Gujarat
is an experiment
to see if a state would grow
when you sow blood
~~~
I've always kept
my heart's doors open
for Dalits
among Brahmins
~~~
Ahimsa
sounded like an atomic explosion:
why wouldn't
the Buddha smile?
~~~
Under the tree
beside the road, near the ghat
god's everywhere
except in the heart
~~~
Ravana
is not a rakshasa
He's a lover
who kisses ten times at once
~~~
Dalits
are a little lucky
there's no Drona
in Ambedkar's story
My translation of some of Netala Pratap Kumar's Telugu naaniis from his collection of poetry 'daLita naaniilu'.
Naaniis are a new form of short poems, somewhat like haikus, that Telugu poets have been experimenting with in the last two decades or so.
Dr Kathi Padma Rao, talking about Pratap Kumar's naaniis, says:
Buddhism is the philosophical foundation of 'daLita naaniis'. Ambedkar vaadam (Ambedkarvad) is its sociology. The idiom is of the Dalit wadas. The expression stems from struggles and conflicts that are a part of life. Reading these aphorisms is like listening to my father, or my uncle, or my grandfather.
Tags: Netala Pratap Kumar