An English translation of a poem by Malayalam poet K. G. Sankara Pillai appears in the 39th issue of Human Rights & Culture, brought out by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong.
While welcoming KGS back to the pages of HR&C, the editors say: “Prof. Sankara Pillai was one of our very first contributors”.
Here is the poem:
A Preface to an Autobiography
Prof. K.G. Sankara Pillai
Where do I start?
Did history start in me, or
Did I start in history?
Who took form in whom?
Did I see the world, or
Did the world see me?
Who became the truth in whom?
How do I see?
With my memory, or
With forgetfulness
Do I make the trodden paths
Into my arteries?
Do I make the spread out land
Into my flesh?
Do I make the binding tornado
Into my breath?
With affection, or
With curses?
Do I make the hated fears
Into love?
Do I make the sown sins
Into virtue?
Do I make the proud victories
Into sacrifices?
In secret, or
In public?
Do I make the flowering trees
Into ghosts?
Do I make cracking love
Into philosophy
Do I make the whirlpools seen
Into falsehood?
In a leap, or
In a crawl,
Do I make the world behind
A forerunner?
With a bow, or
With a boot, or
With a reception,
Do I make the fallen horse
Into a victor?
With praise, or
With a curse?
Do I raise the past
Into something ugly?
K.G. Sankarapillai, is a contemporary Indian poet writing in Malayalam. He has won the National Award for Poetry in India on two occasions. More about this author may be found at http://india.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=8636
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