TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY ANURADHA DOSAD
Crossing that bridge had become something of a habit. Whatever smallest coin I got out of the change, I would toss it onto the checkered towel spread by the crippled dwarf beggar. I had to catch the BT local at 8:20, and I would often be in a hurry, but my hand would do its job mechanically. Prayers streamed from his heart like a cascade of tears, trailing me for eight or ten steps.
One day, coincidentally, even after searching my purse, I did not find any coin. In my haste to catch the train, I passed without giving alms. The next day was holiday, I felt somewhat nonchalant. I gave him a coin every day; there was no compulsion! So, I left without giving anything.
The same thing happened on the third day. As I was passing near the beggar’s spread towel, his imploring call stopped me: “Mother… my mother… You didn’t give any money, did you? Just ten paisa…” The fear of missing the train did not allow me to stay, but that day, he had also decided not to let me go without giving him anything. He addressed me again in a loud voice. Suddenly, I became irritated. What kind of rudeness was this?
Being called continuously, “Mother… my mother…” I turned and cried out, “Why are you shouting? Am I your debtor?”
“No, my mother!” he pleaded pitifully.
“If you give, everyone gives… If you don’t give, no one gives… By getting bohni, the first earning from your hands, I would have been able to fill my stomach. For three days, you have not given me anything, mother… I am hungry, my mother!”
“There is bohni, even in begging!” Suddenly, anger surged within me. I looked at him with pity, then gently tossed a one-rupee coin onto his towel. As soon as I reached the platform with my nails still wet with prayers, I saw that my 8:20 train had already left the platform. Everything flashed before my eyes.
Now…?
Also, Read Two Tamil Poems III by Mounan Yathrika, Translated from The Tamil by Sherwin Rodriguez and published in The Antonym:
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