|
|
Ashwani Kumar
|
Born amidst neither fame nor shame, I came to the world like a dead telegram. Locked in the jail Accused of stealing electric wire, The village thief’s faint sobs Sparkle like my mother’s sindoor. Slaughtering cigarettes remorselessly, The sentry guards his conscience like a banished saint. Born amidst neither promise nor sorrow, I came to the world like untainted white charcoal. On the mud thatched roof Skirt rolled up to her thighs invitingly The sparrow greedily chews her daily dose of worms. Unmindful of scorns of passersby Listening to FM radio lazily in the Saturday afternoon The vegetable vendor searches angrily for Columbus In the discarded newspapers. Born amidst neither pleasure nor fear, I came to the world like unwashed blue jeans. At the serpentine box office queues of morning shows Adult fantasies play hide-and seek like nursery kids. The last drop of alcohol in the whisky bottle Dances adulterously on my million tongues. The fragrance of your armpit Travels like gunpowder in the dark forest. Born amidst neither illusion nor ambition, I came to the world like the rusted rumors of a riot. (From My Grandfather’s Imaginary Typewriter, 2014) I wash, shampoo my hair daily But Tagore’s barber Babur is not happy. He massages my hair with premium brand Aphrodisiac Tantric oil Straightens my violent dreadlocks with Tagore’s broken dressing comb But he is not happy again. In desperation, barber Babur Coughs up God dammed tangled Mother f-cking languages Stuck in his throat Spits his blood-mucus To dye my hair. Now, you know Why sometimes I un-wash myself; To make Babur happy! (Coldnoon, Vol 7, December1, 2018) |
Ashwani Kumar is an Indian English poet and his books include ‘My Grandfather’s Imaginary Typewriter’ and " Banaras and the Other'. His poems- translated in Indian languages and Hungarian- noted for ‘lyrical celebration’ of garbled voices of memory and subversive ‘whimsy’ quality, have appeared in Indian Literature, Little Magazine, Indian Quarterly, International Galleria, Post-Colonial Text, Muse, among others. At leisure, he writes articles and reviews for Financial Express, Business Standard, The Hindu, Indian Express, DNA, Open Democracy, Prabhat Khabar, Outlook (Hindi) and among others. He is currently a professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Mumbai).
|
