Nawaraj Parajuli
I am not a traveler
But myself a journey.
I have nowhere to reach.
I am not a peddler
But myself a road.
I have nowhere to reach.
I am not worried
That nobody saw me,
Even a man who lives by air
Cannot see it.
I am not distressed
That nobody provided me with cover.
Torrential rain or scorching sunshine,
A tree doesn’t carry an umbrella.
I am a womb that the soil carries
A dream that the sun dreams
A relation that the river builds
A border that the wind dismantles.
I am the existence of the sky.
I am not the one defeated,
But someone who sees the defeated ‘I’.
I am not the one victorious
But someone who sees the victorious ‘I’.
I am not the one who exists,
But someone who sees the existing ‘I’.
Why should I be of yours?
When I do not have to be of myself.
I’d rather wish to be His
After which
I do not have to be of anyone else again.
(Having fallen in love with Astavakra Gita)
Translated by Mukul Dahal
[Winner of Poetry Slam 2014 and Winner of Satako Sahitya 2015 (Australia), awarded with Padmashree Saahitya Purakar 2073(BS) Nawaraj Parajuli is well-known for performance poetry. His performances, most of them available online, have drawn hundreds of thousands of viewers from across the world. He has a widely acclaimed collection of poems Sagarmathako Gahirai (Depth of Mount Everest). Nawaraj has recently released a video of musical poetry Eklai (In Solitude), a poem from his upcoming collection Ghar (Home), which incorporates a blend of poetry, performance and the music, and is available on YouTube.]