Banishment
They pressed all the buttons and every light bulb turned on.
In the brilliance of the light of many colors, the city has sparkled.
Walking on a road drenched in luminosity, I whisper – “How dark it is here.”
For speaking such a colossal lie,
I was banished from the city, outright.
(From Amber Mein Ababeel)
जलावतनी
उन्होंने दबा दिए सारे बटन जल गए सारे बल्ब
अनगिनत रँगों के अपार उजाले में जगमगा उठा वह महा-शहर
'कितना अन्धेरा है यहाँ ?’ मैंने धीरे से कहा किसी रोशनी से सराबोर सड़क पर चलता हुआ
शहर से निकाला गया मुझे
इतना बड़ा झूठ बोलने के लिए
(अम्बर में अबाबील से)
Prayer
Where I was supposed to stay silent, I spoke. Where I was supposed to speak, I remained silent.
When all birds were abandoning the burning tree, I stayed in there on a branch.
When everyone was going to the market, opening their shops, in the same old pot I was cooking Banana squash.
When everyone had gone on a date and toward their very destinations, I was drowned in luxury, sitting against a wall from noon till nightfall.
When everyone was sleeping, dreaming after a long day, I was wide awake at night, sitting in the dark.
O! My Khwaza! Please bring me a slumber, that cannot be disturbed by no noise.
I want to sleep my entire life,
listening to lullabies.
(From Amber Mein Ababeel)
दुआ
जहां चुप रहना था, मैं बोला. जहां ज़रूरी था बोलना, मैं चुप रहा आया.
जब जलते हुए पेड़ से उड़ रहे थे सारे परिंदे मैं उसी डाल पर बैठा रहा.
जब सब जा रहे थे बाज़ार खोल रहे थे अपनी अपनी दूकानें मैं अपने चूल्हे में उसी पुरानी कड़ाही में पका रहा था कुम्हड़ा
जब सब चले गये थे अपने अपने प्यार के मुकर्रर वक्त और तय जगहों की ओर मैं अपनी दीवार पर पीठ टिकाये पूरी दोपहर से शाम कर रहा था ऐय्याशी
रात जब सब थक कर सो चुके थे देख रहे थे अलग अलग सपने
लगातार जागा हुआ था मैं
मेरे ख्वाज़ा मुझे दे नींद ऐसी जो कभी टूटे ना किसी शोर से
जहां मैं लोरियां सुनता रहूं…
(अम्बर में अबाबील से) Poems by Uday Prakash has been translated from the original Hindi into English by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis.
उदय प्रकाश - Born on January 1st, 1951, in the village of Sitapur, Madhya Pradesh, India, Uday Praksh is a significant name in Hindi literature. He is known for his poetry collections – Ambar Mein Ababeel (2019), Raat Mein Harmonium (1998), EK Bhasha Hua Karati Hai (2009), Abootar Kabootar (1984), and Suno kārīgara (1980). Uday Prakash is also a novelist, story writer, essayist, and translator. He has translated the work of many international poets like Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, H. Luis Borges, Paul Éluard, C.P. Cavafy, Adam Jędrzejewski, and Tadeusz Różewicz into Hindi. His works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have been translated by Robert Hueckstedt, Lothar Lutze, Jason Grunebaum, Andre Penz, Amit Tripurnaini, Vinit Utpal and Kalpna Singh-Chitnis.
Uday Prakash has also worked as an editor, film producer, and Assistant Professor at JNU, and the School of Social Journalism. His awards and honors include 2013 Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, finalist, The Walls of Delhi, and 2013 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, shortlist, The Walls of Delhi, translated into English by Jason Grunebaum; 2009 SAARC Literary Award; 2003 Pahal Samman;1999 Sahityakaar Samman; 1996 Muktibodh Samman; 1990 Shrikant Verma Memorial Award and 1980 Bharat Bhushan Agrawal Puraskar. Uday Prakash was also honored with Sahitya Akademi Award that he returned in 2015 to protest the murder of renowned scholar M. M. Kalburgi.
कल्पना सिंह - Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Indian American poet, writer, and editor-in-Chief of Life and Legends and Hindi Literature Today. Her full-length poetry collection Bare Soul was awarded the 2017 Naji Naaman Literary Prize for Creativity. She has also authored three poetry collections in Hindi - "तफ़्तीश जारी है," "निशांत" and "चाँद का पैवंद." She won the prestigious "Bihar Rajbhasha Award" (1986-87) given by the government of Bihar, India, for her first poetry collection "Chand Ka Paivand" (Patch of Moon), and the title of 'Bihar Shri' (Jewel of Bihar) in 1988. In 2014, she was nominated for "Honor of Yeast Litteraire" by Levure litteraire magazine in Paris, France and received the "Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award" in New Delhi for her contributions to literature and cinema. Kalpna's literary work has been widely published and translated into many languages. A former lecturer of Political Science, she studied "Buddhism Through Its Scripture" at HarvardX (Harvard University). She also holds a degree in Film Directing from NYFA and works as an independent filmmaker in Hollywood. Website – www.kalpnasinghchitnis.com