Autobiography of a River
The sorrows Like the currents of different motions Within the flood water Keep on coming The river, too, flows on Embracing its motion from their motions The lifespan of breath A rhythmic ensnarement Of finding the endpoint Of endless motion In the heart of cosmic time End is a labyrinthine beginning Of a simple equation Of preconcluded judgement of thought.
The Soldier
The man From his own stone statue Has gone down to the battle field To fight a round once again The eternal guerrilla war Amidst the distant crowd The man can hear His own voice like the gust of wind That destroys branches and leaves The man is opportunity quester He understands That this naïve make up Of the freshly bathed sunflower Of the golden dawn Has not been burning brightly to weep in sorrow The flag is fluttering vigorously In the wind In the voices gradually growing loud Are ringing the cluttering weapons I haven’t counted though For how many rounds of the battle The man has gone out He has tied the shield around his heart Fighting is better than cowardice.
Translated by Uttam Duorah
Autumn in Crisis
The voice of the erakhati bird Comes spiralling The outline of tossing konhuwa Is embroidered by vermillion clouds Frontiers of the mind Are filled in by warmth Of damp autumn fog. And for how long Fire kept alive in paddy husk Slowly spreads all around In a fire pit And into the lanes and byelanes Of breath Orange sunshine Will harden like stone And burn The dry ocean will paint A line of sadness Upon the tall column How long will this continue This autumn luxury?
Translated by Ananda Bormudoi
Ranjit Kumar Baruah, Retired Professor and Head of the Department Orthopaedics, Assam Medical College, is an Assamese poet based in Dibrugarh, Assam.
Uttam Duorah, the translator, retired as the HoD, English, Women’s College, Tinsukia and is based in Tinsukia, Assam.