The Housewife

The House Wife*

I

When I hasten homewards after the morning bath in the river, my path resounds with the song of them who soar in the sky;

There flutter before me the green flags unfurled by them who people the nether regions;

And around me dance the butterflies, swinging their multi-coloured robes,

This world, richly adorned, invites me to a glimpse of its magnificent carnival.

But mine eyes are drunk with the beauty of my home, laburnum-garlanded by the all-beholding sun.

II

When I hurry to my beloved, having quickly gone through house-hold tasks, the sun shines more and more in the unclouded heart of the sky;

The hidden emotions of darkest depths emerge as burning sighs;

And gold-mohur shrubs, their faces marked with the auspicious saffron beaming with joy, stand by in silence.

The world is transformed into a mirror held before me; I am charmed into gazing at my own feelings reflected in the eyes of my beloved.

III

When I rush, to my children playing in the courtyard, the sky becomes suffused by their milky smile changed into moonlight.

The ripples in the river echo their pattering footsteps;

And all the neighbouring homes are lit up by their unsullied grace

The world turns into a fairyland, wafted out of their enchanting selves.

But my soul is merged in those flowerlike forms.

IV

Dwindling in the rising mist of blissful tears, the world fades out.

* Author’s own translation of her Malayalam poem entitled "Kudumbini".