Poems by Harjivan Dafda

Translated by Dr.G.K.Vankar

 Ghazal 1

I am tired of carrying a mountain, day in and day out,
O one who walk with me, now you carry it for some time.

A man died of thirst here, close by
When o good man, you were watering a tree.


Since I opened my eyes, I wander, homeless,
Which door, could I lock, like you?

The trees of inequality have grown so huge,
Becoming mite, you uproot them all.

You open your own umbrella and sit in the sun.
Have you ever seen a palm giving shade?


Ghazal 2

It was impossible to live, and yet we lived
All the time suffering innumerable beatings, we lived.

Though we knocked the doors, no one opened,
We lived, carrying only ‘no’ in our bags.

The store is never full, any year,
We lived saving a glassful of jwar.

Like a dove, we spread the shaking
We lived our lives as if on loan.

We lived with our existence, passed years helplessly,
Did we live a sharp life, so that it breaks slavery?


Ghazal 3

I can not find the answer to the thirst.
It is always in the stage of investigation.

How can I see all the growth of the moon
As the curtain of dark night obstructs my vision,

Where is the question of the shirt?
Kaniyo still goes on picking cotton!

In the old book, they struck off my name,
The only objection I came to know was my dress.

Waiting and waiting, the woman grew old and died,
Some day, she hoped, the light will be born in the house.