Lögberg-Heimskringla - 07.10.1965, Blaðsíða 4

4
LÖ.GBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, FIMMTUDAGINN 7. OKTÓBER
Lögberg-Heimskringla
Published every Thursday by
NORTH AMERICAN PUBLISHING CO. LTD.
Printed by
WALLINGFORD PRESS LTD.
303 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg 2, Man.
Editor and Business Manager: INGIBJÖRG JÓNSSON
Boord of Directors' Executive Committee
President, Grettir L. Johannson; Vice-President, Grettir Eggertson; Secretary,
S. Aleck Thorarinson; Treasurer, K. Wilhelm Johannson.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Winnipeg: Dr. P. H. T. Thorlakson, chairman, Haraldur Bessason, Rev. Valdimar
J. Eylands. Caroline Gunnarsson, Johann G. Johannson, Thorvaldur Johnson,
Jakob F. Kristjansson, Rev. Philip M. Petursson. Voncouver: Dr. S. E. Bjornsson.
Boulder, Col.: Askell Love. Minneopolis: Valdimar Bjornsson. Grond Forks:
Richard Beck. Reykjovik: Birgir Thorlacius. Akureyri: Steindor Steindorsson.
London: Dr. Karl Strand.
Subscriplion $6.00 per year—payable in advance.
TELEPHONE WH. 3-9931
Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa,
and for payment of Postage in cash.
Þótt sól ei skíni, er bros þitt birta nóg,
ei bjarmi af degi, ei tindri stjarna um nótt.
Þótt máninn hverfi og suddi sígi að drótt
og sveipi loftið, er mér hugar fró
með þér að vera, er veg minn ruddi og bjó.
Þú vattst þér mjúkt sem hind um þykknið skjótt.
Þitt bros var ljós, er lýsti og jók minn þrótt,
en leiður efi og hik á burtu fló.
Bros þitt er milt og tígið, trútt og hlýtt,
ég teiga lífsins drykk úr augum þín.
Mín ljúfa ást, ver leiðarstjarnan mín
á lífsins vegi gegnum blítt og strítt,
hver dáð, sem ég hef drýgt og öðrum 'nýtt,
drottning míns lífs, í þínu ljósi skín.
Síðasta kveðjan
Nokkur minningarorð um
dr. Alexander Jóhannesson prófessor.
DR. RICHARD BECK:
Seinasta bókasendingin, sem
mér barst frá dr. Alexander
Jóhannessyni prófessor, —
ein af mörgum og kærkomn-
um —, var safn þýðinga hans
af íslenzkum ljóðum á þýzku,
Gruss aus Island (Kveðja
frá íslandi), er út kom stuttu
áður en hann lézt. Þessi fal-
lega bók, hlýlega árituð, var
síðasta kveðjan frá honum
yfir hafið. Jafnframt var hún
hjartaheit kveðja frá ættjörð-
inni sjálfri, í völdum ljóðum
og ljóðabrotum eftir mörg
beztu skáld hennar, aðallega
frá 19. og 20. öldinni. íslenzku
textamir og þýðingarnar eru
prentuð hlið við hlið í bók-
inni; fer vel á því, og eykur
fróðleiksgildi hennar.
Er þar að finna ýmis feg-
urstu og þekktustu kvæði,
eða kafla úr slíkum kvæðum,
umræddra skálda, og eigi
ósjaldan Ijóðrænustu kvæði
þeirra, og um leið þau, er
bezt hafa náð eyrum þjóðar-
innar undir vinsælum lögum
íslenzkra tónskálda. Þeirra er
jafnframt getið við hvert
kvæði, þar sem þannig stend-
ur á, og eykur það landkynn-
ingargildi ljóðasafnsins.
Kvæðavalið ber órækan
vott næmum ljóðsmekk dr.
Alexanders og fegurðarást
hans. Þýðingarnar eru einnig
prýðisvel af hendi leystar,
um nákvæmni í hugsun, ljóð-
blæ og málfar, og bera því
vitni, hve dr. Alexander lá
þýzkt mál létt á tungu.
Dr. Hallgrímur Helgason
tónskáld ritar góðan og gagn-
orðan formála. Leggur hann
réttilega áherzlu á það, að
þýðingasafn þetta sé enn nýr
þáttur og merkilegur í þeirri
ævilöngu viðleitni dr.
Alexanders að treysta vináttu-
og menningarböndin milli
Þýzkalands og Islands.
Sjálfur var dr. Alexander
gæddur góðri skáldgáfu, en
lagði litla rækt við frum-
samda ljóðagerð; helgaði sína
miklu hæfileika og starfsorku
víðtækum fræðiiðkunum og
ritstörfum, samhliða umfangs-
miklum störfum á sviði ís-
lenzkra menningarmála, og
ber þar hæst eins og alkunn-
ugt er, ómetanlega starfsemi
hans í þágu Háskóla íslands.
Eigi að síður bera íslenzkar
og þýzkar þýðingar hans gott
vitni meðfæddri skáldgáfu
hans. En ágætt dæmi þess,
hvernig hann gat ort, þegar
því var að skipta, er hið fram-
úrskarandi orðhaga og mynd-
ríka kvæði hans „Flugferð“,
lýsing á flugferð frá Akureyri
til Reykjavíkur, er að verð-
ugu skipaði öndvegi í Eim-
reiðinni apríl-júní 1929. I því
sambandi má og á það minna,
að dr. Alexander var einn af
frumherjunum á sviði ís-
lenzkra flugmála.
Hann var maður víðkunn-
ur utan íslands stranda, og þá
sérstaklega í hópi fræði-
manna, fyrir málvísindaleg
rit sín og róttækar kenningar
sínar um uppruna tungumála.
Verður mér ofarlega í huga
minningin um ræðu, sem ég
heyrði hann flytja um það
mikla áhugaefni sitt. Það var
í för hans vestur um haf til
Bandaríkjanna og Kanada
fyrir allmörgum árum. Flutti
hann þá fyrirlestra víðsvegar
í háskólum, meðal annars í
Ríkisháskólanum í Norður-
Dakota (University of North
Dakota), í veizlu, sem háskól-
inn hélt honum til heiðurs.
Flutti hann þar blaðalaust (að
sjálfsögðu á ensku) erindi um
kenningar sínar um uppruna
tungumála, og gerði það með
svo mikilli snilld, að áheyr-
endur, er flestir voru háskóla-
kennarar, dáðust að mála-
flutningi hans og framkomu
allri. Höfðu þeir margir orð
á því við mig, hve ísland ætti
þar glæsilegan fulltrúa og
fræðafrömuð.
Fyrir rúmum áratug kom í
Eimreiðinni, ásamt frum-
kvæðinu á enskunni, þýðing
eftir dr. Alexander á snjallri
sonnettu eftir hinn kunna
vin íslands og allra Norður-
landa, dr. Henry Goddard
Leach í New York. Nefnist
sonnettu eftir hinn kunna
Well Blazed Trail“, en dr.
Alexander hefir valið þýð-
ingunni heitið „Ljós vega
minna“, og er hún á þessa
leið:
Þýðing þessi er prýðilega
vel gerð, nær ágætlega hugs-
un frumtextans, myndauðugu
málfari hans, og öllum svip
hans. í ljóði þessu speglast
einnig fagurlega lífsspeki
hugsjóna- og athafnamanns-
sins Alexanders Jóhanesson-
THORVALDUR JOHNSON:
ar, er setti markið hátt, hvarf
eigi frá því, þó að á brattann
væri að sækja, og bar þess
vegna gæfu til þess, að sjá
margar fegurstu hugsjónir
sínar verða að varanlegum
veruleika í ríkum mæli.
of his relatives would take us
to a restaurant. We accepted
his suggestion and were
driven to a restaurant where
we satisfied our appetites by
eating a huge meal including
some of the delicacies
proposed by the young man
who accompanied us. When
we tried to pay the bill we
found, to our embarrassment,
that it had already been paid.
We had eaten the meal at the
expense of our host.
Next morning while we
were waiting for breakfast
in the big downstairs living
room (forty feet by 22 accord-
ing to my pacing) Dr. Kohli
regaled us with a hair-raising
account of his escape to India
from Lyallpur (in what is
now West Pakistan) at the
time of partition, in 1947. He
and his sister escaped massa-
cre only by a combination of
cunning and luck.
