THE YAWNING GUARD
Don't wake him up
he is dreaming,
children are returning into his dreams,
birds are singing,
rainbow is rotating its colors and
the flamboyant tree is drifting flowers.
Don't wake him up
his dreams are restricted,
in one doze, he will siphon the cosmos
and with one gentle step, he will
crush his palace made of glass.
He is sleeping like an angel
don't wake him up,
he will bounce back
and stand straight up like a tree
alert and ready
to shoot anyone.
ऊंघता संतरी
उसे मत जगाओ
वह सपने देख रहा है
बच्चे लौट रहे हैं उसके सपने में
पक्षी चहचहा रहे हैं उसके सपने में
बदल रहे हैं इन्द्रधनुष के रंग उसके सपने में
झर रहे हैं गुलमोहर के फूल उसके सपने में
उसे मत जगाओ
उसकी नींद पर पाबन्दी है
अभी एक झपकी में वह लूट लेगा सारा ब्रह्माण्ड
अभी एक हल्का सा पदचाप
चकनाचूर कर देगा उसका शीशमहल
देवदूत की तरह सो रहा है वह
उसे मत जगाओ
अभी वह उछल कर खड़ा हो जाएगा
सीधे तने वृक्ष की तरह
सजग और तैयार
किसी पर भी गोली चला देने के लिए।
AN UNBELIEVABLE DREAM
One day he saw a dream,
he was traveling around the world
without any visa or passport
without any border or check-post.
Crossing the oceans, mountains, rivers, and forests,
he saw amazing forms of skies,
clouds and colors,
and the earth like an
evergreen beauty before his eyes.
The animals, birds, men, women,
and children were wandering fearlessly.
What wonders were the towns and villages
without any king and commander,
without any prison and guns,
happy faces were everywhere,
the sprouts and the flights of butterflies
he was surprised.
But even in his dreams,
he knew he was dreaming,
he wakes up trembling
with the sound of an explosion and
the sight of a lightning sword of a dictator,
yet again, trying to return to his dream.
एक अविश्वसनीय सपना
एक दिन उसने सपना देखा
बिना वीसा, बिना पासपोर्ट
सारी दुनिया में घूम रहा है वह
न कोई सरहद, न कोई चेकपोस्ट
समुद्रों और पहाड़ों और नदियों और जंगलों से
गुजरते हुए उसने अद्भुत दृश्य देखे
आकाश के, और बादलों के रंगों के
अक्षत यौवना प्रकृति उसके सामने थी
निर्भय घूम रहे थे पशु-पक्षी
पुरुष स्त्री बच्चे
क्या शहर थे वे और कैसे गावँ
कोई राजा कोई सिपाही
कोई जेल कोई बन्दूक नहीं
चारों ओरे खिले हुए चेहरे
और उगते हुए अंखुए
और उड़ाती हुई तितलियाँ
उसे अचरज हुआ
उसे सपने में भी लगा यह सपना है
तभी एक धमाका हुआ जोर का
एक तानाशाह की तलवार चमकी
वह कांपता हुआ उठ बैठा
अब वह फिर कोशिश कर रहा था
उसी सपने मैं लौटने की।
Poems from by Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari has been translated from the original Hindi into English by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis.
विश्वनाथ प्रसाद तिवारी - Distinguished Hindi poet, writer, and critic Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari was born in the Devaria district of Uttar Pradesh, India, on June 20th. He has been the president of "Kendriya Sahitya Academy", one of India's highest literary institutions, and the professor and Hindi Department head at Gorakhpur University. Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari is the editor of "Dastavez," and his poetry books have been translated into several languages. His most famous books are – "Aakhar Anant," "Cheezon Ko Dekhkar," Saath Chalte Hue" Behtar Duniya Ke Liye," "Phir Bhi Kuch Rah Jaayega," Dishantar, Agyae Aur Unka Sahitya." He is the recipient of the prestigious "Vyas Samman" and "Pushkin Award" for his literary works.
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