Muslim women stage a protest against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi in 2022 Muslim women stage a protest against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi in 2022 Ambedkar

1.In between the borderOf my memories and longings,I stand there like a refugeeNowhere to arriveadbackhome or ad casino, no where to standI re-read, re-imagine you and,I write myself as a beautiful tragedy

2.I want to write about silenceThat comes from suppressionOf history, of feelings, of dreamOf generations.And i fail to write because language fails me disgustingly,It is the language with which our existence was erased.How do we write stories of silence in a language that never heardBy your ‘touchable’ ears?

3.For several centuriesI was untouched, by your fleshAnd by languages you createdTo erase me, to invisibalise me;How do i suppose to translate myselfIn your languages which erased meIn your flesh for which i wasAn untouchable?At what historical point nowI became a language in whichYou seek an asylum to be guilt free?

Yogesh Maitreya, Maharashtra

(Yogesh Maitreya is a Bahujan poet, cultural critic, and a translator who uses his Instagram page to talk about caste, love, and discrimination. A PhD scholar at TISS, Mumbai, he has published three books, and is also the founder of Panther’s Paw Publication, which publishes only Dalit Bahujan authors.)

Thotti

To Comrade M M Lawrence, whohad organised Thottis of Kochi inthe beginning of the 1950s

He stood in the bowels of Kochiwith a tin full of shitWho are youThe past century askedI am the son of Eshakki, KuppyandiHe humbly replied

The world decreedYou are the Thotti, the lower caste, born sinner, the untouchableEven the sight of you is inauspicious

The disciple VelayudhanAsked Nanu guru:Is Thotti brahmam?The Guru replied:Thotti is brahmam,The shit too is brahmam.

At the boat jetty, Gandhi declaredThe stink coming from ThottiIs not from his shitIt is from yours.At that moment Kochi’s jaundiced earthSpread its heavy tortured legsMuttered andGave birth to Lawrence chettan

He pulled out a red flag from its navelRaised it and walked its streetsPutting a hand on Kuppyandi’s shoulderLawrence chettan called out:Comrade.

For the first timeHe raised his eyes from the bowels of hellLooked up from the shit to the sky

The Sun left embers in his eyes

Kuppyandi’s broodStill roam in KochiToday, they remove the corporation’s waste

Lawrence chettan is now past 90On a bed of nailsHe waits to meet his Maker

—Translated from Malayalam by A Nathan

Balachandran Chullikkad, Kerala

(Balachandran Chullikkad is an Indian poet, orator, lyricist and actor in Malayalam-language media. His collection of poems includes Pathinettu Kavithakal, Amaavaasiadbackhome or ad casino, Ghazal, Maanasaantharam and Dracula.)

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