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The Kerosene Boy
(A modest gift to Motihari, Bihar, India, on
Republic Day 2006)
By Anant Kumar, Kassel/ Germany; trans. Prof.
Marilya Veteto Reese, NAU, Flagstaff, USA
1. The Birth
While in Mango village
it
rained
someone
tore through his mother’s womb
her husband ran
yes ran in thunder
and lightning
for the doctors of Motihari sat
behind
closed doors
Indra let it pour today:
some
whored
some caressed
we lay in
puddles
screaming
unconscious
the village women
massaged
cold hands, rigid feet
while Shiva opened the eyes
yes
Shiva opened them
The woman was revived
2. Girlboy
In school
I am teased
Because I am a
girlboy.
Mama, she was saddened
a bit--
When she saw
the little man.
She’d hoped for a girl.
Bapu was glad
Not of my little man
but
because he had
Both, me and my Amma.
So I am:
Just mama’s child.
Girl and
boy.
3. Big and Little
Three of us
quite small
quite
little
Motihari grows apace
shops and stores
many
children
Where we live is
the train station
the diesel
engines bring
the trains there
from big cities
from Bombay from
Delhi
Motiharis misery
in German
snapshots
snakes
that frighten me
in Japanese film
4. The Kerosene
Boy
Daytimes
my Daddy
is mailman
while I’m sitting
here in
school
Evenings
shopkeeper
he
and his salesman
I
sells fresh produce
Mama
and
kerosene
I
at the biggest circle
where lovely women shown
on
gigantic billboards
when nighttimes
the lamps flicker
and it’s
fragrant
children work at
lessons for school
Quite good
am I at numbers
Especially
fond
of English.
Sudhir Kumar is my name
I am
9
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