Suman Keshri

Sunday, February 19, 2012



Suman Keshri (15 July 1958), is an essential name of contemporary Hindi poetry. Her collection of poetry (YAGYAVALKYA SE BAHAS) is published by Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi ( 2008).
E mail : sumankeshari@gmail.com









Translator's Note :

Aparna Bhagwat
Suman Keshri, is an eminent name in the world of poetry. Not only are her poems contemporary but also speak of a profound study of human nature. While her mythical legendary characters narrate an incident they also display layers of turmoil inside establishing themselves as more human and hence, closer to us. Sumanji is equally proficient in expressing her thoughts on day to day matters, and nature. At times she is also found to be casting a question to the abyss of the unknown. The delicate balance then created, is intriguing, stimulating and enjoyable. It is a pleasure to read poems which do not over step the poetic license and simultaneously strike the deep rooted strings of the macrocosm and right into the female heart to bring forth a beautiful poem filled with the musical rhythm of just “being”.  The selected poems display her dexterity in the discipline.





Draupadi 

How do I introduce myself? 
Have you ever realized- 
Dropadi, Panchali, Krishna and Yagyaseny 
are all adjectives or conjunctions and not one of these is a  proper noun!

 
Father had rather wished for a warrior to avenge Dronacharya 
Astonishing/ surprising everyone I followed Drishtdunm  
all at once from the Yagya-agni
 
The one's who were not thought worthy of land measuring a niddle -point,  
 blame me for the death of millions  
they have spun several stories around me  
only because  never did I cry  
nor ever lamented 
 not even before Kunti –Ma  
who distributed me amongst her five sons 
nor in the Kurusabha 
where I was left alone  
inspite of my five husbands
 
 History is witness 
 That I only raised some questions and  
 You deprived me even of my name!

 
Tomorrow

Have you ever seen tomorrow ? 
I asked Tathagat
 
What else  have I known? 
answered He with a faint smile.

 
Woman 
  
(By) Spreading her Chunri on the hot burning sand in the desert 
placing a pot-full water with roties over it 
shadowing eyes  with her palm  
woman has built  
a home  
Just beneath the Sun.

 
A woman lives by excuses 

A woman lives by excuses.
When she’s tired, sewing or weaving is the excuse,
sorting grain, shelling peas is the excuse.
To close her eyes for a few minutes,
counting prayer-beads is the excuse,
listening to Ramayana or Bhagavata the excuse.
[or “listening to the holy scriptures”] 
To get out of the house, visiting the temple is her excuse,
buying vegetables, bangles or okra her excuse,
bringing the children to school her excuse,
taking the baby for a ride in the pram her excuse. 
To sleep, putting the child to bed is her excuse.
To sing, offering a lullaby is her excuse.
To cry, chopping onions is   her excuse .
To adorn herself, husband and relatives are her excuse.
To live, the needs of others are her excuse. 
A woman has to search
for her own existence.
Thus she lives her life.
a woman lives by excuses.
 
(Translated from Hindi by Linda Hess)

Linda Hess




Dr.Linda Hess is a scholar, writer,and a lover of Kabir. She began her travels to India in the 1960s and has been studying and translating the poetry of Kabir since the 1970s. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University.








KRISHNAA-

I Paanchaali, depraved as they describe  me,
Call  myself  – Krishnaa, 
                   from the roof top!


I can never forget my woeful cries in the Kurusabha,
And  your yearning
To cover me up…


Ah! Those moments changed me!
Oh  Krishna, I have always loved you and only you,
And you are my sole friend!
You said -
“Arjun is my friend, my image, my devotee,
You be his."
And I became his. 


You told me - 
"The mother has divided you between her five sons,
You get divided"
I splitted myself amidst them all.


You stated -
"Subhadra is dear to Arjun,
Accept her.”
And I embraced her into our lives.


Dear, all this was done ….because,
You are my soul mate.
And to do so…
Is what love is all about!


Everybody talks of my love for Arjun 
Which gave me the frost bite,
But I know for sure, 
That you made me stay behind .


