So I am back from Guwahati and Nagaon! :-) will soon put links here to my photos and traditional song and dance videos, I have plenty of them. I have bought half of Assam as well, there are some clicks of what I have bought too. I am also working on a series of poems about my time there and how I connected with the place. These should all come, soon enough.
In other news, 'Flowers for your Hair' was published in
Northeast Review the night before I left for Assam. Click on the link to read. Also carries the work of my juniors, Rini Barman and Mihir Vatsa, as well as my teacher, Nitoo Das. I will put the poem up here later.
and yes, below are the multilingual poems which were published in
Muse India at the beginning of this year. These employ a mixture of English, Hindi and Assamese.
1.Cut cut ke katega, kat kat ke katega
Katega par kaatke kategaIt will cut strong, but it will pass.
Paas aane ke liye, time needs to pass.
Paraya karke pariah bana diya
Paraya karke pare hata diya
Paraye are outcast, paraye are different
Pariahs do not belong, pariahs are paraya
Pariahs are chucked out
paraye chak diye jate hain bahar
Meet banane ke pehle abhi thoda aur katna haiIt needs to cut and cut some more, before we can meet.
Hum ko paraya bana kar chak diyaIf I have been made a pariah and chucked out
Time will cut deep and cut and cut
But kat kat ke time will slowly pass.
Cut cut ke katega kat kat ke katega
Ye kaise socha tha ki bina kate hi kat jayega?
How did you think something like this
Could pass so easily without cutting?
2.
In axomiya, they say moi goisu
In English, I am going
Moi is I, mur mine, mur hai mera
Aur moi hun main. I am going. Me is going.
Moi is me in English slang now. Moi is going.
Moi goisu. Go is go, chahe going ya goisu.
Jaana toh jaana hi hai, chahe angrezi, hindi ya
Axomiya mein, Aur main maane moi aur meGoing is going is goisu in English, hindi ,assamese
And moi means main, me, and mur means mera, mine
Jo mera hai vo mera hi rahega
Har bhasha mein, har jagah mein, har samay mein
Par use dur jaane ka dukh bhi vahi rahega, kisi bhi bhasha meinWhat is mine is mine, will remain mine
No matter the language, place or time
But the pain of going away from it,
In any language, remains the same.
3.
"beya paisu?" axomiya mein maane
"kya tumne mujhe bura paaya?"Did I do something to offend you,
Did you find me to be bad? Maine
Agar bura kiya, jaaney anjaane mein?
Lekin hindi mein uska kuchh arth hi
Kho jata hai. In Hindi, this axomiya "pau"
Loses its meaning. In Hindi, we say
"tumne bura maana?", "did you mind?"
Tumne bura maana maane dosh tumhara hai
Tumko bura nahi manana chahiye tha, bahut
Jaldi bura maan jate ho."Did you mind?"
Lays the blame on you, you should not
Have minded, you mind too quickly, easily.
Lekin kya tumne mujhe bura paaya? Beya paisu?
Iska arth kuch alag hi hota hai. Kya tumne mujhe
Bura paaya? Kya vo mujhe bura paati hai?
Iske liye mere paas koi javaab nahi hai, koi doosre
Shabd nahi hai. Iske liye sirf mere munh par ek sawaal hai
Ek prashn jiska koi uttar aur koi ant bhi nahi.But did you find me bad? Did I cause offence?
The meaning of this is different from did you mind
Or did you get offended. But did you find me bad?
Does she find me to be bad? For this, I have no answer
No words, no synonyms. Only a desperate question
Which has no answer, and no end.
