Haris C.Adhikari – Borderless

Poetry from Nepal by Nabin Pyassi, translated by Haris C Adhikari

Sometimes I feel—

Why does the breeze

Not blow only for itself, why

Does the sun

Not say, ‘I’ll rise only in palaces?’

Why do the rivers

Not say, ‘This comes in other’s frontier?’

What happens if

The clouds get angry,

And soils sprout

Only weeds?

What happens if

Our own heart forgets

Our body?

I myself stand

In the dock, and question—

Why, without any fear,

Do flowers bloom?

Why don’t birds claim, ‘The sky is only ours!’

Why, without regret,

Do roads spill their nakedness

Far and wide?

Why does the mountain

Not keep on freezing

But melt as well? Why do

Nights have to take their leave, though reluctantly?

Why doesn’t the winter scream, saying

‘Let no new leaves sprout!’

Why do babies come carrying

A great mountain of suffering

In the wombs and from the wombs?

Who

Do the cracked heels tease

Over and over again, grinning?

Why,

Why do revolutions always stand

On the

Labourers’ backs?

Placing my palm lines

On my forehead, I question—

Why does the dustbin refuse

To clean its own appearance? Why

Does the guitar not accept

The tunes brought to life

With my inexperienced fingers? Why

Do our own eyes

Not see ourselves

As ‘beautiful’?

Why doesn’t the mirror show

My frustrations, my vanities, and my sins?

Why doesn’t

Time take

Commands of people?

Poets Bio:

Nabin Pyassi (b. Dec. 21, 1995) an aspiring poet and an avid reader of poetry, hails from Khotang district. He is pursuing his studies from Tribhuvan University, with English literature and sociology as his majors. Most of his poetic works are romantic, insightful and metaphysical as well as deeply rooted to the native soil.

Translator’s Bio:

Haris C Adhikari, a widely published poet and translator from Nepal, and an MPhil scholar in English language, teaches at Kathmandu University. He has three books poetry and literary translation to his credit. Adhikari’s creative and scholarly works have appeared in numerous national and international journals. Until 2017, he edited Misty Mountain Review, an online journal of short poetry. Currently, he co-edits Polysemy, a journal of interdisciplinary scholarship, published out of DoMIC, Kathmandu University. He can be reached at haris.adhikari@ku.edu.np

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Poetry by popular poet Avaya Shrestha, translated from Nepali by Haris C Adhikari

Doubt the beautiful
Collages rendered by
These various images of clouds,
Doubt the beauty
Of the existence of various
Floating colours on beautiful lakes
And of the snow— like patches of clouds—
That has come to your hands.
.
Doubt the sensational
News in newspapers and TV,
The flowery, immaculate poems of poets,
The mind-blowing thoughts of intelligentsia,
And the Prime Minister’s speech
In the name of all the citizens.

Doubt
Even the stories told
In sweet language
By your respected teacher,
Doubt
The history written
By great historians
And the all-accepted values
In the world.
.
Doubt
Yudhisthira’s loyalty
To truth, which is like snow
Melting; and doubt
Arjuna’s bravery, which is like the sky
Untouched; doubt
Devavrata’s BhishmaPratigyaa*,
Duryodhana’s meanness
And the magical stories of the
Vedas and the Puranas.
.
Socrates, Marx and Gandhi
Darwin, Freud and Einstein
Are only your co-travellers;
The Holy Bible, the Ramayana
And the Mahabharata
The Dhammopadesh, the Tripitak
And the Quran
Are not the ultimate truth;
Neither Brahma is real
Nor false is the world; doubt
Vishnu, Maheshwor, Shree Ram,
Christ, Kabir, Mohammed,
And even the Buddha
Who himself speaks of doubts.
.
No one is outside
The circle of doubts
In this yard-like
Collective world—
Doubt !
Even this poem of mine
That creates
The god of doubts …
.
Unstoppable,
I do doubt my own conscience
The way the soil does
Give a test every time
To the seeds sown in its womb.

*Bhishma Pratigya : A terrible oath taken by Devavrata (who later came to be known as Bhishma), one of the most important figures in the Mahabharata (Note:In this poem the persona doubts both the eulogized characters like Yudhisthira and Arjuna, who have been depicted as completely flawless and godlike, and the hatred-inspiring character like Duryodhana, who has been depicted only as a figure full of foolishness and demonlike character in the epic).

Avaya Shrestha (b. 1972) is a powerful poet, well known for his subversive, rebellious, anti-conformist and thought-provoking poetry. He hails from Bhaktapur district. He is also known as a short story writer and columnist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from Tribhuwan Univesity. Shrestha has three books to his credit: Phul Binako Sakha and Kayakalpa (both anthologies of poetry) and Tesro Kinara (an anthology of short stores). He has received several recognitions and awards including Garima Best Prose Award (2012) , Best Creation Award in Prahari Bimonthly (2008), Nepal Academy Short (Best) Story Award (2004) and Dristi Weekly Columnist Honour (2008). He has worked as reporter and feature editor for different national dailies of Nepal. His columns Satyakura is popular among Nepali readers.

Haris C. Adhikari, a widely published poet and translator from Nepal, and an MPhil scholar in English language, teaches at Kathmandu University. He has three books poetry and literary translation to his credit. Adhikari’s creative and scholarly works have appeared in numerous national and international journals. Until 2017, he edited Misty Mountain Review, an online journal of short poetry. Currently, he co-edits Polysemy, a journal of interdisciplinary scholarship, published out of DoMIC, Kathmandu University. He can be reached at haris.adhikari@ku.edu.np

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL