Chennai engineer gives migrant poetry from across the globe a Tamil rendition

This poem written by a Chinese migrant worker Xu Lizhi, who took his own life at the age of 24, is part of a collection of poems written by him. After his death, his friends found a collection of poems written by the youngster and they published them in his memory. The literary world went berserk over Lizhi’s haunting poetry. In 2015, city-based engineer Muthuvel Janakarajan came across one of Lizhi's poems. It inspired him and he started reading poems written by migrant workers living in several countries. He understood that migrant workers are using poetry to shed light on their hidden struggles and reconnect with their roots. This piqued Muthuvel's interest and he started translating migrant poetry from English into Tamil. "Most of the poems I've selected are written by migrant workers in China, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. I was inspired by the poems written by Xu Lizhi. His poems made me think about mental illness, specifically among the working class. I wanted to introduce Chennaiites to this form of poetry. The workers might not write wonderfully but there is humanism in their words,”says Muthuvel.

A few of the poems he has translated are The Feeling of Mid-Autumn Festival by Huo Wei (China), To my Children by Mary Grace Mendiola (Philippines) and Corner by Yuila Endang (Indonesia).

“Migrant workers don’t have another option rather than living away from their loved ones. The underlying struggle is that they are being alienated due to economic and social reasons. I was curious to learn about their emotions. This also made me think about the concept of ‘home’ — how people are longing for home. I didn't want to talk about statistics and external violence but the idea of hardship to hope,”he explains.

There are many migrant labourers in Chennai, who work in sectors from construction to services and even home help. Like any other, they too have a story to share and Muthuvel plans to meet them in the coming days. “When I started translating poems, I wanted to meet a few; but language was a huge barrier. Unfortunately, there is an underlying hatred towards them in our society. There are no associations or any authority to talk on their behalf. Think about it: Tamil migrant workers living in other countries are treated differently and we are concerned about it. At the same time, in Tamil Nadu, we treat migrant workers differently! Where is the justice?” he questions.

The translation of migrant poems is an ongoing work and he hasn’t zeroed in on a final form. Rather than turning the poems into a book, he hopes to do a narration in a visual presentation so that the public can understand the lives of migrant workers. “While translating, I have tried to maintain the poetic structure. I am planning to narrate these poems with paintings and photographs regarding migration that are available online,” he remarks.