Городская научно-исследовательская конференция школьников
«Язык. Культура. ХХI век»
Исследовательская работа
Tatar literature through the English language
Нуруллина Гузель
МАОУ “Гимназия No. 139”, 10Б
Научный руководитель
учитель Наиля Вахитовна Лукманова
Казань 2016
The main points of my scientific research:
1.The reason of my taking up this theme: The goal of the scientific research is to reveal the structures used in English when translating Tatar works. The problem of translating Tatar classical writers' works is tough and actual as lots of languages tend to disappear in oblivion forever. Therefore, I made up my mind to do this scientific research.
2.The establishment of the club of translation from Tatar into English: It began its work in 2011, when the whole world celebrated Tukai’s birthday. Rabit Batulla’s work, which we have translated, is a narration with the help of which he wants to bring up literary tastes in students.
3.Learning of famous translators’ works, such as: V.N. Komissarov, A.L. Semenov, etc.
4.My first steps in translation of Tatar literature.
5.Similarities and peculiarities of Tatar and English.
6.My plans for the future.
7.The enclosure of my translations.
1. Translation as the object
I was born in a Tatar family in Tatarstan. My family and close relatives speak Tatar and I’m really upset that there are people who don’t know my nationality even in Russia. “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own” – said Goethe. It’s really so. This made me take translating fiction into English. I have always loved Tatar with its stylistic devices and choices of amazing words. I have always wanted to express it in English in order to introduce people of other nations and nationalities with my native literature. Therefore, I made up my mind to arrange a club of translators from Tatar into English to go further in introducing the whole world to the distinctive culture of Tatar people. We began translating the works of famous Tatar classical and modern writers.
2. The estblishment of the translators club
To begin with, we have a club of translators at school No.139, the task of which is to translate the works of Tatar classical and modern writers. It began its work 4 years ago, when the whole world celebrated Tukai’s birthday, who is an outstanding celebrity. We, students, know and hear about him a lot. Rabit Batulla's work, which we have translated, is a narration with the help of which he wants to bring up literary tastes in students. The author introduces Tukai's character to us through his work. There are national features expressed
Жаныкаем ла, сиңа ни бирәем,
Мәкәрҗәдин килгән лә малым җук,
Мәкәрҗәдин килгән лә малым җук.
Җаннарымны җарып та бирер лә идем,
Җандин үзгә җөрер лә хәлем җук,
Җандин үзгә җөрер лә хәлем җук.
b) by the Tatar musical instrument (моңлы кубыз тавышын дәвам итә башлады)
c) by statements peculiar to the Tatars (көйнең салмак кына яңгыравы)
Taking into account all these national feelings we have translated them this way:
1)
My bony, what shall I give you,
I don’t have the wealth brought from Makarjadin,
I don’t have the wealth brought from Makarjadin.
I would give you my soul,
But I was hardly able even to walk.
I have even given my soul,
But I’m feeling so bad that I can’t even walk.
2) the tune of the song was followed by the cubyz
3) the tune flowed calmly and softly
When we were translating the song we tried to make it sound close to the original. Rabit Batulla wrote his narration expressing the great loss of this celebrity and how he missed him. We see it in his description of Tukai's clothes, which is given in details.
The words “кубыз”, ”кара казаки”,”чәче арткы тарафка таралган”, “тыңлаусыз чәч”, “киез ката”,”ястык кадәрле кабартылган мендәр” which can be met only in Tatar. We translated them this way: cubyz, a black jacket, Tukai's hair brushed together back, it rose as it was stubborn, felt boots made of black wool, as huge as the mattress made of birds' feather two pillows.
The classical writer Makhmut Galau's reminiscences also express his great love to this incredibly talented person. We can't help reading the lines from his work both in Tatar and in English:
Тукай җаны тыныч чакта яланбаш, ике кулын чалбар кесәләренә тыгын, уйланып йөри... - He had a habit of walking along the corridor and meditating when his soul was calm. At that time his head was uncovered, he was wearing a waist coat with both hands put in his pocket.
