Hilloljyoti Singha

Date of Publish: 2024-02-25

 

A few poems by Hilloljyoti Singha

The Graffiti

The slogans on the wall

looking at me

and when our eyes met

entered directly into my brain

pushing aside my eye's door

they started to go with

the passenger train

I was traveling.

The slogans on the wall

the big sized pictures

entered into my brain

from one station to another.

My co-passengers too had

a pair of eyes, doors to enter

into the brain

the mobile screenlight entered

through them, not wall writing

Hands occupied

in a miniature world,

The graffiti can't reach them

as if

I was travelling with some robots

of artificial intelligence

 

Going with me

slogans were quarrelling inside my brain,

some want autonomy some recognition

Advertisement: Doctors for secret disease, for multistoreyed flats

multinational companies __

I was slowly transformed into a product.

Getting off the train

I ran to the side of a wall

while unlocking the zipper of my pant, I could read:

"Here like dogs...."

Translated from original Assamese into English by Khanjana Sarma

Fish

(This has the reference to the poem of Nilima Thakuria Haque entitled ‘Kachaikhana’, published in Prantik, 1 September 2005)

Difference is this much:

fish do not bleat like goats;

like chickens they do not

flutter before dying

after it is brought to the bank

it chokes to death

with an attempt to survive for a while

although it does not protest anything.

 

If you are drowned to be

killed, you will also die of choking.

It will also die of same pain

when extricated from water.

 

You’d have seen the blood

of slaughter house:

but the atmosphere of the poetry

does not come up, if you

do not take two glasses of

country-wine with liver-fry.

 

You’d have seen in the

darkness of slaughter house

the glistening of a number of eyes

you’ve not seen the

brown and pale eyes

of the fish who look fearfully

at the other.

Because we do not know

when the fish, leaving aside the water

has entered our day-to-day consciousness.

 

No condolence is held over

the death of the fish;

there is protest against

the blood smeared slaughter house,

because the fish like goat

doesn’t bleat;

like pigeon doesn’t

flitter to death.

 

In reality,

everyone of us like a fish?

panting on the surface of water;

jumping to the side of gutter,

in course of time

each and every moment,

facing the death of strangulation

which is the death of a coward

without any protest.

 

The bargain over the dead bodies

going on in the fish market.

Translated from original Assamese into English by Pradip Kumar Patra

Manas

(To Sri Mohan C Brahma, Range Forest Officer, Bansbari Range, Manas National Park,

with love)

Come here and lose yourself

Bring along sorrow, warmth and anguish

Disappear in splendour of Manas

Stretch yourself for once

gainst experience in the forest cover

Strange are the darkened moments

adding to history of its upper bungalow

In your front the eddying river

and river hands of Manas

They will embrace skyful expanse

of the simul wood

Overlooking this skyline

green waves of

mountain ranges

a starry beauty

or you might see

white flashes streaking

about the glum sky

Magic of Manas holds

You in trance

Come here

Leave troubles in flowing heart

of the Beki

A pair of mergansers will wing

These way of your own self

Become green for once

Glimpse from balcony

of the golden heart

Come, lose yourself.

 

Translation from original in Assamese into English by Upal Deb

Ant

 

Going hastily an ant

met another on the way.

Exchanging good wishes

the second one asked,

"How are you,

where are you going?"

..."In search of food,

It's good to see you,

The mistress has left the sugar pot

loosening the lid.

Let's go and eat together."

Both returned

And left pheromone on the way

News spread quickly

among the ants

and came in line they

 

After a while

coming to make tea

the lady noticed,

lid was open slightly

So she closed it tightly.

 

Then in sugar syrup

the contained ants

were drowning.

Translated from original Assamese into English by Khanjana Sarma

Leech

My humble submission is that

I’m an inferior creature among

the living beings.

you hate me,

I’m untouchable to you.

But, I’m eager

to touch you.

I’ve a strong attraction

towards you since my

birth till death.

 

Sir, if you guarantee

fearlessness, I will tell something.

Especially I’m a terror

to the girls.

Although you and your

children know me well

many things about me are

still unknown.

I’m both male and female

in one body;

I’ve five pairs of eyes

and teeth of three jaws;

and entity of ‘she’ and ‘he’…

 

O’ the greatest creature,

you defame me as a

harmful animal?

although in the medical science of past

I have played a pivotal role,

even, as an important member

of food chain of the all living beings

I’ve been extending all

my service to you.

 

After having slept for

six months I extremely feel hungry,

and then out of acute hunger

I surrender to you.

You only say

donating blood is a virtue.

 

O’ my feeder,

I fully accept your

hatred and disrespect towards me.

But my special request is that

I should not be compared

with the human blood-sucker;

I feel ashamed so much!

You are the cleverest creature of the world,

Hope, hint is the best message

Translated from original Assamese into English by Pradip Patra

About the poet:

Hilloljyoti Singha, a professor in Zoology in Bodoland University has been writing poetry since his student life. His only collection of poetry ‘Seujeea Aak-Baak’ was published in 2003. His poetries have been published in various different Assamese ailies and magazines. He also translates poetries of different languagesinto Assamese, and from Assamese into Bengali. He has an essay collection in Assamese on natural history and wildlife science titled Aaranyak Romance.