• Parabaas
    Parabaas : পরবাস : বাংলা ভাষা, সাহিত্য ও সংস্কৃতি
  • পরবাস | English | Poem
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  • Ten Lines for a Jackfruit : Sarat Kumar Mukhopadhyay
    translated from Bengali to English by Carolyn B. Brown
    Eggplant | Ten Lines for a Jackfruit | “Why,” said the little tree . . .
    1. Come down a little further, come closer, oh jackfruit,
    I want to touch you.
    2. I want to hold you, I want you in my lap, overgrown
    child, come to me, let me hug you.
    3. Oh short-stemmed one, oh huge fruit, let go, you’ll
    break the tree, don’t hurt it anymore.
    4. Come down, oh dark-green one, obstinate, oh big
    and plump, oh blindman, drop on my head.
    5. Let me see how strong you are, oh pot-bellied fellow,
    I won’t break, I want to smell your skin.
    6. I’m a woman, I can take all sorts of pain, I’m used to
    it, I guess they think I’m a vegetable.
    7. They poke me, gnaw on me, my hair’s sticky, my
    legs are swollen.
    8. My womb’s plugged up, oh jackfruit, come to
    me—ah! your body’s so heavy, so scratchy.
    9. Come down the branch a little further, climb on me,
    turn me inside out, oh jackfruit, oh life, oh thick
    yellow juice.
    10.  Oh maddening smell, oh mercy.

    The original poem, 'কাঁঠালের জন্য দশটি শ্লোক,' is included in শ্রেষ্ঠ কবিতা ('Best poems'), published by Dey's Publishing, Kolkata, 1986.

  • Eggplant | Ten Lines for a Jackfruit | “Why,” said the little tree . . .
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