Тукайның маңгае җыерчыклы, ә күзләре ялтырый... - his wrinkled forehead and shining eyes...
Ә кайгы, борчу килсә...Тукай сөйләшми, телсез кала,әйтәсе сүзен дә әйтми. Ләкин соңыннан саран ганы булса да йөрәгендәген аңлата. - When you were asking him about something in details, he would keep mum, even what he was about to say he wouldn't utter. If he began saying something, he was sure to say it after some silence passed. He didn't speak openly or willingly, nevertheless, he would tell you what he had deep in his heart after all.
The Tatar literature is very rich in repeated past actions, which should be expressed by means of English constructions : used to Infinitive, would Infinitive.
E.g.
“Казанда Харитонов типографиясендә эшләгән чагым. Көндез, эштән туктап, ике сәгать ял итәбез. Аш ашар өчен “Болгар”га йөрим.
Тукай гадәттәгечә корридорда күренмәсә, мин аның хәле белән кызыксына идем. Аш тамәм булгач, узышлый номер ишеген ачып карыйм. Әгәр Тукай кроватьта булса, кереп, хәлен белеп чыгам, 40нчы номерның ишеге һичбер вакытта да бикләнми иде. ”
(Махмүт Галәү “Тукай турындагы истәлекләрдән бер кисәк”)
And my translation is:
“It was the time when I worked at the Kharitonov ‘s printing-house. We used to have a break for a rest in the afternoon. I would go for dinner to ‘Bolgar’.
When Tukai didn’t do his usual promenade in the corridor I would go and see him and ask about his health. When the dinner was over, passing by his room I used to open his door. If Tukai occurred to be in bed, I would enter the room and was interested in his health. The door of Room 40 was never locked”
(MakhmutGalau “The reminiscences about Tukai”)
Makhmut Galau greatly missed Tukai and his great respect to him he showed through his sincere love, because Gabdulla Tukai is a really distinguished poet of all times.
3. Learning famous translators' works
To translate works of authors of any language is a really challenging work; it doesn’t mean to translate word-by-word and sentence-by-sentence. Therefore, we had to learn scientific works of famous translators:Voskoboinik, Alexeeva, Wezbicka, Komissarov, Semenov.
While translating from one language into another you should follow Relativity of Translation.
Identity is an epistemic goal of translation. Translation is supposed to search for identity between different languages and cultures.
“Identity is an ideal, absolute goal of the translator`s activity, which isimposed by one of the basic philosophical principlesof intellectual and practical activity operatingat the level of subconsciousness” (Voskoboinik,2007: 43). “Fidelity of translation”, just like truthfulnessof a picture or plausibility of motivations– allare reflections of one common category, which can be determined as gnosiologically generic category”(Levy, 1974: 47).Nowadays the conception of correlationbetween the original text and translated textfocusing its attention on the relativity of translation as the main principle is consideredto be a more preferable choice for most scholars(Alexeeva, 2004) The idea of relativity of translation is a naturally
determined result of searching for solutionsto the problem of translation identity. It is well
known that even ancient Romans used to say:«mediotutissimus ibis»– the middle road is thesafest one.
Similarly, A. Wezbickarises a question about the correctness of the initial thesis concerning translatability \ untranslatability: “Acorrectly formulated question should not be “Canthe sense be translated from one language intoanother” and should actually be “To what extentit can be translated” or even differently “To what extent languages are determined by the biologyof humans and to what extent by our culture?(Wezbicka, 2011).
Translatability is regarded as a “dynamic category”,which lies in the middle between conceptions of total untranslatabilityand total translatability. The category of translatability should be considered asa dynamic notion, since, on the one hand, the idea of total translatability is nonsense, because ofobjectively difficult texts for translation, and, onthe other hand, the idea of total untranslatabilitycontradicts the practice of translation. Here thescientists write: “even if something cannot betranslated right here and right now in a particularsituation, however it can be translated in otherplace and time, in the past or the future state of thetarget language and the target culture.
In order to illustrate the dynamics oftranslation we shall refer to the words of a famous
Spanish philosopher JoséOrtega y Gasset: “I wanted to stress the poverty of translation, defineits difficulties, its impossibility, but the onlyreason I did it for is not to stop, but to searchfor the brilliance of the art of translation...”
In the current paper we cannot but agree withthose who support the conception of translationrelativity. It is apparent that interlingual translation does exist and there is a part in the original and a part in the translation which areidentical (the fact that these parts are almost neverequal to 100% is a different story). This thesis corresponds to the words of V.N. Komissarov:
“...any original text can be considered to beuntranslatable due to the lack of absolute identitywith the translation and can be considered to betranslatable since we can create its functionalanalogue in the translation language and canconvey any part of the original content, the partwhich a translator regards as an important one for the current act of interlingual communication...”(Komissarov, 1976: 15). Thus, a more fruitful wayto look at the relationship between the originaltext and the translation text lies not in the matterof translatability or untranslatability, but in thelimits of translatability.
You should also be aware of Factors Influencing Translation.
The conception of relative translatability and the conception of total translatability are separatedby a number of factors, which have their impacton the process and result of translation. Its nature, according to E. Nida, is determined by two mainreasons: human language and human culture. Thisposition is actually supported by A. D. Shveitser:“One should bear in mind that translation is not just a recording of a source text into a target one, itis not just a mere change of the language code, butit is also a shift in orientation, a new orientationfor a new reader, not only linguistic, but also a cultural adaptation”
Factors influencing translation identity demand close scrutiny. For example, the naturalasymmetry of the form and the content indifferent languages is one of such factors.
Let us have a look at the cultural factors, which complicate the process of translation.
A.L Semenov points out that “the quality oftranslation is usually determined by the depth ofknowledge of the translator when dealing withtranslational concordances and discrepanciesin the context. However, it is the context, which quite often causes difficulties in understanding by different cultures» (Semenov, 2005: 32).
Consequences of the Interaction is also very important to be known to the translator.
The process of translation can be viewed asa process of interaction between languages, or as
a language contact (since the translator is always“in the middle”, he\she has to switch betweentwo (or even more) linguistic codes).
To sum up, it’s necessary to highlight the fact that the factors influencing the process of translation in the course of time result in new changes in the target language. The changes, on the one hand, reflect geopolitical preferences of a particular nation in this or that period of time, on the otherhand, linguistically they act as precious material.
The study of the consequences oflanguage contacts is believed to bring more fruitful resultson the question: how does a language operate inour mind?
4. The english language penetrating Tatar literature
I made my first steps when I was in the 8th form. I attempted to translate fairytales. One of them was by a classical writer Abdullah Alish “Slim Waist” (“Нечкәбил”) and another one was Fanis Yarullin’s “The Forest Fairytale” (“Урман Әкияте”).
In order to translate from one language into another you have to know both languages very well, you should be very shrewd to be able to penetrate into the author’s language, whose work you’re translating, and the language into which you’re translating should also be known perfectly. You are to see similarities and peculiarities of two languages both in grammar and vocabulary and the way of writing. Having translated all those extracts I noticed that Tatar authors generally speak to the readers and keep them on focus as if they always want to be in the readers’ mind.
E.g.:“Каршыгызда, менә күрәсезме, нәрсә соң ул, беләсезме?
Шашка шакмаклары төсле тезелеп киткән йортлар. Ул йорталда яшиләр кортлар.
Кортлар? Нинди кортлар?”
(Абдулла Алиш “Нечкәбил”)
And my translation is:
“In front of you, can you see it? Do you know what it is?
Here are houses looking like a chessboard. In these houses insects live.
Insects? What insects?”
(Abdullah Alish “Slim Waist”)
Another example:
“Әллә күрми дә калдыгызмы? Фирүзә шул иде бит инде. Шул үзе Фирүзә. Әйе, көмеш керфекле, ефәк чәчле, ачык йөзле кар бөртеге Фирүзә шул иде.”
