Dev Virahsawmy

Deva Virahsawmy (born 1942 in Quartier Militaire, Mauritius), is a politician, playwright, poet and advocate of the Mauritian Creole language. Though he writes easily in both French and English, Virahsawmy is most renowned for his efforts to popularize the use of Creole.^[1]

Early life

Virahsawmy spent his early childhood in Goodlands but after the death of his mother he went to live with his grandparents at Beau-Bassin.^[2] After having done his secondary education, he went to Scotland at the Edinburgh University to study languages, literature and linguistics.

Political life

Between 1966 and 1987, he was a politician and one of the three leaders of the Mauritian Militant Movement.

Since leaving politics he has concentrated on playwriting. He is associated with the early protest theatre in Mauritius.^[3] Virahsawmy is married to Loga Virahsawmy, a feminist and chairperson of Gender and Media Southern Africa.^[4]

Works

Dev Virahsawmy is known for writing in Morisyen (Mauritian Creole) and translations from English and French to Morisyen.

Drama

• • Li. (préface de Dan Callikan). Rose Hill: MMMSP, 1977; (avec traduction en français de Carpanin Marimoutou, en créole réunionnais de Firmin Lacpatia). Saint-Pierre: les Chemins de la liberté, 1979.
  • Bef dâ disab: pies â de ak. Rose Hill: Edisio MMMSP, 1979.
  • Bef dâ disab. (édition trilingue). Saint-Denis: Mouvement culturel réunionnais, 1980.
  • Linconsing finalay: pies â III ak. Rose Hill: Edisiô Bukié bananié, 1980.
  • Trazedi Sir Kutta-Gram: ên badinaz futâ. Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1980.
  • Zeneral Makbef: pies â III ak. (inspiré par Macbeth, de William Shakespeare). Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1981.
  • Dropadi: teks pu ên trazi-komedi mizikal bazé lor Mahabharata. Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1982.
  • Tâtin Madok: pies â ên ak. Maurice: [s.n.], 1983.
  • Krishna. (Pièce télévisuelle, montée par la MBC, station nationale). Rose Hill, 1983.
  • Zistwar Bisma: Komedi mizikal pu zâfâ. Rose Hill: 1984.
  • Dokter Nipat: pies â III ak. (préface en français par Daniel Baggioni). Port-Louis: Bukié Banané, 1983.
  • Profeser Madli: pies â III ak. Rose Hill: [D. Virahsawmy], 1984.
  • Sir Toby.Port Louis: LPT, 1998.
  • Abs Lemanifik: ên fâtezi â III ak. (préface en français de Daniel Baggioni). Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1985.
  • Toufann: enn fantezi entrwa ak. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané, 1991.
  • Galileo Gonaz: piess an trwa ak. Port-Louis: Ledikasyon pu Travayer, 1996.
  • Dokter Hamlet. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 1996.
  • Hamlet II. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 1996.
  • Mamzel Zann. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 1997.
  • Ziliet ek so Romeo. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 1998.
  • Ti-Marie. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 1998.
  • Dernie vol. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 2003.
  • Tabisman Lir. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 2003.
  • Bistop. Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 2003.

Poetry

• • Disik salé. (préface de D. Callikan). Rose Hill: MMMSP, 1977.
  • Lafime dâ lizie. Rose Hill: MMMSP, 1977; Lafime dâ lizie / Fimé dann zié / Fumées dans les yeux. (édition trilingue: créole mauricien, français, créole réunionnais). La Réunion: les Chemins de la liberté, 1979.
  • Lès lapo kabri gazuyé. (texte en bhojpuri, version française de Carpanin Marimoutou, version créole réunionnaise de Firmin Lacpatia). Saint-Pierre: Mouvement culturel réunionnais, 1980.
  • Trip séré lagorz amaré. (édition trilingue). Saint-Denis: Mouvement culturel réunionnais, 1980.
  • Mo Rapel. Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1980.
  • Lôbraz lavi: soley feneâ. (préface de Jaynarain Meetoo. Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1981.
  • Twa ek mwa. Rose Hill: 1983-1984.
  • Poem pu zâfâ. Rose Hill: 1983-1984.
  • Abs lemanifik: ên fâtezi â III ak. (préface en français de Daniel Baggioni). Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1985.
  • The Walls. (trilingue). Rose Hill: D. Virahsawmy, 1985;The Walls: an operatic poem. (version en anglais) Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1985.
  • Nwar, Nwar, Nwar, do Mama. Rose Hill: Bukié Banané, 1986.
  • Lalang peyna lezo. Rose Hill: [D. Virahsawmy], 1991.
  • Petal ek pikan parsi-parla. Port-Louis: Ledikasyon pu Travayer, 1996.
  • Latchizann pou letan lapli. Port-Louis: Ledikasyon pu Travayer, 1997.
  • Testaman enn metschiss. Port-Louis: Boukié Banané, 1999.
  • Labouzi dan labriz. (In kaye literer). Port-Louis: Boukié Banané, 2002.

Prose

Novels

• Souiv Larout Ziska… Rose Hill: Boukié Banané (site web), 2002.

Essays

• Towards a re-evaluation of Mauritian Creole. Post-Graduate Diploma Dissertation (Applied Linguistics). Edinburgh University, 1967.

Articles

• Literesi an Morisien. Boukié Banané, 2001.
• Aprann Lir ek Ekrir Morisien. Livre electronique. Librairie Le Cygne, 2004.

Translations and adaptations by Dev Virahsawmy

in Morisien

• Enn ta senn dan vid (Much Ado About Nothing), de William Shakespeare. Port-Louis: Ledikasyon pu Travayer, 1995.
• Zil Sezar, de William Shakespeare.
• Trazedi Makbes, de William Shakespeare.
• Tartif Froder, de Molière. Port Louis: Boukié Banané, 1999.
• Zistoir Ti-Prins, d’Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
• Ti-Pier Dezorder (Der Struwwelpeter), de Heinrich Hoffman.

Translations

In English

• The Prisoner of Conscience (Li). Trad. Ramesh Ramdoyal. Moka, Mauritius: Éditions de l’Océan indien, 1982.
• Toufann: A Mauritian Fantasy. Trans. Nisha and Michael Walling. African Theatre: Playwrights and Politics. Eds. Martin Banham, James Gibbs, & Femi Osofisan. Oxford: James Currey and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. 1999: 217–54.
• Dernie Vol / The Last Flight. Trad. Joyce Fortuné-Pope. International Journal of Francophone Studies 13.3-4 (2010): 595-612.

in French

• Toufann; une fantaisie en trois actes. Trad. Dominique Tranquille. (postface de Françoise Lionnet) Port Louis: Educational Production Ltd., 2004.

Influence

Some of the lyrics of Ziskakan are from early poems by Virahsawmy.^[5]

References