Translated from the Odia to the English by J P Das
If you can, but once,

fix a bone in your tongue,

stand  firm on the ground

and ask yourself:

Which Ganges can clean

my shit-smeared body?

How many stacks

of tulsi leaves

will sanctify me?

How many tons of sandal paste

will deodorize my body?
How do I look

when I clean your sewer tank

taking out bucket loads

of faeces floating

on the water used

for cleaning your bottoms?
How do I look

when I swim breathless

on the water flowing

straight out of your latrines

to clean the sewer depths ?
What do I look like when I pick up

the maggot infested mangy dog

to clean the street

so that your car

can have a smooth drive?
Once,

just one time

guide the pupils of your eyes

towards the sun

and look at me,

and then only can you measure

what strength you carry

 in your sinews.
Wherever I am

the place reeks of bad odour.

Your nose snivels;

your mouth retches;

your eyes squirm.

But when I’m sick for a day,

your streets stay unswept;

the latrines choke;

hospitals groan

as patients go on rampage.
Ask your grey cells

but once to explain

what Smriti, Purana,

Intelligence, Education mean.

I’m the one who handles shit

and eats his rice

with the same fingers;

and I’m the one

who knows the difference

between shit and rice.

yet, I don’t know

What Smriti, Purana,

Intelligence and Education are.
I’ve seen it all –

Worms excreted from your innards,

snot and drivel

Thrown up from your mouth,

Blood congealing

On your death bed.
You may scoff and sneer at me,

but when I’m not around,

I know you have

a mental breakdown.
Fix a bone in your tongue

and tell me for once –

how much Ganges, tulsi

and sandal are needed

to purify and sanctify

my shit-smeared body