The Pond, Butterflies and Rainbow – by Dr.Tilak S. Fernando   Recently the surgeon Dr. Athula Withanage translated into Sinhala for the first time, ‘Evgeni Onegin,’ a Russian romantic novel written in verse and a masterpiece of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.  Simultaneously, he translated it into English, making it the 46th English translation. This achievement by Dr. Athula Withanage can be hailed as a historical event, as it was declared impossible to achieve by many authors in the past including the great translator, Oruwala Bandu. This was because of cultural differences and the era (1880) when it was written, as well as the different meaning Alexander Pushkin gave his own poetic words.  Dr. Withanage escaped the shackles of rhyming by producing the masterpiece in Sinhala using the unique form of ‘Nisandas Kavi’.  The books were presented to the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka, and the ...

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