Translated from the Urdu to the English by Gopika Jadeja
I have seen words in the rain
Retreating into the jute shelter
In the queue for kerosene
Withering in the eyes of
Unhappy children.
Standing empty stomach
Drinking tea out of a broken cup
Next to a dead buffalo
I have seen words in a temple
In innocent Yellamma’s heart
I have seen words crying in bloody tears
In the scream of a whip on the back
I have seen words
Walking away in exile from themselves
Hating themselves
I have seen words
Jayant Parmar is a bi-lingual poet who writes in Gujarati and Urdu. He is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for his collection of poems
Pencil aur doosri nazmein. Parmar is also a calligrapher and an illustrator. He usually illustrates and designs his books himself. His poetry has been translated into many languages and appears in university syllabi in India. Parmar has published several collections of poetry in Urdu, the latest titled
Giacometti ke sapne.
Gopika Jadeja is a bilingual poet and translator from India, writing in English and Gujarati. She publishes and edits a print journal and a series of pamphlets for a performance-publishing project called Five Issues. Her work has been published in
MPT, Wasafiri, Asymptote, The Wolf, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Indian Literature, Vahi, Etad and others. She is working on a project of English translations of poetry from Gujarat. She currently lives and works in Singapore.
