To speak all these languages:
Assamese, Bengali, Bodo,
Chhattisgarhi, Dogri , Garo -

Oh, to be able to tongue, "Love"
in Gajarati, Hini, Kannada, Kashmiri,
Khasi,  Kokborok, Konkani -

Or lip, "Desire" in
Maithili,  Malayalam,  Manipuri,  Marathi,  Mizo,  Nepali -

Or whisper, "Good night, Dear"
in Oriya, Punjabi,  Sanskrit,
Santali,  Sindhi, Telugu, Tamil, or Urdu.

By- Neelabh Sourav.
Translated from Assamese by: Bibekananda Choudhury.


I saw a variegated face on your hands
I saw a chequered venomous snake
Eyes bulging
Cheek nose swelled up like the character
in the painting of Van Gogh
Coughing intermittently
I saw an amazing sight on your palms
Magical actor fingers
I got startled on reading
What have you written

How dare you
Making a mincemeat of people
What an astonishing devilish pen I saw
On your hands

(English translation of my Assamese origin 'Bhaal Manuhbur')

Its easy to mark fine people
Fine people know not to deal the market
Rotten potatoes fine people carry home
Infants from fine people's abode shrill a lot
Fine people fall sick to diabetes soon

Fine taste they possess

Bare footed they stroll to Panbazar
Amazed discourse in arbitrary quietness
than the gigling in the dining table
Water you'll find beneath their eyeballs
If pebbles are thrown
mini waves are behold
A little vile...
Most of the fine people delight
Being the chimney of ciggarette smoke.