Khusi Pattanayak: Translations of Giribala Mohanty’s poems

Hunger

The Sun hurried
to board the night train
to report for the morning duty.

As he left ,
The evening  came out of hiding
cautiously. 

A middle aged woman 
restlessly moved near the fence
waiting for the evening to turn dark
anticipating the arrival 
of a customer –
Her hearth can be lit
once she is paid for her toil
the kids will fall asleep
if she gets delayed.

The brazenness of hunger
makes even sin
hang her head in shame.

The doors of inferno were closed.

Woman – IV

You are Yogamaya – yet you are not the ultimate!
The almighty suffered and created you
Willingly 
As his second 
You will remain secondary
Forever.
	
You are not the authority. You are the follower
Your movements and motions are regulated 
By the desires of the omnipotent
Forever. 
Strange
You are the divine power
Nature, you are the great illusion
The destructress.
You are 
The governor of
Creation, condition, cataclysm
You connect the tree of life 
With the stage of heavens
Yet
You are so vulnerable
So dependent
How miserable
Is your life and existence here
You are forever the subordinate
Subservient to the authority
Reliant
Forever
Childhood, adulthood, old-age
Separated, enslaved, distorted
By someone’s regulation.

You are forever secondary
Forever…

---

_Author

_{Giribala Mohanty, retired Professor of Odia Language and Literature, has more than 15 books to her credit – poetry anthologies, theoretical scholarships & translation. She is a prominent voice in Odia literature who speaks about human conditions and socio-cultural issues plaguing women.  She has been actively writing about the politics of gender and the world around since the early 1970s. Her latest collection Streeloka  (2021) was an Amazon bestseller. A polyglot, she is a recipient of many national and international honours . She is settled in Visva-Bharati , Santiniketan (India) and enjoys a tranquil post-retirement life.}

_Translator 

_{Dr. Khusi Pattanayak is an author and translator who is well-versed in English, Hindi, Bengali & Odia languages . In her 14+ years of professional career she has been actively engaged in  both academia and industry.  A PhD in English Literature she was featured in TEDx Thought Break. A Harry Potter scholar and cinephile, she is a published photographer & literary-model. Incidentally she is also the Prose & Art Editor for The Pine Cone Review.}

_{See Howie Good}