Yashoda Murmu, "Primitive Jarawa" (translated poem; 2017)
(Editor's note: the Jarawa are a small tribal community on the Andaman islands; the Indian government has imposed restrictions on contacting the tribe or doing business with them. Read about them here.)
Primitive Jarawa
With restless, countless waves
The ocean swells and churns,
And in the midst of that sea
Stands an island, still and firm.
I watch birds soaring through the sky
And ships sailing off to distant lands.
Countless waves merge into me—
My mind begins to ripple with feeling.
Suddenly I am engulfed
By an infinite, dense, and overwhelming sorrow.
A vivid memory flashes—
A thick forest on that island,
And my heart begins to burn,
As if I were standing
Beneath the sun on a summer afternoon in Vaishakh.
Like endless waves in the ocean,
So many questions rise within me—
In a free country,
Why are you imprisoned?
A new law has been made for you,
It is forbidden to meet with you.
Why?
Even the wild beasts of the forest
Have learned to live with humans—
Yet you are called the most savage of all,
Even though you are human too.
Why?
With bare bodies and blank expressions,
You stand silently by the roadside.
You step out to fulfill your duty,
But people think you’ve come to seduce them.
Why, after all?
How long will you remain unmoved, still as stone?
Now, listen to what we say—
Let your voices rise, all of them,
Even the earth will echo your sound.
You are Jarawa, and we are Santali,
Both share one identity—Adivasi (Indigenous).
You too must reclaim your rights,
You too are Adivasi—we are Adivasi,
Heirs of Sinagi, Sido, and Birsa.
Translated from Hindi with the assistance of ChatGPT
Published in Forward Press (website), May 2017. Also published in Kavi Man Jani Man anthology