Navakanta Barua’s Poem

Issue: Vol. V, No. 1, May-July, 2026

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Athirst with the dream of a paradise
An able poet,
Would you lend an ear
To the entreaties of acrid tongues?
Would you come once again
To make this utterance:
You had come just once and left forever
Never ever to return!

Erecting pleasure-parks at Rajghat
At Barrackpore
We’re keeping alive
Your death!

Translated by Krishna Dulal Barua

Navakanta Barua (b.1926-d.2002) was a noted Assamese poet, novelist and translator.

Krishna Dulal Barua is a prominent translator and writer based in Nagaon, Assam. He received the Katha Award for translation in 2005.

Original Assamese poem.