Sunday, November 1, 2009

A poem of yellow sadness


 



















A Poem of Yellow Sadness
(For Amrita Shergil)

Amrita,
Although you do not dilute your colours
Like Cezanne,
You borrow
Yellow sadness from the paintings of Gauguin,
Like the sadness in the songs of Rasoolan Bai.
On the ochre earth,
Sad faces,
Lost eyes
And wandering souls
Often moisten the heart-paper.
The spelling of colours on a canvas,
Transform into faces.
The dialogue between the colour and brush,
Just startled,
Ends up abruptly.

A poem of yellow sadness
Is taking shape on the canvas.


Tr. Baidar Bakht

Rasoolan Bai (1903-1974) singer of Benaras School of classical music, known for her singing of thumris, dadras,and other lighter genres of music.
at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Baidar Bakht:: Translator of Urdu Poetry par excellence

  BAIDAR BAKHT is Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering at the Universities of Toronto and Manitoba, Canada. He translat...

  • Pencil 3
    My daughter Little dear daughter Lights a pencil With a sharpener. The sky of the white paper Begins to be filled with light. The black bird...
  • Baidar Bakht:: Translator of Urdu Poetry par excellence
      BAIDAR BAKHT is Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering at the Universities of Toronto and Manitoba, Canada. He translat...
  • The Last Will of the Dalit Poet
    A dalit poet Leaves several things behind: A paper dripping wet with blood, A black sun On the night’s head, A river of blood, A lantern of...