Equation
There was no craze for pleasure,
Nor was there any indulgence in adventure
In the name of satisfying one's hunger.
Man was man
Blessed with love and care.
They hunted for food,
Applied tactics for food,
They were all conjoined
With the bond of love.
Now there is algebra of sermons,
The rules of math for becoming man.
It says, try to be man
The seed of not becoming man sprouts somewhere.
Children are innocent
They all try to be man
Defying the strictures of grammar.
It is the elders who dress them up,
With the mantle of good man
And end up making them unworthy man.
Every child, in fact, nurtures
A garden of flowers
The petals of which lose their fragrance
And wither in the labyrinth of rat race.
Then the road to become unman
For man takes off
In the search of opportunism.
Opulence of Fagun
1.
The fallen petals are playing blithely
On the grassy plain.
Fagun is engrossed in playful banter
With the gentle gust of wind.
2.
Palash is budding with a joyful ululation
Nahar is blooming with the hues of Spring.
3.
O Bordoisila! Break not the rapture of Fagun
The pining for Spring is aglow with colours.
The moon is shining bright
On the forehead of the starlit night.
Translated by Nayan Jyoti Hazarika
Dr. Meena Devi Baruah is an Assamese poet and writer based in Doomdooma, Assam. She has one collection of poems to her credit.
Nayan Jyoti Hazarika is an Assistant Professor, Department of English, Duliajan College, Assam.