Aayush Badal
Turning the page of the notebook,
Thinking in my heart about the topic to write,
Uncovering the face of the pen
Trying to make it touch with the page;
My mind’s ignorance makes my hand still like a statue
Really,
It’s not easy to become a writer.
My hand began to tremble due to lack of words
The agonies heated my body
The literary interest inside my heart began to go wild,
Is writing not up to me?
Should I give up writing poems from now on?
Will I never be able to?
The lack of words starts questioning me
Really,
It’s not that easy to become a writer.
Chasing those infinite unanswered questions
I sat and waited for the words to flower
Days and nights passed away
My head got stuck for months, but
The pen did not flow
The dam of words did not let itself loose
Really,
It is not easy to become a writer.
Had the pen ran
An epic could have been born.
But the pen did not flow
Not even a small paragraph got inked I thought and
For being a writer by hook or by crook
I began to write in whichever directions my heart thought of;
Even with zero creativity I began to search for compliments
But I received less compliments and more criticisms.
I strengthened my heart after listening to those criticisms
Really,
It is not easy to become a writer.
I realized something new must be started by oneself
But what is there to do
The words don’t strike for writing,
Creativity does not rise,
Oh god!
Really,
It is not easy to become a writer.
Once again, I took out a new page
Uncovered the pen’s cover
And again, I began to touch it with the page
I kept on writing and writing all that I knew
I wrote the alphabets (ka, kha, Gha, Jha) when nothing came
I wrote in whichever directions and whatever came to my heart like before
I just filled the paper
But I did not send it before the readers because
I wasn’t a writer.
I tore thousand papers
I shed sweats
I wrote till my hand started to hurt
And I did the toil to bear the sweet fruit
Really,
It’s not easy to become a writer my friend
We have to labor hard keeping literature above all
And then only
One can enjoy the perks of being a writer
And be known as a litterateur.
Translated from Nepali by Sushant Thapa from Nepali
[Aayush Badal (b.2002) is a young poet based in Kavrepalanchowk district of Nepal. He is currently pursuing bachelor degree in Law and Management. He writes poems, stories, essays and articles in Nepali language, He has written more than a dozen of poems in Nepali language and published in different national medias and online sites.
Translator Sushant Thapa is a Nepalese poet from Biratnagar with two poetry collections to his credit. He has translated an Uzbek story in English to Nepali. The translation was published in Shabda Sopan. Sushant is an M.A. in English literature from JNU, New Delhi.]
Translator’s Bio: