I RETURNED HOME, I WENT NOWHERE - KAMALAKAR KADAVE (BHAT) 'S "MARALIDENU MANEGE, ELLIGOO HO:GALILLA" ಮರಳಿದೆನು ಮನೆಗೆ, ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೂ ಹೋಗಲಿಲ್ಲ

Kannada original: maralidenu manege, elligoo ho:galilla ಮರಳಿದೆನು                                ಮನೆಗೆ, ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೂ ಹೋಗಲಿಲ್ಲ

Poet: Kamalakar Kadave (Bhat)

Translated into English by: S. Jayasrinivasa Rao

 

I RETURNED HOME, I WENT NOWHERE

People are on the move, tirelessly, on hundred different paths

Yet they don’t leave any footprints behind

Where shall I go, caught in this bloated crowd?

I returned home, I went nowhere

 

People meet each other all the time in marketplaces

Yet their hearts and minds do not meld

Where’s the melody in this loveless world?

I returned home, I went nowhere

 

The heart is hurt pursuing this scorching routine

Yet, the full-moon’s glow is elusive

Where’s the time in this reckoning world?

I returned home, I went nowhere

 

Every moment’s an endless barter of conversations

Yet, consensus appears remote

How do I sing in this arrogant racket?

I returned home, I went nowhere

 

Shall I shy away under a veil from the harsh sunlight?

I’m alone inside my home, cracking up

I opened my doors, called people in

Together we sat and sang, not a soul did we forget

 *****