Feminist Poems - 5 (Jayaprabha)
Veluri, Rao (rveluri@SMTPGATE.ANL.GOV)
î 27 Apr 96 14:08:33 CST
Here is another feminist poem from Jayaprabha, and its
transalation into English.
This poem " coopulu" is from her collection 'vaamanuDi
mooDopadaM' (1988). The translation was by Velcheru Narayana
Rao and A. K. Ramanujan, and it has appeared in the collection 'In
Their Own Voice,' (Penguin, 1993) edited by Arlene R. K. Zide.
My opinion: The translation is as good as the original,
if not better.
Regards.
-- Venkateswara Rao Veluri
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coopulu
reMDu kaLLa nuMci / coopulu
soodulla vacci / maMsapu muddalapai
viccala viDigaa tirugutoo uMTai
coopuleppuDoo mukhaM lOki cooDavu
maaTa eppuDoo manasu nuMci puTTadu
kanipiMci-napuDalla / kaMparaM puTTElaa
vaMTimeeda / coopulu cedallaa paakutoo uMTai
aakaLLallO / lasha vargaalunnayi
kanee coopullaki maatraM varga-vibhedaalu lEvu
aa coopullO eppuDoo / okkaTE saMkEtaM uMTuMdi
conga kaarcE kukka-laMTi aakaluM-tuMdi
vikrutamaina bhallukapu paTTu-laMTidedO
viDavaka kalallO saitaM veMTaaDu-tuMdi
cikkani ee aDavilO / velugukee ceekaTikee
tEDaavE uMDadu
coopula-nuMci daacu-kOvaTaa-niki
sthala-manEdE uMDadu
rODDu meeda / bassu-lOnu, klaasu-lOnoo
vEsE prati adugu venakaa / sareeraM lOni EdO oka bhaagaanni
gaayaM cEstoo / vishapu-coopulu guccu-kuMtoonE-uMtai
okkOsaari bhayamEsi / sudoora aakaasaM-lOki, soonyaM-lOki
maayamai pOvaalanpi-stuMdi
kaanee
palaayanaM parshkaraM kaadani
vishapu coopula-nedurkonE / muLLa-laMTi teekshNatani
kaLLaki nErpaDaM modaleTTanu
ippuDu aakaLLani veMTaaDa-Taaniki
kaLLatOnE yuddhaM cEstaanu
sooTigaa reMDu kshaNaalu / kaLLalOki cooDalEni piriki coopulu
pataaLaM lOki paari pOtai
appuda-nukuM-Taanu / kaLLakE kaadu
eedESaM lOni aaDadaaniki
vaLLaMtaa muLLUMdE-rOju / eppuDostuMdaa ani!
____________________________________________
Looks
Looks / From two eyes
Dart like needles / Roam freely on flesh.
The looks never / Look inti the face
The words never come from the heart
They crawl on the body like white ants
Disgust every time I see them.
Those eyes / Belong to a million classes
But their looks are all the same.
Only one signal / In those looks
Hunger like a salivating dog's
An ugly bear-fist / Chases you even in dreams
No difference between day and night
In this thick forest / No place at all
To escape these looks
On the road / In buses, classrooms
Behind your every step
Wounding
Some part of the body / Looks tipped with poison
Keep pricking you
Frightened / I want to disappear
Into the distant sky, into emptiness
But
Escape is no solution
So I began to teach my eyes / The sharpness of thorns
To fight those poison looks
Now to chase away those eyes
I fight with my eyes / Timid eyes which
Cannot look straight / For two seconds
Run to teh underworld
A day will come
When women in this country have
Thorns
Not only in their eyes
But all over their bodies.
___________________________
Thought for the day:
kaveenaaM maanasaM naumi taranti pratibhaaM bhaasi
yatra haMsavayaMseeva bhuvanaani caturdaSa
-- vrv