The shop poem

In this hapless , blind shop-trap
Everything that you see , you feel like buying, asap.
In the stories and the shoptalks
In the gory red bedrocks
In the buying and selling of bloodied dead wings
I could buy the moon
Instead I buy only the paper lamp with strings
In this hapless, bloated shop trap
Everything you see, you feel like buying asap.
Things are here, things are there
Objects, objects everywhere
You get attracted often
You get sucked into the shop den
In this hapless, flimsy shop trap
Everything you buy, becomes useless asap.

[ Translated from original Bengali by the poet ]

The Wound

The more agony you lift
The further you slip down the well
The further the rope descends
The more suffering the bucket draws
Rising and falling and moving till the end…
This writing will tell the depth of the wound.

[ Translated from original Bengali by Chirayata Chakrabarty]

At The Antonym, we believe that writing is an important tool for women to voice their experiences of identity, sexuality, marriage, love, family, and life. Our magazine is taking a measured look at the Bengali women who have contributed to contemporary Bengali literature. They are all borne out of different life experiences and have created a distinct storytelling style that not only differentiates them from men writers but also from women. Their distinct approaches have made us believe that we could bring a new focus on Bengali women writers and explore and expand our scope in the form of translating their contributions to Bengali literature. To read about the different Bengali women writers that we have translated, please visit the following page of The Antonym magazine:

Feminine Pen: Translating Bengali Women Writers

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