“Force and Creation” Translated by Sumit Ray
Dabaav aur Srijan by Yatish (Hindi)
Have you seen a mountain
or a river form?
Have you seen a forest grow
or a star being added to the galaxy?
Mountains of sorrow
are also formed unseen
Rivers of feelings
also flow unwanted in silence.
Everyone sees
the growth of the trunk
and fruit laden branches bowing down
but no one sees
the germination of the seed
and balance of the roots
under the force of the soil.
Everyone has seen mountains crumbling
rivers drying, losing direction
meteors falling, turning to ash
But the truth is
all that is life
takes birth from force
whether it’s the child in the womb
or the germination of the seed
under force of the soil.
Creation is an extension of force
but no one wants to feel
that force.
“Woman” Translated by Sumit Ray
Stree by Yatish (Hindi)
As I caress the little fairy’s hair
she wraps my palm
in her fingers
I feel
God has held my hand.
When I see my wife sleeping without worry
the world seems peaceful in slumber
whereas all the troubles of the house
remain trapped in her eyes
In this moment
God is passing through sleep.
When I see my mother sleeping
I feel
God must be equally worried
in sleep.
In life, all the women
who have been the source of energy,
through their wakeful sleeping eyes, I have seen
heaven filled with prayers.
God is not a myth but truth
holding your hand, surrounding you
making you believe that
God is not a man.
Yatish Kumar is a Hindi poet. His poems and memoirs have been published in reputed magazines and blogs. He is the president of Kolkata’s literary organisation ‘Neelamber’
