Kedarnath Singh (केदारनाथ सिंह) Translated by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis

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Kedarnath Singh was a Hindi poet, critic, and essayist. He received India’s highest literary honor, the Jananpith Award, and the Sahitya Academy Award. His anthologies include Srishti Par Pahra, Abhi Bilkul Abhi, Zameen Pak Rahi Hai, Yahan se Dekho, Akaal Mein Saaras, Baagh,Tolstoy aur Cycle and Matdaan Kendra Pe Jhapki.

 

Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Indian American poet, writer, and Editor-in-Chief of Life and Legends. She has authored four poetry collections, and her work has been translated into many languages. Her full-length poetry collection Bare Soul was awarded the 2017 Naji Naaman Literary Prize for Creativity. Her poems, essays, and translations have appeared in notable journals like World Literature Today, California Quarterly, Indian Literature, Pirene’s Fountain, and others. A former lecturer of Political Science, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, is also a filmmaker. She holds a degree in Film Directing from the New York Film Academy. She participated in the “Silk Routes” project of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa from 2014-2016. Her awards and honors include – Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award (2014), Bihar Shri (1988), and Bihar Rajbhasha Award (1987), given by the government of Bihar, India. Website: www.kalpnasinghchitnis.com
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A Lotus Blooming in Blood

My bones are lightning bolts
hidden in my body.
My body is a lotus
blooming in my blood.

Would you believe
I discovered this instantaneously
on a day
I was reading *Tulsidas.

रक्त में खिला हुआ कमल

मेरी हड्डियाँ
मेरी देह में छिपी बिजलियाँ हैं
मेरी देह
मेरे रक्त में खिला हुआ कमल

क्या आप विश्वास करेंगे
यह एक दिन अचानक
मुझे पता चला
जब मैं तुलसीदास को पढ़ रहा था

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Asset

After combing
the entire city
I have concluded that
in this cosmopolitan
the most valuable asset I have is
my constant breath
secured in my chest
that I spend little by little.

Why not someday
I should go and deposit it
in that old rusty, community bank
which sits on the fringe of the city.

With interest earned from it
I shall be able to spend
many a lifetime in great luxury.

पूंजी

सारा शहर छान डालने के बाद
मैं इस नतीजे पर पहुँचा
कि इस इतने बड़े शहर में
मेरी सबसे बड़ी पूंजी है
मेरी चलती हुई साँस
मेरी छाती में बन्द मेरी छोटी-सी पूंजी
जिसे रोज़ मैं थोड़ा-थोड़ा
ख़र्च कर देता हूँ

क्यों न ऎसा हो
कि एक दिन उठूँ
और वह जो भूरा-भूरा-सा एक जनबैंक है–
इस शहर के आख़िरी छोर पर–
वहाँ जमा कर आऊँ

सोचता हूँ
वहाँ से जो मिलेगा ब्याज
उस पर जी लूंगा ठाट से
कई-कई जीवन

(अकाल में सारस से)

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The Weight of a Teardrop

Trying to weep over a million times
when a drop trickles down
someone’s eyes
is called
a tear.

Who can tell me now
how heavier is the teardrop
as compared to a drop of water?

आँसू का वजन

कितनी लाख चीख़ों
कितने करोड़ विलापों-चीत्कारों के बाद
किसी आँख से टपकी
एक बूंद को नाम मिला-
आँसू

कौन बताएगा
बूंद से आँसू
कितना भारी है

(सृष्टि पर पहरा से)
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Boatman’s Bridge

If you pass through their village
try listening to those who
sit there in silences.
They remember what had befallen them
but have forgotten to speak.

मांझी का पुल

अगर इस बस्ती से गुज़रो
तो जो बैठे हों चुप
उन्हें सुनने की कोशिश करना
उन्हें घटना याद है
पर वे बोलना भूल गए हैं।

(सृष्टि पर पहरा से)

 

The Thumbprint

Who made
the set of letters?

The black letters,
brown letters,
who made them?

Was it the chalk?
Or a quill?
Or the termites
and blackboard?

Who made the letters
after all?

‘I did…, I did,’
the thumbprint said stoically,
gesturing with its thumb,
pointing at signatures
to mock them

and disappeared
in the blotting paper.
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अँगूठे का निशान

किसने बनाए
वर्णमाला के अक्षर

ये काले-काले अक्षर
भूरे-भूरे अक्षर
किसने बनाए

खड़िया ने
चिड़िया के पंख ने
दीमकों ने
ब्लैकबोर्ड ने

किसने
आख़िर किसने बनाए
वर्णमाला के अक्षर

‘मैंने…मैंने’-
सारे हस्ताक्षरों को
अँगूठा दिखाते हुए
धीरे से बोला
एक अँगूठे का निशान

और एक सोख़्ते में
ग़ायब हो गया

(अकाल में सारस से)

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