A Poem of Leeladhar Jagoodi (Translation)

Original : Hindi~
'Chullu kee Aatmakathaa'

main na jheel na taal na talaiyaa
na baadal na samudra
main yahaan phansaa hoon is gadhaiyaa men
chullu bhar aatmaa liye
sarak ke beenchon beech

mujhmen bhi jhalaktaa hai aasmaan
chamakte hain surya sitaare chaand
dikhte hain cheel kauvve tote aur teetar
mujhe bhi hilaa deti hai havaa

mujhmen bhi pad kar
sad sakti hai phool patton sahit
hariyaali kee aatmaa

roj kam hotaa
meri gandali aatmaa kaa paanee
badal rahaa hai shareer men
chupchaap
bhaap bankar
baahar nikal rahaa hoon main.

Translation (by Sunil Uniyal)~
'Puddle'

I'm neither a lake nor a pool nor a pond
nor a cloud nor a sea
I'm here trapped
in this pothole
in the middle of a road
with a handful of soul

In me also the sky is glimpsed
shine sun, moon and stars
eagles, crows, parrots and partridges are to be seen
I'm also shaken by the breeze

In me also falls
and rots
the soul of green
with its leaves and flowers

every day...
decreasing ...
the water of my impure soul
is transformed into a body
quietly
I'm coming out ...
vapourised !
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(This poem is from modern Hindi poet, Leeladhar Jagoodi's anthology Anubhav ke Aakaash men Chaand, for which he has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for poetry.)
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