~Tika Bhai~
Translation : J.S. Simick
“Man”
was what a beautiful animal called himself.
Ages ago he had a tail.
Pleased with this noble creature
Time, one day, quietly took away Man’s tail.
Man felt his rear. The tail was not there.
He searched here, there, everywhere.
His tail was nowhere!
So ashamed, so distressed, Man was without his tail !
Without a tail, how could he face other animals?
No, he just would not let other beings come near him.
He would cage them if they came.
He would kill them if they fled.
War it would be, against all living beings!
But the tail, how to get it back?
A big Council was held.
Wise men said, put on artificial tails.
But many said that would not be.
Then what should it be?
The shame of being without a tail,
Would be hidden with coverings of cloth, leaves and hides.
Many agreed to this.
Those who did not, went naked inside the jungle.
The coverings did not satisfy Man.
Man longed for his tail.
The animals with tails seemed so much better.
Jealousy was sown in the heart of Man.
Evil grew there.
Man, the Thinker,
thought his own character was to blame for being without a tail.
Man, the Schemer,
schemed he would take on the character of an animal,
-then perhaps a tail would grow.
So Man became
A tiger and ate deer.
He became a monkey, but a naughty monkey.
A dog,
A wolf,
A bull,
Man took on the character of all animals,
In time, it dawned on Man
the tail taken away from him by Time
had somehow, somewhere,
been thrust back into his brain.
Man, at last, caught his tail in his own brain.
But he was not the same.
He was not happy.
He could not be happy.
With the tail in his brain
Man was no longer a –
Man !
Original Poem : “मान्छे र पुच्छरको अपहरण”
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Tika Bhai Rai is a contemporary nepali poet and translator. He is the editor of Hamro Awaz. He is the author of five books : KEWAL BUKHYACHAHARU (1998); GUNGUN JOINTLY WITH BIREN GOLEY (2000) ; JATIYA MUKTI SANGHARSKO SAYA BARSHA (2008) ; PAITALATALTIRA (2012) ; BHAGATSINGH KA MAHATWAPURNA DASTAWEJHARU.
(Source : Teesta Rangeet – Poetry Journal – Issue #3)
