TRANSLATED FROM THE TAMIL BY SHERWIN RODRIGUEZ

poem 1

When roasting meat over a fire
the odour of blood must fill your nose.
As the heat of the bones burns your tongue
bite, tear it apart, and swallow.
When the sky above you darkens,
Kiss the ground at your feet.
Hold the tall tree close,
climb up halfway,
and when you jump down, slapping your thighs,
the animals must tremble in fear.
When heat and thirst mounts,
Immerse yourself in a wild lake.
When fishes nibble at your crotch,
Unload a few unsavoury curses.
Our tongues are dead, and our bodies too
have lost all flavour; is this how our clan must live?
Get to your feet, my Angali 1
Hold your spear tight, my Pangali 2;
The forest overflows with life.

poem 2

He who gives spoilt rice
is the worst of rulers.
There is his emblem on the wall;
thrash it with your broom
and lift the pestle onto the mortar,
my wise woman.
Do our clans depend on the ruler,
for us to starve to death?
We have a thousand tracts of land;
the vast forest is our platter.
See, my moustache twitches;
before the Sun descends,
I will return with large prey.
Lift your saree above your knees
and hold the pestle close;
when you pound the pepper and coriander,
the town’s eyes must water.

poem 3

The samsari 3 has moved the fence
and shortened the stream.
The snake-length path is now
the size of a lizard.
Even when famine strikes the village,
greed doesn’t spare anyone.
Hoarding land is unrequited lust.
Watch, the dog’s nostrils will widen
at the bush where the monitor lizards mate.
Animals abound with ancient knowledge.
Elay Pangali,
By now, the dog knows of the lizard’s presence,
and the lizard, of the dog’s arrival.
Tighten your grip on the tool;
Today, the rust on our spears must wither.

1“Angali” is a term of a proximity, used for both familial connections and otherwise.
2 “Pangali” too is a term of proximity; it literally means “shareholder” but is often used with people who are close family.
3 “Samsari” has two prominent meanings; it refers to a man who runs a family, typically a large one, but it could also refer to a farmer.

Also, read Two Tamil Poems II by Mounan Yathrika, translated from The Tamil by Sherwin Rodriguez and published in The Antonym:

Two Tamil Poems II— Mounan Yathrika

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