“Monsoon,” a poem in Hindi by Nilay Upadhaya, translated by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis

Monsoon 

The lightning strikes and the rain pours over the hut

of the old woman

The night and cot are soaked 

of the old woman 

The adobe-stove and sari are drenched

of the old woman

But the famished intestines are still dry

of the old woman 

Set this monsoon on fire 

of the old woman.

सावन

बिजली कड़के झोपड़ बरसे
बुढ़िया की

भीगी खटिया भीगी रतिया
बुढ़िया की

भीगा चूल्हा साड़ी भीगी
बुढ़िया की

तीन दिनों से अँतड़ी सूखी
बुढ़िया की

आग लगा दो इस सावन में
बुढ़िया की ।

Poet's Bio: Born on January 28, 1963, in Buxur, Bihar, India, Nilay Upadhaya is a prominent Hindi poet, playwright, script writer and novelist. He is the author of "Dahan Raag," "Akela Ghar Hussain Ka," "Katauti," "Jibah Vela," (poetry), "Abhiyan," "Vaitarni," "Pahaad" (novels), and “Popcorn With Parsai,” a play. He is also an environmental activist who has traveled length and breadth of his country to bring awareness about river pollution in India.

Translator's Bio: Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Indian-American poet, writer, filmmaker, and author of four poetry collections. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize, she is the recipient of the 'Naji Naman Literary Prize,' 'Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award,' and 'Bihar Rajbhasha Award,' given by the government of Bihar, India. Poems from her award-winning book "Bare Soul" and her poetry film "River of Songs" have been included in the "Nova Collection" and the "Polaris Collection" of the Lunar Codex time capsules, and going with NASA missions to the Moon in 2022 and 2023. A former lecturer of Political Science, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is also the Editor-in-Chief of "Life and Legends," the Translation Editor of "IHRAF Literary," and an Advocacy Member at the United Nations Association of the USA.