Shop Selling Colors for Holi Festival
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers beginning and intermediate courses in Hindi that support our South Asia Studies Minor.
The following poems were submitted by members of our community participating in the NELC Poetry Project. We hope you will consider participating in the NELC Poetry Project!
Bhikshuk by Suryakant Tripathy Nirala (Chosen by NELC Associate Professor Ila Nagar)
वह आता–
दो टूक कलेजे को करता, पछताता
पथ पर आता।
पेट पीठ दोनों मिलकर हैं एक,
चल रहा लकुटिया टेक,
मुट्ठी भर दाने को — भूख मिटाने को
मुँह फटी पुरानी झोली का फैलाता —
दो टूक कलेजे के करता पछताता पथ पर आता।
साथ दो बच्चे भी हैं सदा हाथ फैलाए,
बाएँ से वे मलते हुए पेट को चलते,
और दाहिना दया दृष्टि-पाने की ओर बढ़ाए।
भूख से सूख ओठ जब जाते
दाता-भाग्य विधाता से क्या पाते?
घूँट आँसुओं के पीकर रह जाते।
चाट रहे जूठी पत्तल वे सभी सड़क पर खड़े हुए,
और झपट लेने को उनसे कुत्ते भी हैं अड़े हुए !
He comes.
Making us repentant with remorseful remarks,
He comes on path.
His stomach and back seems one,
A stick in hand,
Asking for alms and grain,
To satisfy his hunger.
He spreads forward
His torn satchel,
Making us repentant with remorseful remarks,
He comes on path.
Two children with him always,
With one hand on their starved belly
Other hand raised
to attract some merciful sight,
Lips and mouth parched.
Receiving no mercy from the Maker,
Starving, can’t sob and shed tears
Busy eating decayed leftover by a roadside
Competing with stray dogs
To satiate their hunger.