(Фәил Шәфигуллин “Фирүзә”)
And my translation is:
“Didn’t you manage to see her? It was Firuza. It was just Firuza. Her eyebrows are silver, her hair is silk and her face is open and clear.”
( Fayeel Shafigullin “Firuza”)
This device is used to draw the reader’s attention.
There are a lot of dialogues in these fairytales, because they are written for kids. Long monologues are not for them as they can’t concentrate for long on the contents of them. Dialogues are light and easy to percept and read, listen and understand. As a translator, I should get into the Tatar authors’ spirit and keep playful and light mood of their works.
E.g. “Аларның йортларын мәк чәчәге кебек кызылга, үлән төсле яшелгә, ком сыман сарыга, күк төсле зәңгәргә, төрле-төрле матур төсләргә буяганнар. Әнә зәп-зәңгәр офык читеннән, көлә-көлә, алтын кояш та күтәрелә. Аның шаян нурлары, җиз уклары умарта өйләренең стеналарына тияләр дә:
- Торыгыз, торыгыз, эшкә тотыныгыз, - дияләр.”
(Абдулла Алиш “Нечкәбил”)
And my translation is:
“Their houses are painted in red like poppy, green like grass, yellow like sand, blue like the sky and other different beautiful colours. Here is the smiling sun rising from the edge of the blue skyline. Its cheerful rays like brass arrows touch the walls of the bee’s houses and say:
(Abdullah Alish “Slim Waist”)
A tremendous amount of Tatar epithets, metaphors and similes are expressed in the English language which are also popular in it.
E.g.:”‘Хәйләкәр төлкедән сорап карыйк, аның дөньда белмәгән нәрсәсе булмас’ – дип уйлаган ул һәм алгы тәпиен авызына кабып бик каты сызгырган. Аның сызгыруын гына көткәндәй, куаклар арасыннан атылып-бәрелеп Төлке килеп чыккан.”
(Фәнис Яруллин “Урман Әкияте”)
And my translation is:
“ ‘I can ask the sly Fox, there is nothing in the world he doesn’t know’ – he thought and put the front pad into his mouth and whistled hard. The Fox, as if he had just waited for it, jumped out of the bushes.”
(Fanis Yarullin “The forest fairytale”)
In 2015 I participated in such a really exciting contest named after Sharaf Mudarris and won the 1st prize. I’m very fond of translating fairytales and Shafigullin’s “Firuza” (“Фирүзә”) was also a good example to test my skills of translation.
Translating Ramis Aimat’s poem was a striking experience. Aimat’s poem is a combination of an incredible lightness of style, aspiring flight of rhythm, original images and at the same time – it brings a deep philosophical profundity, rich semantic concentration, great range of human’s feelings. His poem “One Reminiscence” is extremely interesting in its composition. Aimat doesn’t speak of faraway moments as a simple narrator; the poet concentrates on his past emotions and feelings that torture him. After having translated Ramis Aimat’s poem “One Reminiscence” I was impressed and mesmerized. It was both complicated and exciting.
E.g. “Искә төшә... Инде онытылды дип,
Уйлыйсың да, кабат яңара.
Җилләр җан индергән учак кебек.
Тотына ул узган яшьлегемнең
Садә минутларын санарга.”
(Рәмис Аймәт)
My translation is:
“It comes back… after it is forgotten
You think.
And with a new force it returns
As if the wind awakens the sleeping fire.
And helps to break it out again
And it begins to count
The moments of my youth
That had passed long-long ago.”
(Ramis Aimat “One Reminiscence”)
Shafigullin’s “Firuza” attracts you with the way of writing and involving the reader into his work. It is full of special features as it is closely concerned to the author’s writing style.
Despite the children’s language, anyway, there are moments when it is difficult to express some Tatar cultural peculiarities into English. These factors complicate the process of translation.
