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the unsevered tongue

modern poetry by bengali women a bilingual text

poetry by kabita sinha vijaya mukhopadhyay debarati mitra namita chaudhuri mallika sengupta taslima nasrin mandakranta sen

english renderings by amitabha mukerjee

publisher: nAndImukh saMsad, (Calcutta Book Fair 2005) contents preface

kabita sinha (1931-1999)

Versatile poet and literateur. Married author and editor Bimal Choudhury at age 20, against the wishes of her family. Was involved in dissidence movements in the '50s. Addressed issues of woman's place vis-a-vis man in poems like AjIban pAthar pratimA (stone goddess, all my life) or apamAner janya fire Asi (because I crave your insults). Worked for All India Radio for many years, and edited a number of magazines. Also wrote under the pseudonym Sultana Choudhury.

alone like a Goddess

can you pose naked then, chaste Savitri -not the flighted fairy frozen on temple walls not Botticelli's distilled desire, Venus seductress not the abashed arm covering breasts not nudity as sanctimonious cloak then: all masks come off, you hold your poise, relaxed and nude, for all the rest of us. and now, a second time, for yourself alone the mirror, eye to eyelashes, yourself how far you would rise in our eyes then higher, so high. Entirely out of reach. to see your dimples we women crane our necks if you are become God, become a comely sight. grief, love despair -come place your hopes on these rouge painted feet inside your deity-hood, immaculate, high remote goddess, no

worship can touch you now Savitri, goddess, lonely as only gods can be.

vijaya mukhopadhyay (1939-)

Born in Bikrampur (near Dhaka) in present-day Bangladesh. Vijaya Mukhopadhyay has been writing poetry since her college days in Calcutta. Her poetry is lyrical, with a lingering memory of many yesterdays, as in tumi ele kabitA (poetry: when you come) below, but it can also be laced with a social consciousness, as in puti-ke sAje nA (not you, Puti), which protests the confines of womanhood. As a Sanskrit researcher and educator, she has also written the widely referred mrichhakaTik samAjchitra (1993), which focuses on social aspects in ancient India. Her poetry has been widely translated, including two books in 1994 and 2000. Most recently, she was honoured as the National Poet by Prasara Bharati in 2004.

poetry: when you come

when you come it rains in my heart finger trembling like a blade of grass long-closed doors open in deep confidence. when you come it rains in my heart.

debarati mitra (1946-)

Born and educated in Kolkata, Debarati Mitra is a graduate from Jadavpur University, her work is firmly set in the postmodernist canon, with a lyrical allegory permeating much of her writing. Her delicately nuanced abstractions (e.g. smriti bale kicchu nei (memory, an emptiness) have been widely acclaimed, and she received the Ananda Puraskar in 1995. Much of her poetry evokes haunting surrealist images, as in jungle starwish or onomatopoeia in Tung here. She has a declared dread for all "-isms" and her poetry is largely apolitical on the surface, though many of the metaphors may reflect subtle social issues.

memory, an emptiness
memory, an emptiness green - you become green slowly the soul fills with night eyelash dew tides heave up on new moon night waxing muddiness, swelling love I sink in a roiling netherworld the game starts afresh, making me up near the crumbling door to the ruins sound of water all day. memory, an emptiness only wet sounds.

namita chaudhuri (1949-)

Studied Bengali from the University of Jadavpur, (which has three of its alumnii in this selection), and is currently a schoolteacher in Kolkata. Her poetry is invested with a srong social sensitivity (see, e.g. jhulan JAtrA, kanyAke), often expressed with a delicate lyricism (fragmented words). With her husband, she is active in the group called Nandimukh saMsad,

which participates in a wide range of literary and artistic activity. Has been involved in the Pakistan-India People's Forum, and is a member of the Kolkata International Foundation. As noted earlier, she is also the person responsible for suggesting the idea of this book.

fragmented words I
the broken-wing alphabets are crying on the stairs at my touch they shrivel and shrink. They slither down breaking into fragments at the bottom of the flight lovingly I lift their chin but they wail louder what a bother this is let me shut my door then but they slip out from everywhere twisting and turning through fairy tales breaking stories from newspapers their ink dripping on my sari I sit here helpless a prisoner of my own words

fragmented words II
every complete word carries within it fragmented words, broken words, ground smooth into paste words words that squeeze out of gaps between paragraphs

words that sltther between my skin and yours words that clamber back, seeking lost meanings. words fly out of my mind recklessly careening in the wind. however you say it in the end it?s the same message: dancing around the fire we are a roost of birds.

