Poetry at Sangam
Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.
Sohrai is the harvest festival of the Santals which is celebrated depending on the time of the harvest in a particular region. In northern Jharkhand, where rabi crop is grown, Sohrai is celebrated in January, often coinciding with the Makar Sankranti; while in southern Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal where kharif crop is grown – and where both the poet and the translator hail from – Sohrai is celebrated in October. Sohrai in October often follows Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, and the entire week or fortnight preceding Sohrai too is called Sohrai. The night of Diwali is amavasya, the new moon night, and it is quite cold as winter has almost set in. In villages, the nights around Diwali and Sohrai are often cold and lonely and the difference between the haves and the have-nots is apparent.
The earth is drowned in a sea of darkness
The moon washed over by dark waves
Waves splashing aplenty within my chest
A cat whines somewhere close by while
Foxes groan somewhere in the fields
Wind ensues as bats flap their wings
This night of Sohrai is making me afraid
Fireflies are glowing with life
Yet in this world of the wealthy
An owl has been left to its solitude
In the town afar, I can hear
The bursting of firecrackers