Sunil Kumar Nandi

Do I myself know ---all that well---
what brings me here? And yet, I've been here long.
Lay your hand on my breast, deep within,
the heart might give some inkling
of the sounds
in the senses mingled.

Unravelling the urban cunning, as if on cue,
these sounds summon before my eyes
the face that lies
in the shade of the mango coconut jaam hijal trees,
the intimacy I persuaded to remain in those distant croplands,
while I,
swept along in the sinuous mixed currents,
arrived at the expansive light-dazzled stage,
got up as court-jester.

Long ago! Today, when you draw close
with the pond's breath, coolness
my consciousness
greedily searches for a refuge in the senses, searches
for some land beneath the feet.

Published May 5, 2002

Translated by Nandini Gupta [nandinI gupta*] - Nandini Gupta is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands, working on ... (more)

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