Poetry at Sangam

SangamHouse

 










LANGUAGE by Pooja Nansi

What do I speak? My tongue makes English shapes with the ease of a trapeze artist. It floats and leaps and floats and pauses like a showoff in mid air before graceful landings. My tongue loves Singlish, it rolls in it delightfully like a happy, muddy, squealing pig. My tongue plays dress up with Malay, it puts on beautiful disguises but never belongs. My tongue sings in Hindi, asks all my child questions in Gujarati Mane bhook lagi che, Mane ghare javu che.

My tongue learns words and forgets words and with every word that appears and disappears, I gain and I lose multitudes.

I learn songs, I learn poems, I learn belonging, I learn me. I lose songs, I lose poems, I lose belonging, I lose me.

Saya belajar lagu, saya belajar puisi, saya belajar kepunyaan, saya belajar diri sendiri. Saya hilang lagu, say hilang puisi, saya hilang kepunyaan, say hilang diri sendiri

Main gaane sikthi hu, main shayari sikthi hu, main apnapan sikthi hu, main apne aap ko sikthi hu. Main gaane khoti hu, main shayari khoti hu, main apnapan khoti hu, main apne aap ko khoti hu.

U geeto sikhu chu, U kavita sikhu chu, U sambandh sikhu chu, u mari jaat ne sikhu chu. U gayan ghumavu chu, U kavita ghumavu chu, U sambandh ghumavu chu, U mari jaat ne ghumavu chu.