Monday, October 12, 2020

Shyamashri Ray Karmakar poems, Translated by Sourjya Roy

  






 


Three Lovers

Shyamashri Ray Karmakar 


It was a lonely fount that Shyamlal stole

In his eyes, he had a pristine postoffice

And in his bag, a forest of some wild berries.


Madhav had a mind for notes

And his fingers found my body like a harp.

He desired to spend the whole noon

Amidst tunes of longing,

Of passion.

Now, a daffodil has sprouted,

From his chest where his heart

Once panted


With gentle beats of drums,

Kanchan used to catch larks.

Under his pillow,

Two kingfishers have nestled

To start a new life.


In the bed of the young lass

The valley of tulip hums.

Last night, her heart throbbed

Like a swan, 

Pierced by pollens.


Like a thunderbolt

The phone rang in her head.

Voices on the other side 

Were smeared With silver,

Like the clouds 

Draped in the moon.


In her dreams,

By the door

She was lying 

On the sandal floor.

She didn't realise

Who kept the full moon 

On her palm,

And asked her "Do I still rouse you 

From half-baked slumber?"



Translated by Sourjya Roy 


Let Me Tell You a Secret

Shyamashri Ray Karmakar 


If I light a candle amid this torrential downpour,

If I relax the clasp of darkness over the night,

Then in my clutch thunder will throb.

The primitive smell of the sky is coming nigh,

To envelop me.

Let the lights get drenched to their core.


A blue river is standing under the eaves, under the broken glass.

Her feet is keeping my doors ajar.

The blossoms of July are now riding on her back,

Painting the heaving drapes.

Its sweet scents have drowned 

The grills of my balcony. 


The storm that has visited me now 

Is from a distant land, 

From a forgotten time.


On the table, the words of Sophocles

Are flying. 

Restless they are.

The unquenched drips of the candle is burning

The eyes of Oedipus.


If I don’t open the door now,

The river will go back to the crossroad.

And a sea of fire will engulf the sleepless walls 

Of my haven.

Translated by Sourjya Roy 

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