I still lie there, O Beloved!
Listening to your flute - the anhad naad* …
O my eternal love…


(* Anhad naad - It is an internal sound within the body, signifying the spiritual growth at that level(Anahata),there are ten types of sound a spiritual practitioner hears within him/herself known as Dashavida nada,such as the sound of a blowing of conch cell(shankha nada),of flute(venu nada),of bell(ghantha nada),of drums,of strings instrument(veena),of trumpet(shehanai),of thunder,of water flow and so on.Hearing such sounds are a sign of spiritual growth)

 AT A DEFINITE TIME.

She wakes up at a definite time,
Shirking the longing to turn over and wrap herself in a quilt,
She sits up, popping her knuckles.
Her feet feel for her slippers and find them,
and by the time she is up,
her accustomed fingers,
have already rolled her tresses into a neat bun.

Life runs like clockwork for her,
ceaselessly,
to heat the water for tea,
to cook the dal,
to toast a bread or a parantha,
everything is clearly defined,
and to be carried out punctually.

Having bathed at the fixed time
with flowers decked in her hair
bindi on her forehead
she flits about her door
like a restless bird

At a fixed time!

In this life of precise routine
the only uncertain thing is
talking with and listening to herself.
she does not even remember
the sound of her voice…

would she recognise
who this is
if confronted
with herself ?


IN AN UNKNOWN ANTICIPATION


It was a strange incident!
While passing by a hillock yesterday,
A droplet on a leaf,
Called out and accompanied me.
I wonder if it was a dewdrop,
Or a tear drop from someone’s eye?
Has it ceased existing or does it still survive?
Present in this constitution,
In an unknown form,


And in some un-apprehended hope…


IT WASN’T….

No! Not the piping!
How come the cuckoo,
Warbles so early in the morning!

Hidden among the mango leaves and blossoms,
It was neither an echoing,
Nor an alluring, lusty call.

It was infact, an edgy, uncomfortable cry,
Waiting,
Calling out,
To the unknown?

The serene skies,
And the quietude,
No birds twittering,
No wails of some distressed child.

Maybe it was a cuckoo obscured,
Concealed by the leaves and the blossoms,
Of a lonely tree,
And the way it screeched –
Neither was it piping…nor a tweeting!


LISTEN… MY DAUGHTER

Listen !,My daughter
 I fly across the window,
Like a bird…
You watch me –
Giggling and clapping 
The lights, in which,
The bird’s feathers would turn,
Into a rainbow
Just like it happens in the world of tales..

Listening to the tales, my daughter,
Just watch this bird
Flying in the sky.

Learn - to spread your arms wide apart,
And also to hop on your toes.
See how a bird is created .

Listen !,My daughter
 I fly across the window

You come…

(Translated from Hindi by Aparna Bhagwat)



Aparna Bhagwat is an ex-lecturer of Cytology. Deeply spiritual by nature, she is an avid  reader and indulges in her passion of writing and translating literature of both Marathi and Hindi languages.


Paintings  : Ramkumar

18 comments:

{ अपर्णा मनोज } at: February 20, 2012 at 6:35 PM said...

picking up a tradition of centuries old Indian mythology, Suman ji has enriched Hindi poetry with the experience of a modern man deeply aware of the changing status of women in contemporary times, given the most eloquent poetic expression to the imperative of woman's freedom...

I congratulate Aparna Bhagwat and Dr.Linda Hess for rendering such an exquisite work and to connect the readers to the new horizon of Hindi Literature...
Arun ko khaas aabhar ...

{ रीनू तलवाड़ } at: February 20, 2012 at 6:39 PM said...

Beautiful translations! Great work, Aparna!

{ manisha } at: February 20, 2012 at 8:37 PM said...

Really very good translation, breath holding poems. Congrats Suman ji And Aparna Bhagwat.

Listen !,My daughter
I fly across the window,
Like a bird…
You watch me –
Giggling and clapping
The lights, in which,
The bird’s feathers would turn,
Into a rainbow
Just like it happens in the world of tales..
:) Manisha Kulshreshtha

{ अनुपमा पाठक } at: February 20, 2012 at 10:55 PM said...

Beautiful!!!
Congratulations!

Aparna Bhagwat at: February 20, 2012 at 11:19 PM said...

My special thanks to Sumanji and Purushottam sir for guiding me through the translations.

