Ayalneh Mulatu:The legendary artist

Ayalneh Mulatu:The legendary artist
BY LEULSEGED WORKU

Born in 1949, Ayalneh Mulatu has a long and varied careers in the arts. A teacher, director, poet,translator and playwright, he wears many hats. After studying in Moscow in the early 1970s, he had held many influential cultural positions in the administrative ladder of the government--- including head of the nation’s Culture and Sports Department from 1980 to 1991.

While in the department,to express gratitude to the world community for its famine relief efforts in Ethiopia he wrote Adey Ababa, a musical drama , which toured Europe and North America. In the early 1990s, Ayalneh was the director of the Addis Ababa University Cultural Center, until for political reasons he was dismissed along with forty other professors in 1993. In 1995, he started the first private theater house in Ethiopia, Candlestick Theater, a small theater house addressing social issues.

Ayaleneh Mulat who is one of Ethiopian famous Authors. He is famous know for translating most of the works of Alexander Pushkin and other famous classic USSR writers. He is also among the originators of the idea of staging world-wide musical play entitled “People to People” . So far all together he has published more than 21 books on social issues. He had crafted and translated innumerable poems (most of which had been read in Moscow's Amharic Radio program 1972-1976), He has produced several TV plays and translated other literary works . Ayalneh Mulat is currently President of Artistic Charitable Association. This writer had a moment of togetherness with him. Enjoy reading.

Q: First I would like to thank you for providing me such a chance. I heard you have translated several books including that of Alexander Pushkin and other writers from the former Soviet Union writers. When and how did you start this translation?

Ayalneh: well, it was accidental. I was a second year student at the then Haileselasse I College. It was a time students were boycotting classes and staging demonstrations revolted by the feudalistic system. Like other students I dropped out of college. Then, I started to teach at Kotebe high school which is now called Kotebe Teachers Training University. This is a school where famous Ethiopian poets and playwrights like Mengestu Lemma, and artist likeAfework Tekel and Ketema Yefru learnt .

Once, while I and my friends were performing a drama in the presence of Hailesellase I. The emperor found our show very much interesting. And as such he facilitated things for us to present the drama at Genet Hotel in the presence of dignitaries. While staging the drama, I met Mengestu Lemma, who is one of the famous Ethiopian poets and playwright and the then chairman of Ethiopian Writers Association(EWA). This opportune moment opened a door for me to pursue a road in the wonderland of art.

Mean while, I was processing a scholarship to America. However, Mengestu refused to send me to America for he believed that if I go to Russia I could better develop my knack for art. Mengestu was a type of man who could tell a talented artist when he saw one. So, he advised me, “You are a talented boy. You are born with a gift for literature. You better go to Russia, a land where relatively speaking literature is accorded great respect. It is the right place for you to get additional knowledge in the field of literature.” He convinced me.

No sooner I went to Russia, I realized Mengestu was right. I saw firsthand Russia ( then USSR) is really a land where every soul is fine-tuned with literature and fine arts. Then, immediate after I arrived at Russia I was given the assignment of producing Moscow's Amharic Radio Program . The program was broadcasted in Amharic twice a week. Since I had to fully utilize the air time and attract listeners, I had to translate poems and other literature works famous Russians. The situation afforded me has created me a better chance to refer and to read different Russian literary works. I was in such system for not less than seven years.

What is more, I found Russia's classic and modern literature had some commonalities with that of Ethiopia. Since most of the literary works were reflections of the lower community they had a direct resemblance with Ethiopian life. And this that was what attracted me more and more to the works of different Russian writers especially, Pushkin. The themes of most of the poems were focused on Marxism, Leninism and revolutionary ideas. By the way, I was not solely confined to translating Russian literary works into Amharic. I was also translating revolutionary Amharic literary works into the Russian language.

Q: As a successful poems translator how do you explain translation?

Ayalneh: Translation is not an easy task. It needs care. If one has a superficial knowledge of the language of the material one is translating from one better not start the task. One must have a good command of both languages. Apart from that one must be acquainted with the cultural backdrop of the community that speaks that particular language. If one doesn't have a proper knowledge one will convey a wrong or shallow information. Besides one must have a literary competence.

What is more, the translator must have self awareness about his area of interest. If he is a poet, it is better for him to translate poems. If he is story writer it is better for him to translate prose. But obviously translating poems is a bit demanding as poems are replete with highly volatile spices.

