Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Duhthu Sam

.

Samah sam luat a awm em ni?
Sam zel mai dawn lungruk duhai—
Duhai tin kim tawng mah lo i'
A dam mah na a riang thinlai.

Theih chang teh se hnu chhawn ka nuam
Lun lua, ri luai vangkhawpui hi,
Chungmu iangin sa huai phairuam
Kirtiang rel san ka nuam a ni.

Len lai rel in va tum i la
Lentu chawi vel tukram dai an,
Tah chuan run rem a rem mah na
Kum tluang hluan hring siahthing hnuai an.

Va zai, tui thiang, ri mawi ngaiin
Tuan va rel i', tlai ni tin in.
__________

10 comments:

Mizohican said...

Ok I know some people might not like to admit it because they consider it embarrassing. But I will say it because I don't care. Pi Mesjay, I love your poem but I am one of those people who find it difficult to understand "mizo tawng upa". There are a few words here and there that I do not know the meaning of. Can you please write the English translation if it's not a problem for you? This way, I too can learn what those Mizo words really mean.

And please contact me asap on my number because I am in Mumbai right now. 9930961576. Thanx. Been trying so hard to get your number from friends but to no avail.

DayDreamBeliever said...

I think I love your Mizo poems even more than the English ones. Amazing. Please, please getthem published here. And it would look great gracing the pages of our annual magazine here in the Univ... if you'd allow us to do that :)

Malsawmi Jacob said...

illusionaire, that's why they need teachers to explain the works of Shakespeare, Keats, TS Eliot, Pu Vankhama, etc.!!!
jokes apart, i don't seem able to translate poems. i'll try to put in word notes for those who can't dig the old poetic diction.

after seeing your message i tried calling you twice on friday evening, but you didn't pick it. my mobile needs recharging and i didn't have time during the weekend. will call you as soon as it's done.

are you working in mumbai? hope we can meet up.

Malsawmi Jacob said...

thanks a lot, daydreambeliever. of course, i'll be very happy to be printed in your annual mag.

DayDreamBeliever said...

thanks

Calliopia said...

U H, why do you think poetic diction of the kind that Wordsworth and the Romantics threw out of the window still exists in Mizo poetry? I mean when you look at contemporary English poetry, you don't see anyone use stock phrases, archaicisms, and "inane phraseology" but in Mizo, we still swear by a special language for poetry! Why has that revolution bypassed our poetry, do you think?

Malsawmi Jacob said...

Good question, Calliopia. Guess we got to admit that Mizo literature is way behind English. And poetry has its own stages of growth like everything else. True, we need to move forward, we need to experiment. But what i've felt so far - don't know whether you agree - is that freer diction in mizo poems tend to sound prosaic though they're quite fine as some song lyric. Actually, i'm struggling with an attempt to shed the old style and move on, but... Do share more of your thoughts on this. And thanks a lot for voicing this question.

Calliopia said...

We did have a little discussion on it last year at work and Sangteii mentioned that C Luri's father (I forget his name) did try to write a new kind of poetry that didn't resort to the tired old cliched language but I guess it didn't catch on. Even as song lyrics, some of it set to rap, I've heard quite a number of people complain about how unpoetic they sound, sigh.

And in drama, my sister always talks about how Mizo drama is still essentially in the Morality plays stage. All our dramas seem centred on moralizing and not much else!

I really wish people in the know on lit. like you would take the initiative and experiment boldly. With Mizo lit. grads coming up all the time I definitely think the scene's all set for a revolution.

Malsawmi Jacob said...

Yeah, Calliopia, Mizo lit. has a long long way to go and it's high time for changes.

Mona too had told me some years ago to try poems in a new diction. Trying, let's see how it goes.

Puibawiha said...

It's really a nice poem.