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Dalita Naaniis

March 10th, 2012 by naren bedide

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. 

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