Kannada original: DINACHARIYA KEDISIDONDU GHATANE
ದಿನಚರಿಯ ಕೆಡಿಸಿದೊಂದು ಘಟನೆ
Poet: Kamalakar Bhat Kadave
English translation: S. Jayasrinivasa Rao
AN INCIDENT THAT DISRUPTED
MY DAILY ROUTINE
Last night I heard someone scream
Cool breeze had brought down the heat
inside the room
I was reading an English newspaper
It was the time when even the dogs
instead of panting would fall sleep
Hundreds of insects buzzed
around the street lamp
Dense night
All of a sudden, I heard someone scream
All through the day all kinds of bother
The income tax had cut a hole in my salary,
Postponed the plan to buy a bookshelf,
Consulted the ayurvedic doctor for indigestion,
Got the scooter’s mileage fixed
Checked the share certificates that came in the mail,
Feeling drowsy after my meal
I was fluffing up my pillow
for a full pleasurable sleep,
Under the streetlight flashed the sign
showing the prices for the unsold flats
in a new high-rise that had come up
across the window
The programme on Freedom 50
on the TV was beginning to get boring
I started to think of taking a holiday
And while thanking the Budget and the Sensex,
I remembered the wedding invite for tomorrow
and felt happy
In the middle of the night I heard someone scream
*****