Assamese poet first to find Estonian audience

GUWAHATI: A compilation of 32 Assamese poems written by Assamese poet and Sahitya Akademi Yuva Purushkar awardee Bijoy Sankar Barman has been translated into the Estonian language and will be available in print by this week.
The Estonian title of the anthology is 'Pisarateoja Ketetong' or 'The Streaming Tears of Ketetong' (Ketetong is a tribal village at Margherita in Assam's Tinsukia district). It was a result of arduous work done over a period of one and a half year by prominent Estonian litterateur and artist Margus Lattik, who goes by the pen name Mathura.
Mathura, an Indophile is greatly inspired by Vaishnavite saints like Chaitanya and works like the 'Bhagavada Geeta'.
Barman, who in 2013 had won the coveted Yuva Purushkar for his anthological work titled 'Ashokastami', told TOI on Thursday that the anthology makes him the first Assamese writer or litterateur whose poetic works have been translated into the Estonian language.
"It all began last year when I spent more than five months in Tartu, Estonia for research" Barman said. Barman conducted extensive research into the comparative study of Estonian mythology and Assamese mythology during his visit there. "I was acquainted with Mathura before that. Mathura is an established name in Estonia. He appreciated my work and told me that he would translate my poems," he added.
To fill in the gaps, Mathura acquired the English translation of Barman's poems and with Barman's help, translated it into Estonian.
Barman's poems are known for dealing with the themes of tradition in human society, existentialism, the complex relation between man and nature, human emotions and a plethora of philosophical and transitional themes.
The young poet is also credited with becoming the first Assamese writer to translate the Tamil classic 'Kuruntokai', considered a classic in world literature, which is a collection of love poems composed in the third century. The Assamese collection was titled 'Kurundoheir Kabita'.