1. Fear Her

A woman –
she knows.
All about cages.
All about nets.
All about factories.

Ask her,
ask her about cages.
And she will tell you
the ecstasy
of free flight
in the infinite blue stretch.

On being asked about nets
she’d start about
the dream
of being lost
in the depths of the ocean.

The mention of factories
makes her sing
sweet songs of love.

Enigmatic are her paradoxes.
Fathom the frenzy.
Fear her.

2. Dissolving of a Woman into Language

Who knows what occurred to her!
She ran from her spree
and dissolved into language.

That night,
anarchists
couldn’t sleep.

That fateful day, poets couldn’t toy
the reverential words
blazing in the pit of penance.

Language struck dumb, that whole night.

Someone played a tempestuous note
on the Rudraveena*, that night.

Only a few daring
kids
played in the streets.

Note: Rudraveena is a traditional string instrument used in Hindustani Classical music. Mythologically Rudraveena is associated with Shiva – the Lord of Destruction and is believed to be made by Shiva as a tribute to the beauty of his consort, Parvathi.

3. The Journey

Hands
wrought
and bore
the pain
that swelled
in the eyes.
Thereon,
began
the journey
towards thought.
From flood to fire.

4. End of History

When they pronounce ‘the end of history’,
they refer to the
death of our dreams.
Only the demise of our dreams
could grant
immortality to their diseased present.
Though this be
an impossible dream!
In history are buried
slogans of the ‘the end of history’.
Our dreams are the Phoenix.
That is the truth.
As true as the thought that
the end of thought is also a thought.
And that to proclaim the end of words,
words should be.

The demise of dreams
is the dream of the sick
steeped in the fear of death.

The poems featured here have been translated from Hindi by Smitha Madanan, who is a nomad by spirit and loves travelling across India. She loves to read, is a foodie, an avid backpacker and cinephile. Dr Smitha Madanan currently teaches English Literature at Govt. College, Madappally, Kozhikode.

Her translation of the poems of Prakriti Kargeti has also been featured on SamyuktaPoetry and can be found at http://www.samyuktapoetry.com/18-prakriti-kargeti/

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