Gedicht

Manya Joshi

Side by side

AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MR & MRS LIMAYE

i)

Mrs Limaye aap jahaan
Kahin bhi ho foran
Mulund station par chale aaiye
Wahan aapke pati
Aapka intezaar kar rahe hain

ii)

Maalik who is sabka ek
Bang everyone
O Shirdi king Sai Baba bang bang

iii)

People lose their way
People lose each other
People make civil statements
On a superbuiltup world

iv)

In a public local train
There is an unimagined itchiness
On your private emotions
You mentally advertise it to yourself

v)

Mr & Mrs Limaye
Hiding behind popular philosophies
Wait for
Each other
Facing each other

© Translation: 2005, Sachin Ketkar
From: Live Update: An Anthology of Recent Marathi Poetry (Ed. Sachin Ketkar)
Publisher: Poetrywala, Mumbai, 2005

‘aap jahaan . . . apka intezaar kar rahe hain’ (Hindi): This is a common public announcement in railway stations: Wherever you are, please come immediately; your husband is waiting for your at Mulund station. Malik … sabka ek : The Lord is One (a common utterance of Shirdi Sai Baba, the famous early 20th century saint)