For writer Uthaya Sankar SB, sharing Indian folklore and classics with fellow Malaysians is a joy.
HE’s a man
of many talents, and when he begins talking about his colourful career, writer Uthaya Sankar SB’s eyes
light up and he becomes very animated. He is obviously passionate about sharing
stories, as well as the joys of language and communication, with
those around him.
“I
grew up in the 1970s in Aulong Lama, Taiping,
Perak,” he told this writer [Ann Marie Chandy] one
morning over a kopi tarik at a local Indian restaurant in
Petaling Jaya.
“Bahasa Malaysia was the
medium in school
then. I went to a co-ed convent (one of
only two co-ed convents in the country, he
said) and it was just natural for us to use Bahasa Malaysia to communicate with
each other.
Even among my Indian friends, we always spoke in Bahasa instead of Tamil. That
is
the beauty of Bahasa Malaysia for me – it is the language of every Malaysian!”
Though
his mother tongue is Malayalam, and he is fluent in Tamil and English, Uthaya made
the conscious choice to write books in Bahasa Malaysia. He has several publications
under his belt to date – Thirukkural
dan Megha Duta (2018), Ramayana dan Mahabharata (2019),
and Vetalam
dan Vikramaditya (2020) –
through which he hopes
to introduce Indian classics to Malaysian readers.
“I
wanted to retell all these tales I loved so much for
Malaysian readers,” he said in a charming earnestness.
His
latest venture is the retelling – not a translation, he emphasises – of the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred
Hindu scriptures which are part of the epic Mahabharata, dating
back to
200CE.
While
it may shock some who would deem it an overwhelming task, Uthaya has managed to retell the epic,
originally presented in the form of 701 slokas (Sanskrit
poems), in prose form.
The
Bhagavad
Gita has been
translated into more than 75 languages worldwide, and in English alone, there are
reportedly over 300 different versions, according to the writer.
“I
really want the multiracial Malaysian community to be able to read, understand
and enjoy
the Bhagavad
Gita.
It is widely available in English and Tamil, but I would love to see Malaysians appreciating a
Bahasa Malaysia version,” said Uthaya, who managed to complete
the writing of this book in a record 25 days!
Retelling Beloved Tales
The
writer – formerly a news editor at RTM, Bernama Radio 24 and Sinar
Harian as
well as a
part-time lecturer at private colleges – said his books are simple enough for
anyone to
read.
“I
remember reading these classics when I was a kid. There were these children’s magazines, Chandamama
and
Ambulimama,
which
we could get here in Malaysia, in English
and Tamil. I loved reading them but my family couldn’t
afford to buy these. So every time we visited a relative who had them or every
time we went to a bookshop, I would spend all my time
reading these magazines.
“Later
on, when I attended University Malaya, I found
an English version of the Vetalam story
and so I reread it. I found that each version
of the story varied a little and so when I wrote my own Vetalam dan Vikramaditya,
I
decided to cook up some of my own stories using the framework that was already in place.”
Vetalam
dan Vikramaditya, a frame story (meaning there are stories within the
story) features a phantom and a King. Before this book, Uthaya tackled Ramayana
dan Mahabhrata, in which
he wrote a prequel of sorts. Also part of his “Karya Klasik India” series was Thirukkural dan Megha Duta.
“Megha
Duta is
a Sanskrit poem by Kalidas, and details how a yaksha (or nature spirit) has been banished, separated
from his wife. Megha Duta in Sanskrit means Cloud Messenger.
So it literally is about a cloud that has to deliver messages of love to the
yaksha’s
wife. Cloud messaging back in the day!” he laughed.
Uthaya’s
desire to write these stories was simply to inspire people to read and gain knowledge.
“Ramayana
and
Mahabharata
may
be commonly known among all Malaysians,
and the Indian community in particular. Rama, Sita, Hanuman are all
well-known
characters, after all. But not many people have had the chance to read
these
stories in depth, and in simple language. I use very simple Bahasa, so my books
can
be read by the whole family,” he explained.
“There’s
also a feeling of nostalgia for those
who have read these tales in their childhood which I hope my books will
rekindle.”
Uthaya
has made it a goal to publish at least one book a year. He also conducts workshops for writers in both
Bahasa Malaysia and Tamil.
The
Bhagavad Gita manuscript
which he completed at the end of February is slated for a June release. It is a
retelling of the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna (the avatar of Lord Vishnu), in which Krishna gives
his spiritual teachings directly to Arjuna, right before the great
war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas in Kurukshetra.
[Bhagavad Gita in Bahasa Malaysia]
“The
Bhagavad
Gita is
considered a religious text by many. I have enjoyed these texts all through my life, and in many
languages including English, Tamil, Malayalam and Bahasa Indonesia.
I have also read interpretations by various gurus and scholars. You need to
know
a lot of the back story and terms used to fully understand the text. In my
retelling, I
have tried to stay true to the original content and teachings of Krishna, but I
also have taken
the liberty to slip in another character and add a slight twist,” revealed Uthaya.
When
Uthaya casually mooted the idea of retelling the Bhagavad
Gita on
Facebook in
January
2021, there was some backlash from religious groups who felt that it was not
right
for the sacred text to be tampered with. However, many others came forward to
support
this project.
“As
a full-time writer, I have had to depend on social capital, pre-orders and donations to cover my printing cost. The
initial support was so overwhelming that I was very motivated,”
said the writer who has been self-publishing his
books since 2000.
“I
had planned to finish the text in 28 days. Every morning I would read a chapter
(there were 18
chapters in total), as well as different interpretations online and listen to
YouTube videos
to help me understand and digest the text.
“Then
in the evenings I would write out the chapter. The
framework was already in place, and so I was able to complete the project quicker
than I thought. I can’t wait for the book to be out in June.”
His
parting words at this interview? “Baca,
ya?”