Valmiki : “The Thakurs well “

Indian Poetry in Translation

Omprakash Valmiki was an Indian Dalit writer and poet. Well known for his autobiography, Joothan, considered a milestone in Dalit literature. He was born at the village of Barla in the Muzzafarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. He is the author of two collections of poetry and one of short stories. As editor and publisher of numerous magazines, he has played a vital role in the propagation of Dalit literature.

The Thakurs well
 

The stove is made of mud
The mud is from the pond
The pond is owned by the Thakur

He is hungry for the roti
The roti is made of bajra
Bajra is from the field
The field is owned by the Thakur

The ox is owned by the Thakur
The plough is owned by the Thakur
Where my palms are placed on the plough hold
The harvest is owned by the Thakur

The Well
Water
Fields
and Streets
are owned by the Thakur

Where do I belong ?
In Which Village ?
In which City ?
In which County ?

 

 

ठाकुर का कुऑं

 

चूल्‍हा मिट्टी का

मिट्टी तालाब की

तालाब ठाकुर का

 

भूख रोटी की

रोटी बाजरे का

बाजरा खेत का

खेत ठाकुर का

 

बैल ठाकुर का

हल ठाकुर का

हल की मूठ पर हथेली अपनी

फ़सल ठाकुर का

 

कुऑं ठाकुर का

पानी ठाकुर का

खेत- खलिहान ठाकुर के

गली- मुहल्‍ले ठाकुर के

फिर अपना क्‍या ?

गॉंव ?

शहर ?

देश ?

*

Santhosh Alex

Dr Santosh Alex is the author of 42 books and is a bilingual poet , widely published translator and a poetry curator from India. His books include poems, translations and criticism. His poems have been translated into 25 languages world over.His poems have been published in International Poetry Anthologies like Sunrise from the Blue thunder(America), Hudson View( South Africa), Indo Australian Poetry Anthology( Australia), Poems for Hazara(Afghanistan), XX1st Century Literature(India), Salt Boundaries(Turkey) and other reputed English journals. His major works include two poetry collections in Malayalam titled Dooram(2008) and Njan Ninakku Oru Ghazal (2013), Two poetry collections in Hindi titled Panv Tale ki mitti (2013) and Hamare Beech Ka Maun (2017) and one in English titled Alone with Everybody (2016).Dr Santosh Alex is enriching Indian Literature by means of translation and creative writing for the past two decades. He was awarded Pandit Narayan Dev Puraskaar(2004), Dwivageesh Puraskaar (2008), Thalashery Raghavan Memorial Poetry Award(2015), Sirjanlok Poetry Award(2015), Sahitya Ratna Puraskaar (2016)and Vitruso International Poetry Award (2018). He works as a Hindi Officer in a Research Institute in Cochin, kerala. He can be reached at drsantoshalex@gmail.com

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