Poetry in translation
Or transcreated
Or through interpretation?
Which is what?
Is it a song sung
By different singers?
The heart is the same
But the narrative is different.
The lore varies from
Land to land
If we give tonal effects
To speaking Hindi
Stylistically,
If Goethe’s Shakuntala
Is a German.
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The poet too is not less than a politician
But asks others to call him a scholarAt the cost of the domestic front,The money which he had to on familySpends he for poetry’s sakeAs for to be famous,People will know him,Read his poetryWhen he will be no more in this world,But who has seen that,Which his family goes negating and contradicting,As for what does…
Dark Daughter-
Tell me, tell me, who you are,What your identity, where your home,Who your parentsAs see youAs the sculptures and figurinesLying on the entranceOf the terracotta temples,Into the mist of the starlit skies,Dark and lonely,Stand you,All alone,Away from homes,Nostalgic, homesick and reminiscent ofYour small, small brothers and sisters?Dark daughter, tell you, tell you,Who you are, what…
Bapuji’s red-mouthed banars, I mean small and simple monkeys,
Small and lovely,Scratching the hairsWith the bizarre and grotesque red face.Do not see bad, do not speak bad, do not hear badAnd they are so,With the hands over the eyes,The hands on the lipsAnd over the ears.This is all about Gandhiji, not Shastriji,A Sahityacharya, Vyakarnacharya or JyotishacharyaFrom a Hindi or Sanskrit Vidyapitha,A linguistical vernacular university…
O Himalayas,
And magnificent,Sky-kissing,Raising tall and erectAbout,About the deathsIn snow,Snow,Lofty, grand and gigantic,Rising high and high,Erect tallAbout,About the deaths,Deaths of the climbers,MountaineersFrom far and wideAdventuring into the domainsOf yours,Snow-capped and impassable,Gigantic and impregnable,O Himalayas,Himalayas,Tell me,Tell me aboutThe climbersAnd mountaineersLost and forgottenAnd the message,Message to be sent,Sent to their bereaved familiesWaiting,Waiting for so long,O,O Himalayas,Standing erect and tall,Turning…
The jury is right,
In rescindingThe award,The Nelly Sachs PrizeAs she is anti-Israel,Community-based,Minority-combing.Whether she moves toBritain or America,She is but a Pakistani Muslim,She cannot discern her temperament.
When I see their sorrow
How less is it my sorrowThan those of theirs?When think I of my sorrow!