Satpura Revisited

As I write these lines, I am being attacked by a squadron of mosquitoes, armed to the teeth. No pun intended.  And, they would put the best fighter pilots to shame.

Before I dive inside the mosquito-net and tease them with my infrared-signature that they cannot direct their heat seeking missiles at, I thought that I would share a few lines from a very famous Hindi poem with you. Written by Shri Bhavani Prasad Mishra, "Satpura ke Ghaney Jangal (The dense forests of Satpura)" has become a classic in Hindi literature.

The lines below, talk about the mosquitoes in the forests of Satpura. Among other things that is. The beautiful lines are by Mishra-Ji, and the not-so-beautiful translation is mine.

                      सतपुड़ा के घने जंगल।
                 नींद मे डूबे हुए से
                 ऊँघते अनमने जंगल।

                .... (कुछ पंक्तियों  के बाद)...

                मकड़ियों के जाल मुँह पर,
                और सर के बाल मुँह पर
                मच्छरों के दंश वाले,
                दाग काले-लाल मुँह पर,
                वात- झन्झा वहन करते,
                चलो इतना सहन करते,
                कष्ट से ये सने जंगल,
                नींद मे डूबे हुए से
                ऊँघते अनमने जंगल|
                सतपुड़ा के घने जंगल।

            Dense are the forests of Satpura,
            Deep in sleep, yawning and reluctant.

            (..After a few lines..)

           The cobwebs get in the face
           and so does the hair from the head
           On it, are the bite marks of mosquitoes
           colored black and red

           They sustain the wailing winds
           and tolerate them when they can.
           With pain and sorrow in them,
           deeply they sleep.
           And yawn, with reluctance.

           Dense are the forests of Satpura.