In Kannada, it is idiomatic to refer to a well-turned phrase or a startling conceit or words of wisdom as (a) ನುಡಿಮುತ್ತು or nuḍimuttu; a compound-word that translates literally to ‘pearl of speech’ or ‘speech-pearl’ or ‘word-pearl’.
Mined from the seas of Bendre’s poetry, here is a collection of translated word-pearls.
I trust that in the variety of their iridescence, there is one for each of you.
Note: These 31 “word-pictures” are all part of a series I ran on Facebook all through January 2020 — from the 1st to the 31st — as a way to honour (and publicize) Bendre’s incandescent poetry. Most of these pictures were accompanied by a write-up, but I haven’t added those here (for want to space). Should any of you want to read them, please let me know and I will arrange it.
Update (Feb, 2021): Since I first published these, I have revisited them and made slight edits. Perhaps I will change them one of these days. But the reason I mention the matter is because it is illustrative of the process that is translation or transcreation: a continuous striving towards a ‘more perfect rendering’.
Da Ra Bendre in English 