Theater

dharati dhaani

dhamak dha nee

translate

no italics

surrender-blend

fuse-refuse

tongues crushed by school benches

Mumtaz Sheikh

this alaap this grunt

this river rushing downhill

to you i sing

manufactured skulls explode

around us

no edges

Rangmanch

colors rub on soul-stage

sun spreads on garbage heaps

piercing plastic

tickling unbearable

stench nourishing

everything that walks

dogs

cats

pigs

rats

goats

humans

cows crows

refuse refuse

H a l a k-m a l a k r i v e r s

rise kick curse

barren screaming acres

wrinkled young bellies

open up sorrowful

ashes flowing livers

aching finger joints

serve meatless

desires of eight kitchens a day

lids full of Ariel—detergent that whitens

grime of countless laundry loads

masters haunt for

soil that feeds (in) rat race—

burn skin not soul

Dry hands

fry fleshless heavy woks

black hot iron sweat glistens

unapologetically

bones hold another pair

sounds of marbles dropping

anklets jingle

no silver

Dancing

trancing together

demanding

lusting

submerging surrendering

intoxicating

fires moving fates

Virodh vidroh vinash

pyaas rooh jism

rudan milan cheetkaar

for worldly has the shape of emptiness

shor angaar

mold rift d r i f t

softly shrieking

shaking stretching

shredding

six yards of handed down

sari

whirling monsoon winds

rhythms roar

scorch spirit

revolting revoluting

sound of hell and heaven is vacuum

Bhookh

ferocious loving

spreading arms

legs heart

finding in atma

utterance denied

love sans knots and stitches

g h a d a r

rang aur jung ka manch

roz-dar-roz

zindagi bina haare

translation transliteration

tarjuma

no italics