 |
| Jamshedpur |
-Brian Mendonca
Jamuna from Kalahandi
swings on the courtyard gate
As the kadamba and the mahua
grace the avenues of steel.
The anvil chorus
greets the Suvarnarekha
As the Dalma hills
dread the malls at Sakchi.
Assembly-line chassis
tinplate and Cummins
Groves of Sal
in the precincts of XLRI.
Chilled beer and peanuts
at the Golmuri golf course
SEEDS of upliftment
help tribal women.
Buddi ka bal or Hawamithai
Salt with rice
Ek shaam
kavita ke naam se.
(April 2008
Jamshedpur)
Notes
Kalahandi: Place in Orissa
Mahua: flower found here
anvil chorus: From Verdi's opera Il Trovatore
Suvarnarekha: river
XLRI: Xavier Labour Relations Institute
SEEDS: Socio-Economic and Education Development Society
Buddi ka bal: (idiom) Old woman's hair. Sweet candy floss.
Ek Shaam: One evening, in the name of poetry.
 |
| Dimna Chowk, Jharkhand |
Last Bus to Tata
-Brian Mendonca
Krishna and Krishna
readies for the journey
from Ranchi to Kolkata
midst the babble of wayfarers.
'Hello' says Ritchie
'Tension nahin lene ka.'
says Munna bhai
as the land sweeps by
in the dark April night.
Caterpillar trucks for Tata
rule the road
Carrying iron or steel
for India or abroad.
Namkum military base on my left
Birsa Munda behind me
Khalid at Ranchi
spirits me to the bus stand
- in time for the last bus.
At midnight we pause
at Dimna chowk
where an intrepid auto
takes me to Nildih.
Memories of Kalinga
in features of dusk
Konark and Bundu
chariots of the Sun.
Lanterns of Pipli
Patachitra on the walls
Off NH33
this is home
once more.
(April 2008
Ranchi-Jamshedpur)
Notes
Krishna: Name of a bus.
Munna bhai: Character from the movie Munna Bhai MBBS (2003)
Namkum: at Ranchi
Konark: famous for the sun temple
Bundu: Sun temple at Bundu, near Ranchi
Pipli: cloth applique work from Orissa
Patachitra: scroll painting art from Orissa
NH33: National highway from Ranchi to Tatanagar
---------------------------------
Published in A Peace of India: Poems in Transit (New Delhi, 2011) by Brian Mendonca. Pic courtesy yappe(dot)in
Comments