A century will end
a new year will arrive
if what's happening now is war
why shouldn't what's arriving be war?
You know the candles you're lighting
are dying
the earthen lamps in your streets
are signs of your darkness
why do you
light up all the festive pandals
while leaving the lamp in your heart unlit?
Yes, until yesterday your hut used to burn to ashes
today, used as firewood in the winter fires lit in your gudem*
you've turned into soot.
It was in Vempenta** that they were burnt alive
you can go on celebrating the festival
until those flames touch us.
With the sharpened knives those babus gave you
cut your bodies into two
to inspire the fistfuls of blood
to flow as canals in your gudems
this new year, take a manusmriti as greeting
from those babus.
To commemorate your happiness
feast
on your children's future cut, like bread, into pieces
as a reflection of the blood
and in place of the body of
Christ.
This is a happy occasion
we shouldn't think about anything
even if the ground under our feet is cutting us
like the teeth of a saw we'll shout in joy
and chase away all the street dogs
to rule the streets tonight.
Students!
Let's sweep
all our university rooms clean
Come, let's heap all those glass shards
on pages torn from our books,
Ambedkar will be born again anyway
to light lamps in our dark rooms
and burn our black lips
with hot coals
to purify them,
love us and leave.
Brothers!
You who ate the first fruits
are you handing over new begging bowls
to the next generation?
Yes this is a new year
so only those who died
are singing the song of war
only that song can guide us.
Men
become lovers of war
not to walk with history
but to run history.
Tried to translate Katti Padma Rao's Telugu poem, 'Greeting' (from his collection of poetry, 'mulla kiriiTam').
*guuDem: Dalit quarter in a village.
** VEmpenTa refers to this incident.
Tags: Kathi Padma Rao