Parichay

This is one of my most favorite poems - Parichay by Dinkar. And to go with it, I have an english translation - done by an expert, so no lousy attempts from me this time :-) [I found the translation on the net, long time back.]

Parichay
-- RamDhari Singh 'Dinkar'

Salil kann hun ya paravaar hun main?
Svayam chaya, svayam aadhar hun main;
bandha hun, svapna hun, laghu vrut main hun;
nahin to vyom ka vistar hun main.

Samaana chahti hai jo been ur mein;
vikal us shunya ki jhankaar hun main.
Bhatakta khojta hun, jyoti tam mein;
suna hai jyoti ka aagaar hun main.

Jisse nishi khojti tare jalakar;
usi ka kar raha abhisaar hun main.
Janam kar sau baar mar chuka lekin
agam ka paa saka kya paar hun main?

Kali ki pankhdi par os kann mein,
rangeele svapna ka sansaar hun main.
Mujhe kya aaj hi ya kal jharu mein,
suman hun ek laghu upahaar hun main.

Jalan hun, dard hun, dil ki kasak hun;
kisi ka haay, khoya pyaar hun main.
Gira hun bhoomi par nandan vipin se,
amar-taru ka suman sukumar hun main

Madhur jeevan hua kuch praan! Jab se,
laga dhone vyatha ka bhaar hun main.
Rudann anmol dhan kavi ka, issise
pirota aasuon ka haar hun main.

Mujhe kya garv ho apni vibha ka?
Chita ka dhulikann hun, kshaar hun main.
Pata mera tujhe mitti kahegi,
sama jisme chuka sau baar hun main.

Na dekhe vishva par mujhko ghrina se;
manuj hun srishti ka shringaar hun main.
Pujarin! Dhuli se mujhko utha le,
tumhare devtaa ka haar hun main.

Sunnu kya sindhu, main garjan tumhara?
Svayam yudh dharma ki hunnkaar hun main.
Kathin nirgosh hun bheeshan ashani ka;
pralay gaandeev ka tankaar hun main.

Dabi si aag hun bheeshan kshuddha ki;
dalit ka maun hahakaar hun main.
Sajag sansaar tu nij ko samhaale;
pralay ka ksubdh paravaar hun main.

Bandha toofan hun, chalna mana hai,
bandhi uddaam nirjhar-dhaar hun main;
kahun kya kaun hun, kya aag meri?
Bandhi hai lekhni, laachaar hun main.

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Identity

Am I a water drop, or an ocean?
The self, the shadow, I am both;
tied down, a dream, shrunken,
else, an elaboration of empty space.

A crippled clamor of emptiness,
seeking to fill the silence in my heart.
I wander, searching for light in darkness,
I am, I hear, a treasury of light.

Night seeks her dawn, burning candles of stars,
I too, await my dawn.
A hundred times, I lived and died,
Have I found yet, the bridge across the Unknown?

In the dew-drop on flower petal,
I am a world of multi-hued dreams.
What care I, sooner or later, I will wilt
For I am a flower, a modest offering,

A burning, a pain, a heartache
Oh woe! I am someone's lost love.
Fallen to earth, from the flower-garden,
beloved son of the evergreen tree

Shouldering my burden of sorrow,
my life is a little sweeter now.
With anguish, precious wealth of poets,
I string together my tears in verse.

Why pride in my own light,
I am but the dust from the pyre, the ash.
Where I am, the earth will tell you,
She who has consumed me a hundred times.

Yet the world looks not with hatred upon me,
For I am a man, a wonder of creation.
Oh Devotee, lift me from the dust where I lie!
I am a garland for your beloved God.

Oh mighty ocean, what shall I make of your roar?
I am a voice, loud, of this age and its mores
A hard fearsome voice of lightning,
I am the twang of catastrophe's bow,

The suppressed fire of a ravenous hunger,
I am the wordless wail of the suffering.
Oh vigilant world, take care, beware!
I am the tumultuous ocean of catastrophe.

A captive storm, forbidden motion,
I am a waterfall dammed.
Who am I, what is my desire,
I am helpless, a pen constrained.

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For those who'd like to enjoy reading the poem in the Devanagari script, here is an image [click on the image to see an enlarged view].