. Loie has done. It is a historic achievement. Dr. Loie has already left his indelible mark in many fields as his life story and list of achievements testify….” From Foreword….
Review on
Thirukural
Translation-
Dr
K.S.Antonysamy,Head,
Department
of English, Loyola College
Sujatha, the great luminary of 20thCentury
Tamil Literature stated that there is a yawning gulf between the classics in
Tamil and their cognition among the contemporary Tamil youth. In order to make
them understand, he made an attempt to paraphrase Aathichoodi and Thirukural
into layman’s language. Similarly, Dr Louie, the translator of 4 + 3 word
couplet Thirukural has not only abided by the forms of a couplet but also
transformed into a lucid, terse and laconic content well suited to both the
cognoscenti and mediocre readers with his multifaceted forte and profound
erudition. A sample study of his efforts would throw light on his anchorage and
supremacy over both the source language and target language:
“Kingdom perishes if eight
Virtues are unheeded” (Chapter
55, Couplet 8 on Upright Governance)
The youth of the generation would
easily gat at the content of this kural as if it has been done in communicative
translation I appreciate Dr. Louie for the immense efforts he has put in to
make this intellectual sage with a great amount of passion.
Dr.R.J.A. Stephen Loie in venturing the task in a unique way with his inimitable style by comprising the whole gamut of Thirukkural as concise and precise in 4+3 word couplet is a remarkable achievement, and I have my own fear in telling, a great task has been well revealed in power of knowledge in comprehension of Thirukkural...
”From Prelude…AVVAI NATARAJAN
Former Vice Chancellor
|
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE :
“…I would…. like to extend my best wishes to you for success with your work…”
*“டாக்டர். ஸ்டீபன் லூயி அவர்களின் திருக்குறள் மொழி-பெயர்ப்பைப் படிக்கிறபோது ஆங்கிலத்தைத் தாய் மொழியாகக் கொண்டிருந்தால் கூட இவ்வளவு நேர்த்தியாக,நிறைவாக மொழியாக்கம் செய்திருக்க முடியுமா? என்ற கேள்வி எழும்பும் வண்ணம் ஆங்கிலத் திருக்குறளாக மலர்ந்திருப்பது, லூயி என்ற தமிழனுக்கான சிறப்பு மட்டுமல்ல தமிழரான நமக்கெல்லாம் சிறப்பு என்றே கருதுகிறேன்…”அணிந்துரையிலிருந்து…பேராசிரியர்.கான்ஸ்டன்டைன் ரவீந்திரன், M.E., MBA., MCA., Ph.D., LLB.திமுக செய்தித் தொடர்பு இணைச் செயலாளர்
SANSKRUTI INSTITUTE OF DRAVIDIAN CULTURE & RESEARCH (IDCR) Hyderabad, India
Dear Dr. Stephen,Thanks for your kind mail and the loads of information about Kural. It is very enriching. I shall get back to you as and when you need me. Lovely to have read your Kural. It is a great work indeed. Congratulations on your master-piece. I enjoyed reading it through in one sitting. I myself a lover of Thirukkural and always try to quote it in my speeches and writings. Your translation is very clear and candid. Any non-Tamil also can understand the glow and flow of it. Simply fantastic. Yours is a great attempt and I must appreciate your intellectual acumen.With kind regards-Fr.Dr.G.Lazar SVD., Director
அணிந்துரையிலிருந்து…
ப. முத்துக்குமாரசுவாமி
விருதுகள் மேல் விருதுகள் பெற்ற மூத்த
தமிழ் அறிஞர்
“திருக்குறளின் ஆங்கில ஆக்கம் அருமை. தித்திக்கிறது.காலமெல்லாம் இப்படைப்பு பேசப்படும். திருக்குறள்
தமிழில் ஏழு
சீரில் அமைந்திருப்பது
போல
அரிது முயன்று அற்புதமான
ஆங்கிலத்தில் ஏழே
வாரத்தைகளில்
வடிவமைத்த
வித்தகம் வியக்கவைக்கிறது.
அய்யா”
Rector -
SVD SEMINARY,DIVINE WORD CENTRE,
St. Thomas Mount, Chennai-600016
Dr.R.J.A.Stephen
Loie has been our visiting Professor of English Phonetics and Descriptive Grammar,teaching
our seminarians studying at Loyola
College, Chennai. His teaching is
combined with his knowledge
in psychology, law, criminology and
administration. He is actually
qualified in all these subjects,being allied to law, which is his Profession.
He visits our seminary at 8 AM and takes crash courses in the summer vacation,which
never affects his Profession at all as an
Advocate of Madras High Court. Now I am really
happy to write a few lines about the
great work of Dr. R. J. A. Stephen
Loie. He is a
man of letters with a sense of great commitment to
the world in the process of evolution. His thirst
for knowledge is immeasurable. His
educational qualifications speak for himself of
his determination in pursuing knowledge in various fields
to help the society to live in peace.
4+3
WORD COUPLET TIRUKKURAL TRANSLATION
by Dr. R. J. A. Stephen Loie is a master piece. He took a great trouble to put it into present
form without affecting the original
meaning by applying various tools to
be accurate. It
is a challenging task to stick to the 4+3 formula
without deviating from the original
text in Tamil. I,
being a non- Tamil, went through the book not like a newspaper but like
scripture. Every couplet is loaded
with immeasurable depth in meaning.
One can easily
get connected and get struck by the words.
It
is a book to meditate and reflect and draw
inspiration for life. I wonder how
such a great wisdom
flowed in this land centuries ago.
I have also come across many biblical
verses which
made me feel that I was reading the Holy Bible.
I wish the readers to draw more
inspiration and wisdom
through this translation which is a master
piece.
Though it is such an ancient writing it comes
alive when we read it afresh today.
We may have read
the book as it is translated widely. But we can’t help appreciating the author
for his meticulous work as
it
is a unique translation. It is worth having it in our shelf, recommending
it for schools, colleges, and universities. I recommend all communities and states in India to
take steps in all respects for this
great wisdom to be spread with a view
to bringing harmony
and peace among all walks of people.