E.g. “һай, шаян абый” was translated as “hey, man’ (because it can’t be an “uncle”);
“кунам-кунам” as “was about to fall down”;
“орынам-орынам” as “was going to touch” ;
“ыгы-зыгыда” as “in a great mess”.
The most important and essential stylistic device, that Shafigullin uses the whole story long, is a dialogue between the reader and the story-teller.
In future I would like to keep on translating Tatar works into English, because there are a lot of English speaking people and they are to know Tatar people with its cultural heritage. I would like to devote my life to introducing the Tatars to the whole world.
Literature of all nationalities is a mirror that reflects their habitats, their way of living, their customs and traditions and their cuisine.
5. Similarities and peculiarities of two languages
The process of translation has a lot of peculiarities in its structure.
1. Firstly, Tatar authors mostly speak to readers in order to keep them tightly on focus and to make them being absorbed w/ their narration.
2. Secondly, such constructions as 'USED TO' and 'WOULD' are widely used my translation in order to show repeated actions in the past. E.g. USED TO
E.g. “Әкияттәге ике бала кебек,
Каен башларына үрмәләп,
Ике штансыз малай дөнья белән
Танышып йөргән идек бергәләп...”
‘Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
We used to climb the birches' tops,
Two pantless boys
Get acquainted with the world…’
E.g. USED TO
“Әкияттәге ике бала кебек –
Икебез дә кара борынлы,
Зурлар кебек, кулны артка куеп,
Йөри идек таптап болынны...”
‘Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
Both with black noses,
We used to walk trampling the meadow,
Grabbing hands behind a back like adults did…’
E.g. WOULD
‘Кем уйлаган шушы шаярулар
Синдә кәсеп булып калыр дип,
Уйнап башланган эш тормышыңны
Һәлакәткә алып барыр дип...’
‘ Who could even imagine, those games
Would remain in you as a lifestyle,
Starting a playful childhood
Would lead you to a complete failure...’
The emphasize with a help of DO, DID are also used in my translations. The author's deep sorrow about Mokamai, his friend, is reasonably expressed by DO, DID emphatic phrases of the English language. While translating Tatar works into English, both languages must closely come into contact in achieving the best result. We should penetrate in peculiarities of both languages taking into account their GRAMMAR and VOCABULARY.
E.g. “Ник, Мокамай, соң син тормышыңны
Чабатаңдай матур үрмәдең!!.
Син гомереңне усал исем белән,
Канлы пычак белән чикләдең”
‘Why, Mokamai, you couldn’t arrange your life as skillfully
As you did weave your bast-shoes?!.
You did paint your life with a grey name
And a red bloody knife...’
3. Thirdly, Complex subject was widely used in the translation of Nabi Dauli's work 'Between Life&Death'.
E.g.
“Аның сүзләрен аңлап җитмәдем бугай...”
“I didn’t seem to realize what he had said…”
“Мин биредәге авырулар, яралыларның гөмере өчен үземне җаваплы саныйм.”
“I am supposed to be responsible for the lives of the sick and the wounded.”
“Василий Петрович чыннан да доктор булып чыкты.”
“Vasiliy Petrovich turned out to be a real doctor.”
“Ул Казанның бик күп урыннарын, хәттә шәһәр читендәге күлләрен дә белә икән.”
“He happened to know a lot of places of Kazan, even the lakes in its suburbs.”
Thanks to all these happy findings we came up closely to the language of Tatar authors. The goal was to arouse the same emotions in the souls of English-speaking people. All these peculiarities can be successfully used in any other translations.
Authors of different cultures depict even the appearance and features of characters of the nation they belong to.
6. Enclosures
My translations are enclosed into this so-called scientific research.
Һади Такташ
Мокамай
Белмим,
Әллә күпкә,
Әллә бик озакка,
Ахры, мәңге онта алмамын
Тамбов урманнары уртасында
Усак яфраклары шаулавын...
