Yes
I am the Madiga tappeta* which hung on the wall until yesterday
Today
I've come to your street
I won't deny that
until yesterday our homes were the graveyards outside the village
But today
we've built the tombs
of our brothers,
killed by your dark shadows,
right in front of your temples.
And now
the tombs which have sprung up in the middle of your village
need a path
you..move!
I gift you
the space
I left outside the village.
My translation of the Telugu poem 'lE…lErA!' by Ram (from the 1996 collection of Dalit poetry 'padunekkina pATa').
* tappeTa: also called Dappu, a drum used by the Madigas. Read more about it here.