I can prove
two and two make three.
The present is liestory.
The human face looks like a spoon.
You know –
bills and bills of a hundred
move on in courts, bus-stands and parks –
writing diaries, taking pictures,
completing reports.
Sons are made to rape their mothers
in the ‘Law Protection Centres.’
‘Dacoits’ toil in the fields.
The declaration of accepting demands
is made by dropping bombs.
That loving your own people could mean
spying for the ‘enemy nation.’
And the reward for the greatest treachery
could be the highest seat.
So two and two can make three;
the present could be liestory
and the human face too
can look like a spoon.
Translated by Samartha Vashishtha
.