Friday, September 18, 2020

ARRIVING IN HYDERABAD - Translation of 'Hyderabadige' ಹೈದರಾಬಾದಿಗೆ

 Arriving in Hyderabad

 from Avadha (1986)


And then we arrived in Hyderabad.

It was already blazing hot in the afternoon.

To spew out hot steam at night

boulders burned red-hot through the day.

Only under these boulders, a little bit of shade.

 

The crow on the clock-tower

posed a riddle:

          a sea without water

          a boat without sails

                   where will they end up

                   those who sail from here?

 

The fellow on the bicycle

banged his bell,

‘Don’t you have nights for your dreams,’ he snapped.

We hadn’t slept the night before.

 

The wail that was heard from Salar Jung Museum,

was it the wail of a yakshi, or of a ghost, or

was it the wail of a lonely frightened wooden statue, or

was it the rhythm inside the hearts of the listeners?

 

We don’t believe any of these.

We will continue to do our work

as if nothing had happened.

The crow on the clock-tower?

Nobody has ever seen it since then.

§


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