mallika sengupta (1960-)

A professor of Sociology in Calcutta, Mallika Sengupta's poetry is "unapologetically political". Of her writings, she says: "A woman writing poems is always regarded as a ?woman poet? and never as a ?poet?." While a good deal of her writing focuses on women (e.g. khanaa's song , many address broader social issues - e.g. Bhasha or Bengal Son , which worry about cultural infiltration. She is also active in translation and has also written several novels. She received the Sukanta Puraskar in 1998, and is a frequent invitee to literary events across the world.

tongue
the drumroll of Centuries our hearts beat with hopes and fears. blood. battles. poisoned air: is this our fate? or will the new century transcend hate? new generations, changing tastes salt and pepper and sour and sweet the melting pot makes culture paste will Bangla still be heard on the street? in this world thermo-nuclear bound in the onslaught of Euro, Dollar and Pound will Bangla hold up? our way of life, the way we speak do we change it all because we're weak? while we are poor, and our faults are countless our love for Bangla is surely timeless ?

taslima nasrin (1962-)

A brutal honesty and fiery sense of outrage marks the work of Taslima Nasrin, and has made her a name a household word across South Asia and much of the West, but also cultivated fierce enemies in the conservative camps and made her an exile from her native Bangladesh. Her poetry has been reviled as

unchaste and vulgar, but has gained a wide audience due to their honesty, sensibility, and relentless protest against the patriarchal constraints on women, (see e.g. ( boundary or ( don't listen, girl! ), and has won the Ananda Puraskar. A gynaecologist by profession, she practised medicine for many years before her literary calling overtook her life. One of the most widely translated Bengali poets, she is also the author of much acclaimed prose, including a series of newspaper columns and an autobiography.

boundary
the moment she was conscious she wanted to look smell feel hear the world and she made to step out the door but she was told - No. these walls are your horizon this ceiling is your sky. here -- this bed, these pillows, this fragrant soap, this talcum powder this onion, this kettle, this needle and thread on idle afternoons these flower-patterns on pillowcases this is your life. to see how much life lies beyond unseen on the other side she unlocks the backgate and peeps out but she is told - No. look after the courtyard garden this spinach, this loukicreeper, every now and then a yellow rose, a marigold in conical pots.

this swept-clean alcove, this bougainvillea, this little fragment of soil this is your all of your world.

mandakranta sen (1972-)

The passion for poetry led her to drop out of the MBBS program at Kolkata Medical College when only the final oral exams were remaining. Published hriday abAdhya meye (unruly girl, my heart), to wide acclaim in 1999, becoming the youngest recipient of the Ananda Puraskar the same year. Also awarded the Young Writer award from Sahitya Akademi in 2003. Along with her husband Also edits the magazine briShTidin. Poetry reflects original creative conjunctions of everyday experience which is the hallmark of all fine poetry. Some of her poems included here, (e.g. sharta deal with themes such as desire or loneliness.

nights with my TV
some days are just terrible I hug the TV and take it to bed channels churn through the night chanting incantations, throwing gold dust onto my sight the fearless youth of the ad languorous dark eyes, soft hair, shirt-buttons open, ear-ring. He looks straight at me, winks slowly. he lives in my lane, he will be mine, if only I drink Coca-Cola tonight. he sleeps with me in my bed all night holds me tight in fifteen-second spots. I caress the smooth skin of the TV tossing and turning through the channels Holding my little companionship tight.

about the translator

amitabha mukerjee was born in Bangkok, schooled in Baghdad, Geneva, India, and the US, worked in New Zealand and German, and yet, somehow, he has managed to become a resolute Bengali. After a PhD from the Universiity of Rochester and a stint teaching at Texas A&M University, he joined I.I.T. Kanpur. By day he teaches Computer Science and researches in the area of Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing. By night, he writes. This book is his first.

contents

preface

gloss of culture words

Bengali text printed with permission. English text copyright amitabha mukerjee 2005