

He has published three books of poetry, and translated Muhammad Iqbal’s poetry from Urdu to English. Mustansir Dalvi, who translated these poems, is a poet, translator, and editor. He has published seven collections of poems in Marathi and has been translated in many languages around the world. Hemant Divate is an award-winning Marathi poet, editor, publisher, translator, and poetry activist. It’s the job of the poet To keep speaking Until blinders are lifted from their eyesĪll this telling will find its worth sometime And, in any case, who other than usįrom the vacuous maws of their navels Let dirt be emptiedįor until the blind regain 20/20 vision Until the deaf can hear acutely

To those who listen but do not hear Keep at it It’s the business of poets To show unseeing crowds Rotting stories We come together, crush them Leave them behind The venom of religion stretches to infinity Out in the street, holy men everywhere Look, it’s something o’clock or the other Keep speaking to these hanging devils Or you’re done for Translated from the Marathi by Mustansir Dalvi Hari Kunzru was born in London and lives in New York. On this seventy-fifth anniversary of Independence, I honor his principles, and his memory. He declined the Bharat Ratna 1 India’s highest civilian honor., because he thought such honors had no place in a Republic. He built civil society organizations because in a democracy there should be a counterweight to government power. He believed in an India that was tolerant, pluralist, and ruthlessly committed to the freedom of its citizens. Later, I discovered that this former freedom fighter with the fluttering papery touch had, as a member of the Constituent Assembly, been one of the framers of the Indian constitution. By that time he was completely blind, and I, a child of eight, was brought to him so he could ‘see’ me, which he did by brushing his fingers, very gently, all over my face. I only met my great grand uncle, Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru, in the last year of his life. Their work has been published in many places including The Penguin Book of Indian Poets, Rattle, nether Quarterly, The Wire, and The Alipore Post. Hamraaz is a fictional character who writes poems about the dark times in India.

And you’re glad you’re safe on the shore,
