“Hey… I am coming”
Just to find the real answer to your “I am coming”,
I could never ask you when you are coming,
Nor could I ever answer when you would return.
Now, with what words of solace do I comfort
That sixty-year-old father……
Who, after carrying his thirty-year-old son on his shoulders,
Has just returned from burning his corpse at the crematorium?
With what words do I distract and soothe
The aching heart of that mother,
Who, even today, as dawn breaks,
Gathers your favorite drumstick greens (Munga Saga) from the backyard?
Why do I fall dead silent
At the question coming from those innocent lips—
“Uncle…… when will papa come home…?”
To this day, I haven’t gathered the courage to look into
That particular pair of eyes,
To whom I had assured while leaving—
“Have patience…. do not worry,
Everything will be alright.”
But absolutely nothing turned out to be alright.
Even today, the morning arrives
With the wailing sirens of an ambulance,
And the night descends with the burning fires of the crematorium.
Yesterday it was your house…… today it is someone else’s.
The debts borrowed for your sister’s wedding
Are still left to be cleared.
The house that was being constructed
When you were blessed with a family—
Remains unfinished to this day.
Thinking that all worldly family responsibilities had finally ended,
The feet that were heading toward the community prayer hall (Bhagabata Tungi),
Are now out on the streets once again, in search of work.
How do I tell them……
About the government regulation that forbids
Anyone above sixty from stepping out of their homes in these times?
There is no strength left in their hands either, for me to say—
“Go, become self-reliant (Aatmanirbhar).”
Now, whomever I look at,
I feel a deep sense of dread to even ask—
“How are you……?”
And whom can I possibly ask, “When will you return…?”
I am terrified that they, too, might just say,
“Hey….. I am coming,”
And vanish, leaving me behind forever………
— Ratnamaya Tripathy
Adhyayana, Balangir
Original Odia : Ratnamaya Tripathy
Translated by : Dr. Khyatimaya Tripathy
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