What book is this ?

 

There is a frenzy around this time of the year to see the transition from one year to the next. We look back at what we achieved and what we lost in the past year and look forward to better things in the upcoming year. 

A few thought provoking pieces of literature and talks came across my way in recent days. One was a poem in Marathi by noted poet Smt. Shanta Shelke. Sharing a photo of her original poem. Upon request from a classmate to translate it in English I made an attempt. It is impossible to match the beauty of the original poem but I gave a try to reproduce the poet’s imagery in English. 

What book is it? Who’s the author?

What is the script ? What prediction it makes?

A hand unseen, without a pause,

Keeps turning over page after page.

The memory of the year bygone

Clouds my mind with a sense of fear

After all will any pleasant content 

On the new page appear ?

Before me I see ,

the wide ocean ceaselessly roaring,

Grain by grain the sand keeps sinking

Yet the shore prepares to caress

Every new wave that’s rising.

I console myself,

Laughing as I wipe each tear

standing there with open arms 

To welcome you warmly O New Year ! 

Saree is a natural dyed ikat on mulberry silk I had found during my trip to Bhubaneshwar in 2018. The finery of Odisha weaves and ikats is perfectly displayed in this saree. The woven border and the exquisite woven design of the pallu are enriched by the fine and elaborate ikat work on the body. The slate gray color on the body is beautifully contrasted by a unique shade of brick on the border and pallu. I was hesitating to pick this saree on the last day of that trip to Odisha because I had already indulged in shopping. But this one was hard to let go.