Friday, April 9th, 2010
The Sun's a weaver
with rays as threads
sky as the loom
he weaves the rainbow
The Sun's a hunter
with rays as arrows
the sky his forest
he hunts down cheetahs of darkness
The Sun's a lover
in the first light of millions of rays
he descends from the sky
and loves earth's silent eyes, deeply.
My translation of Sooryudu, a Telugu poem by Dalit poet K.G.Satyamurthy ( 'Sivasagar'). Source: his collection, Sivasagar Kavitvam (1968-2002).
Saturday, April 3rd, 2010
Wherever sound loses
silence wins
after digging for many days
your hands may become sore
but your eyes moisten
soon as you see a little water.
Returning from cutting ribbons at all doors
I realized I had not opened the door to my own room
someone's calling me, repeatedly,
I thought I was being called
I realized later that they were calling themselves.
whenever I climbed up
they invited me with applause
but when I started for the next step
I heard someone asking me to step down.
I roamed all over the garden
a jasmine creeper caught my attention
it had its own personality
whatever it clung to was covered
it could look at the world on its own.
I will win the whole world
some victor
would arrive and win me,
it's useless
therefore
first, I will
win myself
then
I'll run the world.
My attempt at translating the Telugu poem 'Sweeya Mudra' (from the collection 'Bhoomi Bhasha') by Dalit poet and activist Katti Padma Rao.