Il-Professur Manwel Mifsud dwar Fra Mudest (f’għeluq l-40 sena)

Tul 40 sena li fihom id-dinja nbidlet bis-sħiħ, kull awtorità ddaħħlet fi kriżi, u l-fehmiet u l-gosti tal-Maltin inqalbu ta’ taħt fuq, Fra Mudest bil-karattru ferrieħi, b’dik id-daħka simpatika tiegħu, baqa’ jmiss qlub il-qarrejja, baqa’ jilħaq dik ir-rokna f’qalbhom li – minkejja kollox – tixtieq is-sempliċità, il-ġenwinità. Baqa’ xhieda ta’ kontinwità u punt ta’ riferiment iktar importanti milli naħsbu. 

Ittra mingħand il-mibki Prof. Oliver Friġġieri, f’għeluq il-50 sena tal-Fra.

‘inti  wellidt  karattru  li  llum  sar  famuz  u  emblematiku,  u  li  nistħajlu,  bħal  Pinocchio,  jimpika  miegħek.  Għandek  tassew  għalfejn  tkun  hieni  u  kburi  li  rnexxielek  tul  dawn  is-snin  kollha  twelled  u  tagħti  lill-poplu  Malti  karattru  li  hu,  daqskemm  ma  huwiex,  tat-tfal.  

Persuna interġenerazzjoali li kiber ma ’ġenerazzjonijiet sħaħ.  

Fil-persunaġġ  tiegħek  nara   Malti  medju  oriġinali,  li  jdaħħak  u  ma  jifraħx  dejjem,  u  li  taħt  l-inġenwità  tiegħu  irnexxielek  tinserixxi  moħħ  matur  u  qalb  intensa.  F'dan  id-dawl  fil-persunaġġ  tiegħek  hemm  xi  ħadd  li  hu  u  ma  hux  'modest'.  Irnexxielek  toħloq  suċċessur  modern  ta'  karattru  klassiku,  bħal  Ġaħan,  imma  li  hu  wisq  aktar   kumpless  u  paradossali  minn  Ġaħan.’

Silta minn artiklu miktub mill-Prof. Ġorg Mallia fil-ħarġa speċjali dwar Fra Mudest (40 sena Fra Mudest) 2007

‘Nemmen ukoll li ma’ Fra Mudest qegħdin nikkommemoraw  it-twelid tal-letteratura moderna għat-tfal Maltin, għax il-ħolqien ta’ wieħed hu mżewweġ mal-bidu tal-oħra.’

In Ruħu Dejjem Tfittex,  I tried to explain how Charles Casha gives such a job to Maltese literature. He creates a poetic prInovince through the art of language: all possible ideas, human actions, and feelings in the common world are placed in a fitting relationship with the readers’ general sensibility. When I read his poetry I frequently feel that my consciousness is being invaded by an existence that is similar to my state. Casha’s poetic function is not merely to experience the poetic situation, but to create it also in his readers. And in my book I touched on the transcendent assets of virtues and elegance that develop in his poetic mind.

 

Then in his creative prose (novels and short stories) Casha is mostly concerned with common contemporary reality to describe subjects and attitudes. Prose for him is a vehicle of the consciousness that must be directed towards assessing the quality of life in terms of the characteristics of the people found in the narratives. The whole range of his writing offers a valuing of personal life that attends to the general human life. Furthermore, his books for children are full of stories which provide a rich source for probing the young audience’s imaginative responses to literary situations. Even his humour, at times wittily compact, is a verbally elated flowering of comic situations – as found in the stories of the unforgettable Fra Mudest. I tried to show all these artistic efforts through language in Ruħu Dejjem Tfittex.

Professor Charles Briffa