The following are poems by Nabaneeta Dev Sen, translated from the Bengali original by Nandana Dev Sen. The poems are from the collection, Acrobat, courtesy of the publisher, Archipelago Books. Acrobat She thought she knew acrobatics rather well.That she could juggle time with both hands,Play with the now, right next to the then,She would make both dance, she thought, fist to fist—And she would glide, so smooth, along the tightrope,She thought she could do absolutely anything at all. Only once in your life will the rope shiver. §Take Back the Night Man: In the twilight, I could still hear the larkWoman: The night was moonless, oppressively dark Man: In the flowering woods, a night fairy walkedWoman: In the Sundarbans the man-eater stalked Man: In that fragrant springtime airWoman: Blood-drenched remains lay there§Right Now: Forever Time has not the power to extinguish me,Don’t think for a moment that I wait upon Time.Let Time keep on playing his absurd battlegame, Every time he strips me, I rise clothed,without shame; With the force of prayer, ofspells magic and divine, All that was untimelywill turn auspicious, sublime. In a just war, the rebel stands forever unafraidFor her ally is Eternity, who, divinely arrayed, Guidesher chariot, destroying the enemy line. Thus, adivisive age will be defeated and spurned— Thoughit brings on great wars, it will lose every time; Fromall our scriptures, this is the truth I have learned.Know that I am cherished by an undivided, infiniteage: Time will never have the power to scorch mewith its rage.§That Girl Sorrow had chased her.The girl kept running andrunning, What else could shedo?She hurled the comb in her handAt sorrow—And instantly, from the comb’s hundredteeth Sprouted thousands of trees,A deep forest swarming with wildanimals. And somewhere among thegrowls of tigers, In that haunteddarkness,Sorrow got lost. Fear had chased her.The girl kept running andrunning, What could she do?She threw her tiny bottle ofperfume At fear—And instantly, the perfumeswelled Into a foaming,whirling cyclone.With a deafening roar,The fierce saffron tide flooded mile aftermile, Sweeping away fear.The day love chased herThe girl had nothing in her hand.She kept running and running,What could she do?She gouged her heart out from herbreast And flung it at love—And instantly, that fistful of heartSprang up into a range of green mountains, With cascades and caves,canyons and crests, MysteryreverberatingIn its gorges and its valleys.The shivering echoOf stormy winds, the rush ofwaterfalls, Its slopes full of shade,and its peak, Burnt by the sun andthe moon.Perhaps it wasThat dazzling, brimful heartThat didn’t allowHer lover’s timid loveTo advance and grow.She is chased now byexhaustion. Empty-handed,empty-hearted, She keepsrunning and running, Whatcan she do?The girl tosses behind herOnly a sigh—And instantlyThe flame of her breathSets fire to her entire past,Spreading in every directionA desert of burning, churning sands. Now the girl runs without a care,Both arms held high above herhead— At lastShe is chasedOnly by her destination.§Heartbeat (To Antara) The meaning of the word “heartbeat”changed for her suddenly that day.Just as the tiny bluebell bursts through deepsnow for the first time, all alone, so brave.Just as the sliver of light falls on one side ofthe face, glowing like a fond memory. Words are flighty. Like fortune’sgoddess, they flit from home tohome,changing their character, and their heart. Theface of the word “heartbeat” suddenlyhardened, like a cunning moneylenderappearing at the door, clutching the deed ofdebts accrued since birth. And so, signing thebond for her lifetime,this free woman became a slave to oneword: “heartbeat.”§Puppet (To Nandana) I can’t decide, was it a mistake? Or is it betterthis way? Twice now, pretending to be agoddess,I’ve created humans out of my desire.Funnily, though, that’s where the fake goddess act ends.After that, you revert to being a woman, as before. Goodand bad, dreams, sorrow—it’s all beyond your will again.So, the puppet’s dance will resume once more, on astring. Practice makes perfect. Always do your best. I look into the mirror: do I know this face?Somewhere it lies hidden, that secretdivine will. Or was it just a momentaryspark,the celestial celebration of an instant,an act of pity by a humorist in thebackground— this cloud-bursting,supernatural light?§Umbilical Cord (For my mother) You are in so much pain. You’re trying to cut thebirth-knot but earth’s umbilicalcordkeeps you tied in twists,tangled likeour weak and fearful love. You’re trying hard to be borninto a different, fearless world.But our restless arms,unshakeable like the sacredthread,coil around your neck—a blood-drenched umbilical cord. You will not have the powerto leave the womb of thisearth and escape freelyinto a newborn breeze.You will be bound here—in pain, in love.§Out of Reach You asked for a nameless love, out of reach, Iweaved you a wreath of blooms, each to each. Youwant love’s temperate breeze, softly sighing, Iblow you a dark thunderstorm, terrifying.Your love is detached, afar, chaste to its core,My love is, in part, love—and, in part, war.§Make Up Your Mind Make up yourmind Who do youwant Thatwoman, or me?Within mebreathe Twopeople— Make up yourmind Who do youwant Thatwoman,Or me?Nabaneeta Dev Sen (1938 – 2019) remains one of the most beloved, versatile and prolific Bengali writers of all time. Equally expressive in poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, she has over one hundred books to her credit, including compilations of poems, novels, plays, stories, memoirs, academic essays, children’s literature, political columns, literary translations, and multiple volumes of her collected works. Educated in Presidency College and Jadavpur University in Kolkata, and then at Harvard, Berkeley and Indiana Universities, Dr. Dev Sen lived a parallel life as a highly acclaimed international scholar and feminist, and a distinguished professor of comparative literature. Her many honours include the Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award, Bangla Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, Big Little Book Award for Children’s Literature, and Lifetime Achievement Award of the Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Guild. She was the Founder and President of the West Bengal Women Writers’ Association, Soi.Nandana Dev Sen is a writer, actor and child-rights activist. She is the author of six children’s books, translated into more than 15 languages globally. An award-winning international actor, Nandana has starred in 20 feature films from four continents, and in multiple languages. After studying literature at Harvard and filmmaking at USC, she worked as a book editor, a screenwriter, a child-rights advocate and as Princess Jasmine in Disneyland. Nandana is Child Protection Ambassador for Save the Children India; she has partnered with UNICEF, RAHI and NCPCR to stop violence against children and end human trafficking. Winner of the Last Girl Champion Award, Nandana has served on the jury of several child-rights commissions, global film festivals and international literary awards, including the DSC Prize.
