Eating Together By Li-Young Lee (A Hindi/Urdu Version) Poem by Ravi Kopra

steamer main trout macHli steam ho rahi hai
adhrak k cHilkay, pyaaz ki do hari bhoonkaiN
aur til k tail is ko swaadi bana rahay haiN.
chaawal k saath hum is ka lunch karaiN gay
bhai, behan aur maaN jo sar ko apni unglioN main
kalakari se pakad kar, jaisay pita ji ne
haftoN pehlay kiya tha,
meethay ghost ko chakh kar khaey gi.
ab vo hamesha k liyay so rahay hain
jaisay koi baraf main dabbi
devdaar k purany peDon main ek sadak
jo pita ji se bhi purani hai
ab bina kisi yatri k hai
lakin kisi k liyay akeli nahin hai.

***

Eating Together
BY LI-YOUNG LEE

In the steamer is the trout
seasoned with slivers of ginger,
two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil.
We shall eat it with rice for lunch,
brothers, sister, my mother who will
taste the sweetest meat of the head,
holding it between her fingers
deftly, the way my father did
weeks ago. Then he lay down
to sleep like a snow-covered road
winding through pines older than him,
without any travelers, and lonely for no one.
Li-Young Lee, "Eating Together" from Rose.