Krishnasen Ichhuk
I am within the walls
you are without
I am guarded by a sentry
you are without
I am in the torture chamber
you are in the open camp
whether it is the snare,
trap of a hunter, or his noose, a
what difference does this make
my friend, this life wherever may it be,
if it is within someone else’s fist,
an enslaved life is like a prison.
Where this life is imprisoned
within a bondage
where your beautiful dreams are
labeled illegal
where your free ambitions are encaged
where your cordial feelings get hurt
where breathing freely, even if the stale air
in a stinking place, is restricted
whether it be under the guard of a gun
or be that in the snare of law
what difference does it make ?
My friend, a terrified life
in a frightening situation is a prison
wherever may we be living
Where they keep patrolling all the time
where the siren blows with or
without any reason
like the hooves of a horse
on the road without reign
where there are march pasts
with shrill noises
where the clouds thunder untimely,
and blood begins to rain
what difference does this make whether
be it within or without walls
if my chest is a target point
all my life
wherever may it be, it is a prison.
Usual days and nights, dusks and dawns
are with me
the same disillusionment
and a wretched life
usual motionless time with me
like a closed lake without any outlet
where there is a dirty society and a dark room to live in
whether it is an unknown country
or my dear homeland
what difference does it make, my friend!
This demoted life in an oppressed society
wherever may one have to spend
is just a prison.
Translated by Govinda Raj Bhattarai
[Krishnasen Ichchhuk, a poet with the credit of ensuring an artistic, literary renderings to the great tales of mass struggle to people’s war is archived among the front-lining poets in Nepali literature. His verses chronicle the story of the wounds and betrayals of class struggle. Born on in October 1956 in Deharadoon of India, he started writing around 1970. “Bholiprat”, a poems published in Matribhoomi in 1975 is considered his first published work. His works that followed include poetry collections like Itihasko Yas Ghadima (At this Moment of History), Shokanjali (A Homage of Grief), Bandi ra Chandragiri (The Prisoner and Chandragiri Hills), Bandi Aawaz (Imprisoned Voices) Krishnasen ‘Ichchhuk’ka Rachanawali (Creations of Krishnasen Ichchhuk). During his lifetime, he received Krishna Mani Award and Sahitya Sandhya Award. He died on 27 May, 2002. ]