Already On The Street. A Danish Poem Of Inger Christensen In Hindi/Urdu Translation Poem by Ravi Kopra

Haathon main maal liyey hue
gali main khaDay hue
duniya ek kapDay dhonay ki safed jagah lagti hai
jahan hum ubaalay jaatay hain, nichoDay jaatay hain
sukha kar istri hum par lagaai jaati hai
saari silvatain nikal kar hum ko bhool kar
choD diya jaata hai.
Hum ko bachoN k swapnay aatay hain -
hatkaDiaN lagi hain
jail main baithay hain
azzadi ki aah bhartay hain.
Lagta hai aag kha rahey hain hum
jaltay cigret gallay main nigal rahey hain hum
aur fir dhan de kar hanstay hue sub se door ho jatay hain hum.

***

from Letter in April: IV
BY INGER CHRISTENSEN
TRANSLATED BY SUSANNA NIED
READ THE TRANSLATOR'S NOTES
Already on the street
with our money clutched
in our hands,
and the world is a white laundry,
where we are boiled and wrung
and dried and ironed,
and smoothed down
and forsaken
we sweep
back
in children's dreams
of chains and jail
and the heartfelt sigh
of liberation
and in the spark trails
of feelings
the fire eater
the cigarette swallower
come
to light
and we pay
and distance ourselves
with laughter.