Translated from the English to the Devnagari by Ajay Navaria
हम एक चमकती ढलती रात में तुम्हारे घर जाते हैं
हम नहीं सोचते अपने मूलनिवासी होने के बारे में
तुम एक नस्लभेद रहित लतीफा सुनाती हो जो तुमने सुना था
अचानक एक फैरी की प्रतीक्षा के समय
मुझे विश्वास है कि लोग सोचते हैं कि तुम श्वेत हो हालांकि मुझ से कुछ सॉंवली, गुदगुदाने वाली बात
मैं कभी इस बारे में नहीं सोचता
जब हम थाई प्लेस से गुज़रते है तब वह
सुगंध हमारे आसपास होती है।
Ajay Navaria is the author of two collections of short stories, Yes, Sir (2012) and
Pathkathaauranyakahaniyan (2006) and one novel,
Udhar ke log. A collection of his short stories, translated by Laura Brueck into English and published as
Unclaimed Terrain (2013), has won critical acclaim: it was listed among the best books from India in 2013 in a feature in
The Guardian. Ajay works as Assistant Professor in the Department of Hindi, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi. He has played a key role in debates around not just the aesthetics and politics of Dalit Literature in Hindi but has been an important player in Hindi literature as such. Navaria has won several literary prizes and awards, has delivered lectures at national and international conferences, and was invited to the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2010 and 2013.
