By Pradeep Gyawali
Like the wild grass hanging down the crag
Droop the melancholic lashes over the ground.
Like the shame-plant flinching in the garden
Folded inward is that feeble build.
That old frock exhibiting her skeletal streaks
That ragged slipper supported by a frail twine
Shivering coldly in that quivering smog–
Standing is the lass by the shop.
Only two rupees she has,
and the milk totals fifteen for less than a pint.
‘Not a drop worth two’ –
the shopkeeper tells her.
Her little brother wailing at the top of his voice
Her mother beaten badly by fever
More than a week has passed by
since she has been to the riverside quarry.
Throwing a glance at the shopkeeper
and sometimes at the boiling milk–
Standing is the lass by the shop.
She knows not–
What ‘terrorist’ stands for
Why there is gunplay everyday
The only thing she remembers is–
How endearing her father was!
Although he used to come home late
drenched in the stench of liquor
he always acted contrite–
“Don’t get mad at me, Kali’s mother! I had a bad day.”
He recalls how she cried her eyes out with her mother
when her beloved father went missing.
Don’t know–
How his corpse simply vanished into thin air
Why they were banished from the village
Gazing at the silent horizon–
Standing is the lass by the shop.
She can’t seem to find answers to–
Why some households have ample supply of milk
so much so that most of the times they go a waste
And why people like her is left with no provision.
Melting off the heart, the dew drops ready to trickle
The milk in the pot making its way into the air
Her lips trembling like the gentle mimosa leaves
Her brother passing out of malnourished suckling
Clenching a two-rupee coin in her palm–
Standing is the lass by the shop.
(This is excerpted from Gyawali’s upcoming collection of translated poems ‘Unsung Heroes’ published by TranslateNepal.)
Translation:Jayant Sharma
[Pradeep Gyawali (b. 1962) is an eminent figure in Nepali politics and literature. Starting his political stride with involvement in student politics in 1973, he is currently the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Government of Nepal. His published works include a novel Sahayatri (2003), a collection of short stories Kuhiro (2003) and poetic works such as Chita Jalirahechha (1994), Aastha o Mery Priya (2002) and Bina Salik Ka Nayakharu (2016). Similarly, essays and critiques include Marxvadko Srijanatmak Prayog [Creative Use of Marxism (2000)], Phoenix Panchi (2003), Yuba (2005), Rastriyata, Pahichan ra Samajik Rupantaran [Nationality, Identity and Social Transformation (2013)], and Samskritik Rupantaran: Ek Vimarsha [Cultural Transformation: An Analysis(2015)]. He worked as editor-in-chief of magazines such as Nawayug (monthly) and Ekkaisaun Satabdi (weekly).]