A tribute to poet Jayanta Mahapatra by lyricist Gulzar
He who was a poet used to keep silent
And say the strangest issues
With his eyes educated at one’s ears he would hear
To the sound of mute silences
He would gather the shadows of the moon
And the damp drops of sunshine
Filling the dry leaves of the night time in his cupped arms
He would rattle them
Poet-lyricist Gulzar.
From this dense forest of Time
He would pluck ripe-unripe moments
Yes, he, that unusual poet
Would get up within the night time and
Raising on his elbows
Kiss the moon on its chin
I heard he departed from the earth yesterday
— Translated from the Urdu unique by Rakhshanda Jalil