Painting with a White Border
Dhreja
gazes and gazes at the painting with a white border
On the mud wall of his hutHe does not know that
the earth is round like a pitcherHe thinks it’s flat like the earth itself
Which ends on the horizonAll this happens under the canopy that is the sky
the juggler is playing
the drummer is beating the drum of fate
somebody is blowing the conch in the thakurdwara
numberless planets are orbiting round each otherDhreja tries to remember when he was happy the last time
He was happy once, but he does not remember whenMan cries before he learns to smile
Now Dhreja hears the cries of all his children
born after him
He smiles when he realises that
He is the father of them all
He is God himself
It was he who created the painting with the white border
He is overwhelmed.[AM, JW and the poet]
* thakurdwara: a temple
** My family tree starts with the name of Dhreja. He lived in the 17th century.
*** Kandinsky’s Painting With A White Border is in the Guggenheim Museum, NY.
Translated by Amin MughalJohn Welch
Page(s) 80-81
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