Poems by Shyamashri Ray Karmakar

The Farmer's Odyssey
 
 
He lacks a Tagore to guide him, has no Jibanananda to inspire.
The paddy fields serve as his textbook, Nature teaches him,
the sun and river conspire.
 
With monsoon and clouds as companions true,
He walks the rain-soaked ridge, where day meets night anew.
Past cows in sheds, past waiting loved ones dear,
Past hissing snakes, he walks, unflinching, year by year.
 
He bears the ancestral plow, worn and weak,
Trampled dignity, and revolution's meek.
Age gnaws at his neck, wind claws his eyes,
Poverty drips from his leaky umbrella's sighs.
 
A crushed future plan in his pocket lies,
A simple dream of rice and onions meets his gaze.
Since time immemorial, he walks toward the unknown,
Turning himself into poetry, forever sown.
 
 
 
The Gentle Hand
 
Behold, the season of sowing has arrived.
The farmer rushes to the fields with eager feet.
A basket full of Sun-imbued seeds adorns his head.
The wrinkles on his forehead are etched with the ancient tales of cloud.
 
The lines on his palms are engraved by toil,
a testament of care.
Hunger and thirst bow down at his feet.
Fatigue recedes, making way for his stride.
 
Grief, a loyal companion, shelters him on life's arduous path.
Throughout the day and night, the menstruating earth
serenades him with songs.
The sacred rivers' harmony resonates within that song.
 
There is a holy radiance of devotion, steeped in sorrow.
Dear friend, our hearts are sated with such hollow lore.
 
A land of honest drivers' gentle hand,
Where trains move when rail workers take their stand,
Where the skilled craftsman's right hand shapes,
The artist's left hand paints,
 
They form half the nation,
And walk alongside the tiller's gentle stride.
Those who are chained by dependence can't even stand alongside you;
I am that other half.
May kindness veil my faults.
 

 Shyamashri Ray Karmakar is a writer and translator from Kolkata, India. Her poems have been widely published in esteemed Bengali literary magazines, including Desh, Sharadiya Anandabazar Patrika, Kavisammelan, Masik Krittibas, Vashanagar, Abahaman, and Bandhabnagar. Her short stories have been published in esteemed Bengali magazines and newspapers like Saptahik Bartaman, and Jugashankha. She is the author of 10 Bengali books, including poetry collections Firoja Ronger Ghum, Monokoshter Ghat, Dighal Harindrishya, Elegy O Byadhbhumi, Boye Jao String Quartet, and Matrirupeno Dhulobali. Her awards include Natun Krittibas-Masik Krittibas Award, Nirendranath Chakraborty Smriti Puraskar, and Jatindramohan Bagchi Smriti Puraskar  among others. She is the Chief Editor of Sahitya Ekhaan bilingual magazine. She made her short film 'Button Hole' in 2023, on Autistic adolescent boys' sexual problems and solutions.
Dutta is the recipient of several awards including Sahitya Academy Travelling Grant, Sanskriti Award, Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad’s Yuva Puraskar, Krittibas Puraskar and the Ministry of Culture’s (India) Junior Fellowship in literature.

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