Poems by Shaswata Gangopadhyay

The Recipe of a Poem
 
First remove the husks of words,then put them in a ceramic pot
let them wet in tears,say,for around ten minutes
then,when the maizes in salt take the shapes of granules
fire up the oven,and fry them a little in cooking oil
 
After this, cutting the vein of your right forefinger,
spill a drop of blood and prepare with flour
make a tasty gravy, add spices as required
In the way the deer dance in heavy monsoon night,
musk-scented,just like that manner mix and blend secretly
the rhythm of their stepping motion,in each and every line
now spread over the surface the roasted words
with fresh coriander and green lemon
while hot,like the roundish petals of lotus,
serve it in white paper,one after one
 
and readers will taste it,saying : fantastic
 
 
 
 
A day in a shopping mall
 
As soon as I push myself in through glass-door,two silky sylphs
come floating like the bubbles of water
'Most welcome Sir, just take this in your finger
This is the key to trade-town and walk with your trolley'
 
All around,there're so many tinsel offers displayed :
'If you get an item elsewhere less costly,you'll get twice the margin'
'If you buy a bed-sheet,your sleep at night's assured,
in each of your eye-lids will come wavy and foamy doze'
'If you purchase condom in bulk for the whole year
you'll get 25% discount on each week-end tour'
From the purse, my credit-card jumps,I see
our joys and sorrows,smiles and tears,when I know not
are sold out like frozen fishes in the packet...
It's beyond 9 o'clock,as night falls, lights are off
when coming out,few others whisper mildly :
 
' If you procure love in your hand,along with your deep sighs are free'


​
Translated by Rajdeep Mukherjee

Shaswata Gangopadhyay started writing in Mid 90s. Born and brought up at Kolkata, Shaswata’s poems have been published in all major Bengali Poetry journals.  His books of poems include Inhabitant of Pluto Planet (2001), Offspring of Monster (2009), Holes of Red Crabs(2015), In the city of myth and mushroom (2023) and Poems of Shaswata Gangopadhyay (2023). His ‘Selected Love Poems’ have been published from Cairo, Egypt. His recent book ‘Altamira’ had been published from Prodigy Publication, USA. Very recently he has received ‘Sparkling Soul Award’ from Chile, Latin America.

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