Aasyaang – think for yourself!
- by
Pratap Bal Tamang
(Translated
by Manjushree Thapa1, originally in Tamang language)
Those
soles of yours which steer rickshaws
must
now steer the country and the universe
Your
tireless hands which shove load carts
must
raise your own culture and people
Deceived
sometimes by religion
and
sometimes by your facial features –
seek
now the sky of your own sunrise
Seek
out feet which will take you to high peaks
You
too are a person like others
You
too are a citizen – like the others of this country
Give
up your foolish sincerity now
alongside
your auctioned identity
The
country is yours as well
The
universe is yours as well
Your
rights exist here too
And
so
search
for your missing self
recall
your forgotten history
and
....
and
Aasyang –
your
son Theba birthed by your young lass:
what
should his future be like?
Think
– think about this for yourself
1
This
poem is extracted from the book ‘The Country is Yours – Contemporary
Nepali Literature’ – translated and introduced by Manjushree Thapa.
2 Aasyang literally means ‘mama’ [mother’s
brother(s)] in Tamang language. But it is used to widely to address one w/
respect where there is a ‘kutumba’ (possibility of marriage between families)
relation. Aasyang is used similarly to ‘solti.’
