~~Gnop Churi~~ by Sukumar Roy

I’ve always liked this Bengali poem by Sukumar Roy. So am posting the same kabita for my sisters and for all those bongs who can’t read bangla script.

For Non Bongs who would like to know what this poem is all about.. chk the translated version below.. ofcourse it doesn't sound as hillarious as the original....

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Gnop (mustache) Churi

Head officer boro babu lokti boro shanto,

Tar je emon mathar baiymo keyo kokhono janto?

Dibbi chilen khoshmejaje chairkhani chepe
Ekla boshe jhimjhimiye hotat gelen khepe!

Aattke uthe hath pa chure chokti kore gol,
Hotat bolen “gelum gelum, amay dhore tol!”

Tayi sune keyo boddi dake, keyo ba hake police,
Keyo ba bole, “kamre debe sabdhanete tulish”.

Baisto sobai adeek odeek korchea ghoraghuri,
Babu haaken, “oore aamar gnop giyechea churi”.

Gnop harano! Ajob kotha! Tayo hoye satti?
Gnop jora to temni aache, komeni ek ratti.

Sobai mile bujhiye bole, samne dhore aayna,
Moteo gnop hoyeni churi, kokhonno ta hoye na.

Rege aagun tail a begun, tere bolen tini
“karo kothar dhar dharini, soob beta ki chini.
Nongra chata, khangra jhata bichiri aar moyela,
Emon gnop to rakhto jani shyambabuder goyla.
A gnop jodi aamar bolish korbo toder jobai….”

Aaee na bole jorimana korlen tini sobhai.
Bhison rege bishom kheye dilane likhe khataye…

“Kayuke beshi layi dite nayi, sobai chore mathaye.
Officer ae badorgulo, mathaye khali goobor,
Gauf jora je kothaye gelo, keyo rakhe na khobor!
Echea kore ae baitader gauf dhore khub naachi,
Mukkhugulor mundu dhore kodal diye chanchi.

Gaufke bole aamar tomar – gauf ki karo kena?
Gaufer aami gaufer tumi, Gauf diye jaye chena!”

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The English Version:

Mustache Thievery (translated by Prasenjit Gupta)

Head Officer Chief Babu was a very peaceful man--
And then he turned mental--who knew how it began?
He sat drowsing in his chair, smiling a happy smile
When suddenly, it seemed, something drove him wild.

He leapt up and flung his arms about, his eyes red as brick,
He shouted out, “I’m lost, I’m lost, do save me quick!”
Some ran for a doctor, some yelled “Police!” with all their might,
Some advised restraint: “Careful, he could bite!”

Everyone was rushing frantic, leaving letters untyped--
Then the Babu cried, “Oh help, my mustache has been swiped.”
Lost his mustache? Incredible! How could it be?
But his handlebars were just the same, plain for all to see.

They tried to explain things, held a mirror to his face:
His whiskers weren’t stolen, that couldn’t be the case.
But angry as fire, an eggplant in hot oil, he sputtered and shook:
“I don’t believe a single man, I know each of you crooks.

Dirty and ragged, an over-used broom--an obvious pretender!--
This kind of mustache was kept by Shyambabu’s milk vendor.
I’ll shoot the whole lot! if you say this mustache is mine.”
And right away he proclaimed for all a rather hefty fine.

Getting hotter by the minute, he wrote and underlined in red:
“Give anyone an inch of rope, they’ll climb up on your head.
These monkeys at the office, with brains of dung and hay--

Where my perfect mustache went, not one of them can say.

I should grab their whiskers and dance them up and down
Or shave their sorry heads with a spade upon their crown.
They claim the mustache is mine--as though it’s something you can own!

The mustache owns the man, my friend--that’s how we all are known.”

The Shoe Story~

Singapore, the shoppers' paradise, Singapore where you will get to see really well-groomed ladies with flawless skin and perfect bodies, who takes special care before stepping out of their house…..proper makeup, perfect fit cloths with matching fancy shoes. Oh Yes… SHOES… the reason am here today… to tell you all about how these SHOES caught my attention and made me “Go Crazy” for them. I never realized how the change happened and I started ‘Noticing’ shoes! Wondering now is it ‘coz they reminds me of the famous Kolkata’s 'Macher Bajar’ (Fish stall)? And that surely is a warm comfort in a foreign land. Maybe the only difference is in their language….. but that’s obvious afterall.. different country, different dialect!

Yes, you can enjoy the music of famous Kolkata’s Macher bajaar in the heart of Singapore. The best time to enjoy it is during the “peak hrs”, when everyone is rushing to or from office. And you got to be in the Right Place if you want to have a fool proof Bose speaker kind of sound effect. The right place would be the zebra crossings in the “Peak hrs” or “underpass”. Will get back to the SS (Shoe Sound) effect a lil later.

It’s almost been 2 months now, I still remember the evening when I was casually browsing through the mall windows and this smart black executive looking shoe caught my attention. It was just perfect for me… the heel was not too high.. if I decide to buy, its share of contribution to my height would be another one inch… exactly the way I wanted!! With apprehension I went inside the store to check the price tag. This is ‘coz my past experience in buying a shoe here in Singapore was not very good. Whenever I liked a pair and was all set to buy it… the price tag forced me to do a mental conversion to my home currency and the result always made me put the shoe back in rack. Not to take the risk of you branding me as a parsimonious woman, in defense, I would say, its coz of my fair knowledge about home market. I was sure the same quality shoe back home would cost me not more than INR 800.

So, now you will understand why I was so overwhelmed to see the price tag of the shoe, which read as $13. I was not sure if I read it correctly or if I missed a digit! So, after confirming and feeling great about this Price haggle, I headed directly towards the payment counter. Never realized even at the time of making the payment, that I just contributed my share of NOISE oops I mean Music in the ‘Shoe Talk’ that I’ve started detesting so much.

My first experience with my proud purchase was somewhat embarrassing to my own ears.. as it could never understand the language of its own master, which ofcours is me, asking the shoe to behave and talk ‘politely’, neither could I understand why the shoe behaves so arrogantly and never stops jabbering and catching peoples attention, ofcourse for a wrong reason! Within few days I realized its not my Best buy, my dear $13 pride buy was costing me a lot and all coz the owner was not ready to tolerate the shoe’s arrogance and loudness and the shoe doesn’t even realize its doing anything wrong.. coz its been designed like that way.

Today, when I left office it was drizzling and was difficult to get a cab (yeah you guessed it right.. the cab is not for me but for my pet the pride purchase my shoe). So, I had to walk the long corridor and then the underpass to reach the bus stop. Hearing the LOUD blabbering of my dear Shoe.. I realized for the first time that I shouldn’t be blaming the shoe for its loudness and being a chatterbox. It’s not its fault. The developer (be the almighty GOD or the mere shoe maker) has designed the code for these “species” in such a way that the proverb “empty vessels make the most sound” is always considered to be true even at this age n generation!