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Pardon, My Dear

Bhagawati Basnet

Like a river
That flows with an ardent desire to meet the sea
Like a plunger
That dives into the domain of the ocean
To pick pearls
I am searching for you inside myself
And myself inside you.

Although I was busy
Searching for myself in you
And you in me, in reflections of each other
I reckoned: We could never become
Laila-Majanu
Or Heer-Ranjha
For my own nation aches inside the chest
My own country aches inside the heart.

The chilly wind coming from the Nile’s shore
Reminds me of my country,
Sani, with a head beset by a tumpline early in the morning
Spreads a grave smile before me
A maiden wrapped in a frayed shawl
who has come munching dhindo and gundruk
Smirks, lifting Mount Everest;
The serpentine paths, passages and resting-mounds
Seem, at least to me, waiting for me.

No matter to which corner of the globe we reach
We seek for the Tarai, hills and mountains,
Saptakoshi comes swelling in the heart
There rises a potent urge
To get hold of a khukuri, and run
To Teesta and Satlej rivers for a parade
And air, in every frontier-post,
The songs of Nepal

I spilled sweats on sands
In turn, I am myself turning an arid land
Having spent all my age and youth
At this moment, your love could sound a blessing
Yet
The prosperous civilizations that flourished
On the bank of the Nile River
Can never lure me away;
I cannot lose myself
In dear lunches and dinners
You pardon me Heer; I could not become you Ranjha
Here I stand, counting tides on the Nile
Each of the waves reminds me of Mount Everest
The militant war of the Palestine
Israel, incomparable in wisdom and might,
Remind me of my own ancestors.

Though I combat on sands
I have my country roosted in each drop of my blood
Rip my chest, if you don’t believe
My country beats in the beatings of my heart
And each of the beats takes the name of Nepal
I beg your pardon
Dear Laila; I couldn’t become your Majnu
Pardon me, dear Romeo
I couldn’t become your Juliet.

Translation: Mahesh Paudyal

Bhagawati Basnet is a Nepali poet and media personnel, based in Kathmandu. Vice-President of International Nepalese Artist Society (INAS), he also a program presenter with Avenues News. Earlier, she also served as the President of International Nepali Literary Society (INLS), Israel Chapter.

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