TRANSLATED FROM HINDI BY SHIVANI YADAV

Today I saw some people from the visitor’s gallery.
Those people who disappear after elections,
Whom people wait for,
Four and a half years to see again.
Yes, today from the visitor’s gallery.
I saw some people like that.

There were a select few
Who knew me.
Almost as statuesque
As the teen murti were they.
Couldn’t move as per their own will,
There was no question of recognizing me.

There were many people there.
I knew some of them.
All around,
Recognized enough of
Those that were raising banners,
And surrounding the chair sitting in the middle of Parliament.

Some were familiar to me.
Some I was familiar with.
Some of the frequent roarers on television
Were also present.
A select few who were never seen on television,
Were also there.
Those who dabbled in swing politics
Speaking one’s opinion, often saying no
Were also seen there.

Some were quietly sitting alone.
I might have seen some of them somewhere before.
While giving a speech or cutting a ribbon.
Two groups of as many as eleven statues
Were surrounding the Speaker,
With banners raised in hands.
A select few from their group,
Sitting on the back chairs
– Were chatting.
They were blessed by the party leadership.
They weren’t shouting,
Weren’t tearing their throats apart.
They were not even
Attempting to move their arms and legs
Or uprooting chairs.
They were strategizing.

Some lion-hearts
Looked busy laughing.
For them it was a carnival
Where once a year
Once in a while
They get to meet one another.

Our mobiles
Weren’t allowed
To be taken inside this temple
But
Some selected parliamentarians there
Were playing with their mobiles.
Some were busy enjoying videos and movies.
Some had come there
Abandoning their most important tasks
– To mark their attendance.

Even those struggling to fulfill their responsibilities
Of rising above caste-religion
Were also present in this white building.
I saw there
Even those speaking on
Reservation and terrorism.

Most were in civilian clothes
But
Where some had a stole draped on their head,
Dressed up
In an Indian attire and
Filled with a heroic spirit-like ‘Achkan’,
Somewhere else, ones in a Mahant’s attire
Another in dhoti-kurta-turban,
Lungi-kurta wearers
Disguised as monks
In different roles
Exemplifying the unity of this country
– Those selected few were also present.
Some of them were tired of their age
Those who were claimants to the throne till yesterday
Sitting alone, in front of me, were now troubled by the passage of time.

Some ten-twenty ruling twosomes
Were waiting
For the proceedings of the House to move ahead.
Some present there
Had nothing to do with worldly matters.
Some seemed unnecessary.
Some were lying dead due to ill health.
Some were burdened with obesity.
Some of the faces
Were absent of their smiles.
To most
Innocence, had bid its goodbye.

Some ruling, were lying in neglect
Some opposing, stood firm in hopes of gaining power
Some independents, were searching for their existence.
Some were outlaws,
Some were as mentioned in the news – dacoits.
Some had been to the jail
Some probably yet had to go to jail
And some had created a vote bank
By linking
The jail issue with politics.
Some were also seen
That had cases pending in court.
Some had filed appeals.
There were also some in the temple of democracy
Who
Had petitioned for mercy
– In the temple of justice.

While some were stars from the film world
Others were darlings of the sports world.
Some had hordes of money
Some had come to earn some money
Some were not concerned with
Either status or wealth.
They were just present, as is.
Most of the fighters were found absent that day.

After seeing/enduring so much
My blood pressure
Was bound to escalate
But
At the same time
Different types of
People were also found present there.
My hopes were raised when
I saw
Some
Saviors of forest/water/girl child.
Some legal experts,
And historians
Took care of my high blood pressure.
And even after everything
If there were any left, then they were really
where they were meant to be.

Today I saw some people from the visitor’s gallery.
Those people who disappear after elections,
Whom people wait for,
Four and a half years to see again.
Yes, today from the visitor’s gallery.
I saw some people like that.

Also, read Book Review of Arvind Vegda’s Forgotten Sorrows, Translated by Intaj Malek — Falaknaz Malek, published in The Antonym.

Book Review of Arvind Vegda’s Forgotten Sorrows, Translated by Intaj Malek — Falaknaz Malek

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