After breakfast Mr. Bashin
suggested that we should take
a look at the Ganges River
and the river temples only a
short distance from the house.
We drove as far as we could
and then walked down the
bank to the river. The Ganges,
though a wide river, was
unimpressive at this time of
year. Most of the river
channel was dry but there
was a stretch of water, per-
haps seventy-five yards wide,
along the bank and in this
people were wading and col-
lecting the holy water in glass
vessels to take home with
them. I asked what they did
with the water and was told
that when a man was dying
some of it was poured into
his mouth. The river front
was lined with temples, none
of them impressive. A certain
number of pilgrims were
praying in front of the
shrines or begging the gods
for help in loud voices.
Flower stalls were every-
where in the narrow lanes
between the temples and the
sale of flowers was brisk.
The pilgrims bought the
flowers and laid the
flowers or petals from them
on the shrines of the various
gods. Holy (presumably)
men with faces, especially
the foreheads, painted, were
common, many walking
about with a minimum of
clothes. Kanpur, though a
place of worship, does not
compare with Benares lower
down the river.
It was now time for Andy
and Dr. Kohli to attend the
meeting which was the reason
for the trip to Kanpur. On
returning to the car we drove
to the experiment station
outside the city. As I was
not concerned in the discus-
sions with the officials it was
suggested that I be taken for
a drive to see the sights of
Kanpur, and one of the
Glimpses Of Pakistan
IV. TRIP TO KANPUR
(India)
On November 19, while
Andy (Dr. R. G. Anderson)
and I were having lunch in
his house in New Delhi the
driver arrived) with the
Mercedes Benz. Half an hour
later, at 3 o’clock, we drove
off and, having picked up
Dr. Kolhi at the office, were
on our way to Kanpur.
It was a long, dusty 300
mile drive. Time and again,
as we met traffic, we had to
come to a stop and wait until
the cloud of dust drifted
away. The road was much
like the roads I was ac-
customed to in Pakistan: a
narrow stretch of asphalt in
the middle with broad dusty
lanes on each side along
which the bullock carts, more
numerous than I had seen
elsewhere, travelled, often in
groups of half a dozen or
more. As in Pakistan, trees
were planted on both sides.
Some things I noticed that I
had not seen before. Peacocks
scurried across the road here
and there. Monkeys, which
are not harmed in India,
could now and then be seen
in the trees or on the road.
And one sight not seen in
Pakistan: pigs feeding in the
fields or driven along the
road. Some of these were of
the ‘razor-back’ type, evident-
ly not far removed from the
wild boar.
I became tired, not so much
from the six and a half hour
drive as from the non-stop
conversation with Dr. Kohli
who sat in the back seat with
me. Later, Andy asked how I
stood up to it. He said that
was a question he was asked
after his first long drive with
him.
It was 9.30 when we drove
into Kanpur, known in
British times as Cawnpore.
Dr. Kohli had telephoned his
relatives to ask them to
reserve rooms for us in a
hotel. So when we drove
through a wrought-iron gate-
way and around a fountain
and stopped before a large,
well-lit two-storey building I
expected we were pulling up
to a hotel. However, this
turned out to be the residence
of Dr. Kohli’s relatives.
Several people came out to
welcome us and our baggage
was taken inside where we
wefe introduced to Mr.
Bashin who occupied the
upper floor and insisted we
were to be his guests. It was
explained that he was the
leading advocate of Kanpur
and president of the Bar
Association and part owner of
the chief English newspaper
of the region, published in
Lucknow.
Our luggage was deposited
in a big bedroom with two
double beds and a large ad-
joining bathroom. Then we
were invited into the living
room where tea was served.
After tea I pulled out a
cigarette, but Mr. Bashin,
who had been conversing
with us, insisted that Andy
and I must try his Indian
cigars. He pressed us so
eagerly that although I
assured him I had not smoked
cigars for years I finally ac-
cepted one, much to my
subsequent embarrassment:
for, when I held my lighter
to the cigar nothing happened.
I tried a match with the same
results. On examining the
cigar I found that the
wrapper was so wormeaten
that the cigar would not
draw. There was nothing to
be done except to keep it out
of sight as much as possible.
Presently Mr. Bashin re-
marked that we must have
something to eat. Dinner was
over but he told us that one