English Literature – Poetry ☆ वे लोग / Those people – श्री लक्ष्मी शंकर बाजपेयी … ☆ भावानुवाद – Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi, NM ☆

Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi, NM

(Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi —an ex Naval Officer, possesses a multifaceted personality. He served as a Senior Advisor in prestigious Supercomputer organisation C-DAC, Pune. He was involved in various Artificial Intelligence and High-Performance Computing projects of national and international repute. He has got a long experience in the field of ‘Natural Language Processing’, especially, in the domain of Machine Translation. He has taken the mantle of translating the timeless beauties of Indian literature upon himself so that it reaches across the globe. He has also undertaken translation work for Shri Narendra Modi, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, which was highly appreciated by him. He is also a member of ‘Bombay Film Writer Association’.

 We present an English Version of Mr. Laxmi Shankar Bajpai’s Classical Poetry  वे लोग with title “Those people.” Mr. Laxmi Shankar Bajpai (Ex-Dy Director General – All India Radio) is a renowned Poet, Gazalkar and Communicator. We extend our heartiest thanks to Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi for this beautiful translation.)

श्री लक्ष्मी शंकर बाजपेयी

~ वे लोग… ~ 

☆

वे लोग

डिबिया में भर कर पिसी हुई चीनी

तलाशते थे चीटियों के ठिकाने

छतों पर बिखेरते थे

बाजरे के दाने

कि आकर चुग सकें चिड़ियां

भोजन प्रारंभ करने से पहले

वे लोग, निकालते थे गाय और दूसरे प्राणियों का हिस्सा

सूर्यास्त के बाद, वे लोग

नहीं तोड़ने देते थे,

पेड़ से एक पत्ती तक

कि खलल न पड़ जाए

सोए हुए पेड़ों की नींद में

जब चिड़ियों के झुंड के झुंड

आ जुटते थे उनकी फसलों पर

तो वे उन्हें भगाने की बजाय

कहते थे.. राम की चिड़ियां..

राम के खेत..

खाओ री चिड़ियो भर भर पेट

वे अपनी तरफ से शुरू कर देते थे बात..

अजनबी से पूछ लेते थे उसका परिचय

ज़रूरतमंद की करते थे दिल खोलकर मदद

बस्ती में कोई पूछे किसी का मकान

तो पहुंचा कर आते थे उस मकान तक..

कोई भूला भटका अनजान

मुसाफिर आ जाए रात बिरात

तो करते थे भोजन और विश्राम की व्यवस्था

संभव है अभी भी दूरदराज

किसी गांव या क़स्बे में

मौजूद हों उनकी प्रजाति के कुछ लोग

काश ऐसे लोगों का

बन सकता एक संग्रहालय

कि आने वाली पीढ़ियों के लोग

जान पाते

कि जीने का एक अंदाज़

ऐसा भी था..

© लक्ष्मी शंकर बाजपेयी

मोबाईल  – 9899844933

~ Those people… ~ 

Those were the people who used

to carry powdered sugar in a tiny casket…

And, search painstakingly

For the anthills to feed the ants…

They used to scatter the

millet grains on the roofs

For the birds to come and feed…

They would keep water cauldrons outside their houses

For the desperate animals to quench their thirst…

Before partaking their meals

They would keep a part of it

For the cows and other animals to feed on…

After sunset, they would never allow plucking of

even a leaf from the trees…

Ensuring that the sleeping trees

are not disturbed…

When the flocks of birds

Would gather on their crops

Then, instead of driving them away

They would welcome them

Saying, God’s birds, God’s fields…

Have your stomach’s fill…

They used to start talking first

on their own, even with strangers

Asking their whereabouts and well-being…

They would help needy

people wholeheartedly,

If someone inquired about someone’s address

They would accompany him to that house…

If chanced upon any stray

unknown traveller

They would make arrangement for his food and  overnight stay…

It may still be  possible,

That, somewhere in some remote village or town,

Some people of this breed are still left…

How I wish

A museum could be built

of such people

For the coming generations to

know that

Such people existed, and

This was their style of living…

☆

~Pravin Raghuvanshi

 Translated by – Captain Pravin Raghuvanshi, NM