CROSSING THE ROAD AT ABID'S - Translation of 'Abidsinalli raste daatuvudu' ಅಬೀಡ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ದಾಟುವುದು

Crossing the road at Abid’s

(from Mukhamukhi 1978)

 

You want to go to Bulchand’s clothes shop now, right?

As someone who seeks variety, you have chosen the

right shop.  Now, we have to cross the road.

Wait for a while.  It’s always crowded here in the evenings.

Those vehicles coming in a line from the left,

let them pass.  They are coming in from the right too.

Crossing the road at Abid’s means you have to

hold your life in your pocket.  See, how the

windows of that double-decker slashed through

Bulchand’s lights!

 

But they are sparkling brightly again.

Bulchand’s lights are always like that.

 

Now! Rush across! Let’s cross the road between

this car and that scooter.  That snarl

you barely heard was the scooter fellow cursing.

That policeman’s whistle that you heard …

was actually the screech of the car’s brakes. 

So, after finally

crossing the road, how do you feel?

That you have slashed through this relentless road?

 

But see how soon they have become one again –

as if we had never crossed the road at all.

 

Abid’s roads are always like that.

 

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