Алар мәңге минем хыялымда
Шаулый-шаулый яфрак ярырлар,
Карт имәннәр, калмый минем арттан,
Кая барсам, озатып барырлар...
Бер җирдә юк андый урманнар,
Бер җирдә юк камыш сабаклары –
Андагыдай шаулый торганнар...
Әкияттәге ике бала кебек,
Каен башларына үрмәләп,
Ике штансыз малай дөнья белән
Танышып йөргән идек бергәләп...
Беребез сары чәчле, беребез – кара:
Сары чәчлесе – ул мин идем;
Кара чәчле, коңгырт кара күзле,
Кәкре аяклы дустым, җанкисәгем,
Ул, Мокамай бәгърем, син идең...
Ак каенга аслып менгән кебек,
Мин тормышта һаман яктыга,
Югарыга табан юл алдым;
Менгән саен җирнең матурлыгын,
Яктылыгын күбрәк күралдым...
Ә син менәдмәдең,
Калдың,
Югалдың...
Әкияттәге ике бала кебек –
Икебез дә кара борынлы,
Зурлар кебек, кулны артка куеп,
Йөри идек таптап болынны...
Һәрбер нәрсә безгә яңа иде,
Һәрнәрсәгә исебез китә иде,
Бернәрсә дә бездән качмый иде,
Бар нәрсәгә кулыбыз җитә иде...
Күпме кыен күрдек шуның өчен,
Күпме тал чыбыгы ашадык;
Әкияттәге ике бала кебек,
Күпме “җафа чигеп” яшәдек...
Кем уйлаган шушы шаярулар
Синдә кәсеп булып калыр дип,
Уйнап башланган эш тормышыңны
Һәлакәткә алып барыр дип...
Хат язсам да хәзер соңга калдым,
Укымассың минем хатымны,
Ләкин минем бурчым, Мөхәммәтҗан,
Йөлу синең яман атыңны!
Син гомереңне усал исем белән,
Канлы пычак белән чикләдең...
Әллә ничек булды синең гомер,
Син, Мокамай, әллә нишләдең!..
Әкияттәге ике бала кебек,
Каен башларына үрмәләп,
Ике штансыз малай дөнья белән
Танышып йөргән идек бергәләп...
Ак каенга аслып менгән кебек,
Мин тормышта һаман яктыга,
Югарыга табан юл алдым;
Менгән саен җирнең матурлыгын,
Яктылыгын күбрәк күралдым...
Ә син менәлмәдең...
Калдың, югалдың...
Үткәннәрем авыр әкият минем, -
Ул әкиятне әгәр сөйләгәндә,
Чаглып китсә синең күләгәң,
Юк, юк,
Мин ант итәм: һичбер вакытта да
Сине карак итеп сөйләмәм...
Син яшәргә хаклы кеше идең,
Син яшәргә җирдә теләдең.
Тик син ачлык тырнагыннан,
Түбәнлектән
Чыгу юлын гына белмәдең...
Ә бит
Бергә чабаталар үреп йөргән чакта,
Син остарак миннән үрәйдең,
Минем матур итеп үрәлмәүне
Булдыксызлыгымнан күрәйдең...
Ник соң бу болай булды әле,
Ничек һәлакәтең күрмәдең,
Ник, Мокамай, соң син тормышыңны
Чабатаңдай матур үрмәдең!!.
Син гомереңне усал исем белән,
Канлы пычак белән чикләдең;
Әллә ничек булды синең гомер,
Син, Мокамай, әллә нишләдең!..
Ә бит безнең гомер матур урманнарда
Май аедай матур башланды;
Әкияттәге ике бала кебек,
Икебез ике якка ташланды...
Синең тормыш авыр әкият булды,
Ул әкиятең соңгы битләрен
Син зур исем, мәңге онытылмаслык
Эшләр белән бизәп китмәдең...
Син адаштың,
Ләкин син яхшы идең,
Синең яхшы иде күңелең,
Тик белмәдең тормыш баткагыннан
Ялгыз чыгу мөмкин түгелен...
