Bulahat (The Call In the Night)
- Buláhat 1 [The Call in the Night]
| Kaun rátri me n hamke boláis hai? | Who could have called me in the night |
| Aváj báhar se dhire se áil hai | The sound was barely audible in here |
| Málum ná hai kaun pukáris | It eludes me, just whose voice it was |
| Káheke hamár dvár par áil hai. | Why did he come into my yard? |
| Nautá lekar . . . sáit náu hai | Could it have been the náu 2 with old familiar news |
| Gussáike ke jáne phir lau t gail | Who knows, perhaps he took off in a huff |
| Saramse--álas ham--rah gaili. | While I, old, slow and shameful, stayed behind |
| Kaun rátri me n hamke boláis hai? | But who ever could have called me in the night? |
| Andhyár me n cirág lekar | In the darkness, lantern in his hand |
| Me r hi par se á pukáris | He called from the earthen wall between the |
| Jabáb deli gadgad dil se | dhán 3 |
| Usko jo hamár Bhagván hai. | I answered with joyful heart |
| [Sarnami] | He, who is my Bhagván. |
Shrinivási is a retired educator who lives in Paramaribo. He has published many collections of poetry. An anthology of his poetry was published as Een weinig van het andere (In de Knipscheer, 1984). He was the first to write poetry in Sarnami. In addition he has edited an anthology of Surinamese poetry Wortoe d’e tan abra and, together with Thea Doelwijt, Rebirth in Words.
Sam Garrett is a poet and freelance translator, born in the United States, who lives in Amsterdam. His translations include The Gates of Damascus and Mali Blues by Lieve Joris. He is completing a translation of The Happy Hunting Grounds by Nanne Tepper to be published by HarperCollins.
Footnotes
1. Pratikshá (Paramaribo: n.p., 1968). Rpt. Spiegel van de Surinaamse Poëzie, ed. Michiel van Kempen. (Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1995), 228.
2. Nau: barber; traditionally the one who brings tidings in a village or settlement (author’s note).
3. Dhán: rice paddy (author’s note)
