Pinda*
Just because the much kneaded food items are offered
in a ritual with the customary aberrant hand on the river bank
Does the tie of blood that flows through the veins
and venutes
end up abruptly
Do the things like teaching a toddler to walk
holding its finger,
taking for a bicycle ride on pillow tied to it,
teaching how to write letters in the alphabet
holding the hand
end just with the unusual movement of a hand
on the river bank
Can the face that spent vigilant nights attending ailments,
--the face that shed tears hiding away,
the emotional moment when fervently saved money
is given away in joy
be thus removed with the mere gesture of a hand
How on earth can one show the gesture of an aberrant hand
in the Old Age Home while still alive
The relationships are not so brittle
that just one reverse move of the hand would cut off
Nor just a day
The image inside the heart when simply brought out
and seen
fetches the hues of blessings day in day out.
…………
• The food offered as a ritual to the Deceased.
Translated by Uttam Duorah
Agastya Boruah is a poet based in Tinisukia, Assam. He is also a medical practitioner by profession. He has published one collection of poems.
Uttam Duorah, the translator, retired as the HoD, English, Women’s College, Tinsukia and is based in Tinsukia, Assam.