Син белмәдең,
Кешеләр җирдә тормыш баткагыннан
Чыгу юлын бергә эзлиләр;
Ялгыз калып, ачтан үлмәс өчен
Күмәк тормыш җирдә төзиләр...
Үткәнемне әкият итеп сөйләгәндә,
Чаглып китсә синең күләгәң,
Юк, Мокамай, һичбер вакытта да
Сине усал итеп сөйләмәм...
Син ярлы идең, ләкин эш сөя идең,
Синең яхшы иде күңелең, -
Син белмәдең сыйнфый бөлгенлектән
Алай чыгу мөмкин түгелен...
Khadi Taktash
Mokamai
Translated by Guzel Nurullina,
Student 10B, School No.139
I don't know,
Whether for a while,
Or forever,
Maybe, I will never forget
The rustle of aspen leaves
In the centre of Tambov's forests...
They are forever in my dreams -
Ever rustling with leaves coming out,
The old oaks are chasing me,
Wherever I go, I am always in their company...
There are no such birches,
There are no such forests,
There are no such reeds —
Here is the only place to hear such rustles.
Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
We used to climb the birches' tops,
Two pantless boys
Get acquainted with the world…
One of us was fair-haired, the other one was dark,
The fair one was me,
The dark-haired and brown eyed,
My bandy-legged friend, my soulmate,
Were you, Mokamai, my sincere friend…
Like going up a white birch,
I've always strived for the light
And the best.
Every step up let me see
The beauty and the light more and more...
But you couldn't climb upwards,
You were stuck below,
You were lost...
Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
Both with black noses,
We used to walk trampling the meadow,
Grabbing hands behind a back like adults did…
And everything was new for us,
And everything drew our attention,
Nothing slipped away from greedy eyes,
We devoured everything on our way…
What hardships we did face because of it,
How many willow rods we did taste,
Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
We did live right through the torture...
Who could even imagine, those games
Would remain in you as a lifestyle,
Starting a playful childhood
Would lead you to a complete failure...
Writing a letter is too late now,
As you won't read, I know,
But my duty, Mohatzhan,
Is to justify your mean action!
You did paint your life with a grey name,
And a red bloody knife...
Your life was full of mess,
What have you done, Mokamai!..
Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
We used to climb the birches' tops,
Two pantless boys
Get acquainted with the world…
Like going up a white birch
I've always strived for the light
And the best.
Every step up let me see
The beauty and the light more and more.
But you couldn't climb…
You were stuck, you were lost downwards...
My past is an oppressive story,
So when the story is told
And your shadow flashes there,
No, no,
I swear: I'm never saying
A word of you being a thief...
You were a human deserved to live,
You longed for life on the Earth.
But you didn't know the way out
Of claws of starvation,
And disgrace...
But do you remember
A time, when we weaved bast-shoes together
You coped with it more skillfully,
And you did think of me incapable
Because of my awful job...
Why everything had to end like that,
Why didn't you see your downfall?
Why, Mokamai, you couldn’t arrange your life as skillfully
As you did weave your bast-shoes?!.
You did paint your life with a grey name
And a red bloody knife...
Your life was full of mess,
What have you done, Mokamai!..
Our life happened to begin in beautiful forests,
As fascinating as spring May days,
Just like two boys from a fairy tale,
We were thrown away to different sides...
Your life was an oppressive story,
You failed to paint the last pages of the tale
With a bright name and memorable work...
You lost your way,
But you were kind,
Your soul was pure,
How sorry I am, you weren’t aware,
Of getting out of life’s quagmire
Was really challenging when you were alone...
You weren't aware
That people seek a way out of troubles together
In order to never die from hunger
They build a common life on the Earth...
And when the story of mine is told like a tale
And your shadow flashes there,
No, Mokamai, I swear, I'm never
Saying a bad word of you...
You were poverty-stricken, but willing to work,
Your soul was fairly pure,
The only thing that you didn't know
Was not the way you had chosen…
