Translation from Om Prakash Valmiki's Hindi poem 'Khet Udaas Hain'
The bird is sad
for the emptiness of the forest.
The children are sad
for – hammered like a nail
on the doors of the big houses –
this grief of the bird.
The farm is sad —
that even after a full harvest
he, with mortar on his head,
is going up and down the ladder
against that wall being built.
The girl is sad —
till when can she hide the birth.
And the rented hands
are writing on the wall
'To be sad
is against the spirit of India!'.
खेत उदास हैं / ओमप्रकाश वाल्मीकि
चिड़िया उदास है —
जंगल के खालीपन पर
बच्चे उदास हैं —
भव्य अट्टालिकाओं के
खिड़की–दरवाज़ों में कील की तरह
ठुकी चिड़िया की उदासी पर
खेत उदास हैं —
भरपूर फ़सल के बाद भी
सिर पर तसला रखे हरिया
चढ़–उतर रहा है एक–एक सीढ़ी
ऊँची उठती दीवार पर
लड़की उदास है —
कब तक छिपाकर रखेगी जन्मतिथि
किराये के हाथ
लिख रहे हैं दीवारों पर
'उदास होना
भारतीयता के खिलाफ़ है !'
Source: From here
Akhil Katyal is a writer and translator based in Delhi. He is an Assistant Professor at the Department of English at Shiv Nadar University. He finished his PhD from SOAS, University of London in 2011 and his poetry, fiction and translations have been published widely.