White Jasmine

Every evening she blossoms

Scenting the air with her sweet fragrance

Jasmine of the night.

Haiku Poems and Translation

Haiku poems - those short three lines that convey a world of meaning. But the translations - I'm not so sure. I read some haiku poems today and was baffled by the translations. I remember one haiku, which my mother loves and told me when I was a little girl. It is in my native language, Tamil.

"vizhigal vinmeenagalai varudinalum
viralgalo jannal kambiodu daan"

I wouldn't dare attempt a translation but it goes something  like - although the eyes may caress the stars, (you are merely present on Earth with) your fingers remain on the window grilles. Thus conveying the differences in daydreams or more aptly, mooning over stuff against the hard facts and harsh realities of life. It could also mean the planning yet to be done for some big dreams aspired to be achieved. Although, of course the former meaning is more romantic in a poetic sense.

This is the most famous 300 odd years old poetry in Japan. And the literal translation goes something like

The old pond;
a frog jumps in —
the sound of the water.

Furu ike ya                Old pond!
kawazu tobikomu      frog jumps in
mizu no oto                water’s sound

Do you believe the translations (not the Google translator!) retain the beauty and essence of meaning that is originally intended to be conveyed?