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Posts Tagged ‘Kancha Ilaiah’

Gongadi

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Suddenly

if the sky sends a heavy downpour

you will gape in surprise, get drenched

I will spread my rug over my head

and beam like a lotus leaf on the ocean;

If you need fire in that storm

you'll stand on your head and do penance

to find a matchstick

I will produce my piece of flint

and a little cotton

and start a fire in an instant;

In winter, when you get the shivers

you'll roll on the ground begging God to save you

I use the the scissors from my Kammari* brother,

shear wool from my sheep

and weave a rug to wrap myself!

You grew into landlords from the crops

grown with my flock's shit

I offered you my sheep, raised like a child, for your feast

but you called me a crazy golla**;

You bania rascals!

Now I've come into the street,

my gongadi+ on my shoulder and holding my stick,

Now I shall watch over men not sheep

Now I shall fertilize the nation not fields

I''ll wrap my gongadi around this nation

shivering from your atrocities!

I can not only watch over sheep,

I also know how to cut down useless ones!

 

My translation of Kancha Ilaiah's Telugu poem 'gongaDi' (from the collection of Dalit poetry 'padunekkina paaTa' )

 

* Kammari: blacksmith.

** Golla: here, it means 'shepherd'. 'Crazy golla' refers to a popular stereotype, a negative trait (stubbornness etc) attributed to people from the communities raising livestock.

+ Gongadi: or gongali (pronounced gongaDi and gongaLi respectively)., rug or blanket made of coarse material (like sheep's wool).

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