Q: How do you explain the reading culture of Russians?

Ayalneh: Russians really give respect to literature. They have a good reading culture. There, wherever one goes one sees people reading a book. Before long one sees a little boy reading children book. Russians have a good culture of reading books in the buses and trains.

Q: How about the cultural similarity of Russians and Ethiopians?

Ayalneh: People of the two nations have several things in common. Both of them were fighting feudalism. The majority of both were under the yoke of the feudal. For that reason, most of their literary works proved revolutionary.

Besides,both countries share the same religion and cultural practices. Like that of Ethiopians, Russians are humble and kind. They are always willing to share what they have. Whenever they have something, they hesitate not to share it with others. They don't want to hide what they have. Both people are hospitable. Russian and Ethiopians might have different colors but from my exposure and experience it has dawned on me that people of the two countries share similar values.

Alexander Pushkin is the other important factors that binds the two people together. Pushkin is a hero for Russians. He is considered as the inventor or father of modern Russian literature. Since there is a claim that the ancestors of Pushkin are Ethiopians, Russians have a great respect for Ethiopians. Besides, Russians had proved good friends of Ethiopians during Ethiopia's trying times or crises. While the rest of the world was passive to give humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia during the battle of Adowa, they were the first to help fellow Ethiopians by providing medical care and training.

Q: You are the author 'A glimpse(Survey) of world literature'. How did the idea came into your mind and what is it all about?
Ayalneh: I got inspired to craft the book 'A Survey of World Literature' for want of sufficient texts to teach students in the area of literature. There was also a dearth of references. The language barrier too was another challenge. For that reason, I decided to author in Amharic a book about literary trends bearing poems round the world. The book is written in such a way to show students best revolutionary literary pieces of famous writers.

Q: I think you are among people who take the credit for initiating the idea of organizing fund raising musical show entitled “Hizb lehezb”/ “ People to People” for drought hit citizens. How did that come to your mind?

Ayalneh: During the time some parts of Ethiopia were hard hit by drought and citizens were starving. I had a chance to visit the drought hard hit areas. I was also among the members who produced a documentary about the situation. After recording the film we went to London, for here we hadn't the technology for editing the film. There we rented a lodging from an old lodger. The rental cost included our breakfast. This women used to provide us corn-flex which was my favorite food. For this reason whenever she gave us corn- flex I used to ravenously eat it. Through the window, this old lady was observing us secretly thinking we were famished people. One day I saw her watching me with pity. She wrongly took my love for that corn -flex as a sign of the then hunger in Ethiopia. Understanding her mood I tried to convince her that “It is because I love corn-flex not because I am starved I am gobbling the corn-flex down.” But she could not believe me. It was this incident that convinced me and my friends that something must be done to change the perception of the international community about Ethiopia,though well endowed by nature that was suffering a vicious cycle of drought.

The glorious history of the country which is a pioneer in the ancient civilization notwithstanding, the hunger that attended the then drought was tarnishing the previous image of the nation. Thus, after consulting the issue with concerned organs we started a project.

Hizb lehezb or People to People, beside its agenda of building the image of the country it had also a political agenda. It was a music play or a performing art. In the play there was a girl. And there were also two men who want the girl to be theirs. They were in constant conflict with each other. Whenever one of them attempted to take the girl by force, she will escape and express her feelings through action. Finally, as these two lovers were about to fight with their sword the mother of the girl arrived and asked the reason of the conflict. They told her “ She is the source of the conflict,” turning to her daughter when the mother asked the girl what the problem really is, she on her turn point her finger towards them. Finally, the mother would ask the two lovers whether they had given the girl the chance to choose. Then, the two guys responded “No we did not”. Finally, the mother proposes an idea -- leave the right of choosing to the girl. And they agreed that whoever she chose would be her husband. Then, the girl chose the one whom she doted on. The other threw his sword and turned a friend of his former enemy.

Q: How do you see the role of criticism here for the development of literature?

Ayalneh: Without any question criticism has a great role for literary development. Not only for literature, but also for political as well as economic development of a given country it plays a key role. And critics are the ones who could pick out what is not seen in the eyes of others. In the absence of criticism, the economic development or politics of a nation will turn futile.