Broken Man- In search of homeland

Published by Panther's Paw Publication

Yogesh Maitreya: Poet -Translator-Publisher

Yogesh Maitreya is a poet and translator.Recently he has translated the first volume of ‘Ambedkerite Movement after Ambedkar ’ in English,authored by J.V.Pawar in Marathi. At present, he is doing Ph.D.from  Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

Farooq

Farooq, I never thought we would meet again

When there were wars fought between the religions

In that hastiness, while leaving our land

You gifted me a peacock feather  with your

Puerile hands

With great pride, I have kept it safely for years, decoratively

Over my heart

As if it were a medal I won for my bravery

For killing an enemy

Many days passed

A moustache covers my lips and

Then I realize:

It is human tendency

To find it difficult to let  go

It happened on one bleak evening

That I bought for you a magnifying glass

From the city’s black market

But it shattered against the black rock

Farooq, in the grandeur of your eyes

I see symptoms of cataract

We meet after  so long

But the world is still small and narrow minded

Engrossed in its aggression for wars

When we were small and naïve

Massacres took place between religions

Today, it happens within religions

After you left

We abandoned our shelter

Under the thorny wild barriers and

Sheltered under the peaceful,  cool

And densely shadows of the Bodhi tree

As a symbol of what should I gift you this

Magnifying glass?

Indeed, the hearts of people are not as grand as this glass

Should I touch your eyes

Your eyes that show the symptoms  of cataract

With my fingers that have grown wrinkles now?

I wish for this

Farooq, tell me something about the land you migrated to

Why do you smile at me ironically?

I know that my past experiences of this society

Are shared by you as well

Let’s go!

We’ll go to the habitation of a peacock and

Gather the feathers

For others

Translated by Yogesh Maitreya

The Birth of Mother

The mother

Whose son participated in massacre

Should not have been born

The mother

whose son made the atomic bomb

Should not have been born

The mother

whose son created difference among men

Should not have been born

The mother  of the Wright Brothers

Should be  born a thousand times

The mother  of the Marconi

Should be  born several times

Michael Faraday’s  mother   

Should take birth innumerable  times

Again and again

Should Edison’s mother  be born.

And make this beautiful world

A more beautiful place

For the next generation

Translated by Yogesh Maitreya

A dog is a dog

Dog is an animal tamed by man

Pet or stray

Man has to be inoculated

If he is bitten

By a Dog

If not,

Man barks, ejects saliva

And dies a gruesome death

Dog is an animal tamed by man

Translated By Yogesh Maitreya

Question

My boss abandoned his parents

He pets a dog at home

Takes good care of him

Even kisses him a lot

The dog is anxious though,

Why doesn’t my boss learn

Some honesty from me?

Translated by Yogesh Maitreya

Monologues of a ghost

I am dumb

I didn’t have a voice

I cannot speak

In any of the glib tongues

Of the world

Compassion drains

Through my eyes

But you selfish folks

Cannot see that

Cannot read

My sympathetic face

I do not have hands

To resist

I cannot even bark

But does that mean

You write 786 on my back

Before butchering me?

Translated by Yogesh Maitreya