A writer creates a work, but a translator breathes new life into it, says writer Imayam

The Hindu

4 days ago

The task of a writer is to create, while the translator, in turn, breathes new life into it through another language, said Sahitya Akademi award-winning Tamil writer Imayam on on Thursday (July 24, 2025).
Mr. Imayam was in conversation with Justice (retired) Prabha Sridevan, former judge of the Madras High Court, who has translated three of his books into English, at The Hindu office in Chennai. Sharing her experience of working with Mr. Imayam, Justice Sridevan said, 'Translating vattara vazhakku (regional dialect) into English is difficult. But Mr. Imayam does not use vattara vazhakku in his writing. His language is unique.'
While talking about translating Mr. Imayam's Ippodhu Uyirodirukkiren into the English edition (I'm alive... for now), Justice Sridevan said, 'The story is narrated by a 15-year-old boy. I cannot use words like 'dichotomy' or 'parameters' while translating his voice. I have to be conscious of the kind of words he would have used if he had known English. I cannot use polysyllabic words. The language has to be simple and true to his age and background.'
Responding to a question from Justice Sridevan, who asked whether the humour in his otherwise dark and serious stories comes naturally or is consciously added, Mr. Imayam said he does not sit and decide what to include or leave out. 'It is the character that decides, not me. I don't interfere. I simply write what they speak. Once I finish writing, the character leaves me, and I also leave them,' he said.
'Love is the foundation of all my stories,' Mr. Imayam said, while talking about where he draws inspiration for his stories. As society continues to change, it is the duty of a writer to document that transformation. The foremost responsibility of a writer is to keep renewing and reshaping the language through creative evolution, to ensure that the language remains alive and relevant, he said.
'To me, storytelling comes second. Reviving and refreshing the language comes first. That is my identity. In the past two thousand years, many kings and wealthy people have come and gone. Only Tholkappiyar, Thiruvalluvar, and Kambar still live on through their writings,' he added.
(This conversation was held as part of The Hindu's Out of Print series with writers)