सुमन केशरी at: February 21, 2012 at 12:39 AM said...

मैं अरुण, अपर्णा भागवत, अपर्णा मनोज तथा लिंडा हेस के प्रति कृतज्ञ हूँ कि उन्होने न केवल मेरी कविताओं को सराहा बल्कि उन्हें और अधिक लोगों तक पहुंचाने के लिए उनका अनुवाद भी किया...

aparajita krishna at: February 21, 2012 at 1:49 AM said...

Sumanji ki komal,delicate kavitayen barri sahejta se,komalta se FB ke iss 'wall' par dastak de rahi hain. Intezaar hai aage ki dastak ka.

{ shubhi } at: February 21, 2012 at 5:39 AM said...

Heartiest Congratulations Aparna,to let me know such expressions which are carrying me with them inward.I would love to read Sumanji's poem in hindi too.For the team my warm wishes for such an effort.Especially Krishnaa is really heart piercing and a woman lives by excuses I found, a timeless expression..thanks Aparna n Aparna :)kudos!!
Warm regards
Surabhi

{ sandhya } at: February 21, 2012 at 7:59 AM said...

bahut khubsurat kavitayien hain aur uska anuvad itna pranjal hai ki man ko bus chu ja raha hai

{ Sandy } at: February 22, 2012 at 7:21 PM said...

Great job Aparna! Keep it up...looking forward..to read fer more! Sandesh

{ गीता पंडित } at: February 22, 2012 at 9:04 PM said...

सुमन दी! की कविताओं की मैं भी प्रशंसक हूँ ..
बहुत सुंदर अनुवाद किया है आपने..

बधाई स्वीकार करें.

{ आशुतोष कुमार } at: February 23, 2012 at 2:24 AM said...

its easy to be fearful about translations of poetry. here we have translation that help us find unseen dimensions of the original poetic creation. well done ,Linda Hess , Aparna Bhagwat!...congrats Sumanji for great work .

Subodh Shukla at: February 23, 2012 at 3:22 AM said...

Translations denote its exposition of poetry's innate culture. Also It executes the substantial balance between ferment imagination of thought and sublime dedication of linguistics. salutations to Arun ji, Aparna ji and Linda hess.......!!

Ashok Kumar Pandey at: February 23, 2012 at 9:07 AM said...

बहुत अच्छा अनुवाद किया है अपर्णा. आज हिन्दी को ऐसे अनुवादकों की सख्त ज़रूरत है. सुमन जी की कविता की खूबसूरती को बड़े स्नेह और लगन से बचा के रखा है आपने एक विदेशी भाषा में भी. बधाई.

ram prakash kushwaha at: March 4, 2012 at 9:46 AM said...

suman kesari ki kavitaqye aachchi lagi

{ Unknown } at: April 18, 2012 at 3:55 AM said...

इन्हें हिंदी मूल पाठ के साथ प्रस्तुत करे

{ Chandra Gurung } at: May 13, 2012 at 8:52 AM said...

Learn- to spread your arms wide apart,
And also to hop on your toes.
See how a bird is created .

Listen !,My daughter
I fly across the window

You come…
(-LISTEN… MY DAUGHTER)

…these poems are full of woe, romances, happiness, and unmatched feelings of being female on this earth. The poems go deep from modern day women to the mythical female Hindu characters. And narrate their stories, roles and the feelings within them vividly.

These poems are the profound study of women nature as Aparna Bhagawat ji writes. These poems take us close to the world where dwell our-mothers, wives, sisters and many more female beings…

A woman lives by excuses.
When she’s tired, sewing or weaving is the excuse,
sorting grain, shelling peas is the excuse.
To close her eyes for a few minutes,
counting prayer-beads is the excuse,
(-A woman lives by excuses)

Sumanji is equally capable in expressing her thoughts on day to day matters as a woman in her own family and society.

woman has built
a home
Just beneath the Sun.
(-Woman)

The poems are simple, and in these poems, we learn much more about females around us- their sacrifices, qualities, persistence and caring nature.

{ Pummy } at: August 10, 2012 at 11:28 AM said...

बेहतरीन कवितायें और उतना ही सुंदर अनुवाद....बधाई अपर्णा....

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