Hey, what about your parents?
No…thing.
Both dead?
Yes.
Sister?
No.
Are you all alone then?
Yes.
--- (Silence) ---
What do you do?
I beg.
How much do you get in a day?
Twenty paisa! Thirty paisa!
Does that suffice?
Yes.
What do you eat?
Almost anything.
--- (Silence) ---
What have you got today?
I did not beg today.
Why?
Did not feel like it.
Are you ill?
No.
--- (Silence) ---
This is a smart little shirt alright! Bought it yourself?
No.
Someone gave it to you?
No.
Where did you get it then?
Just got it.
Where?
From the gutter.
Oho!
--- (Silence) ---
What about this Ijer1?
My mother had given it to me.
--- (Silence) ---
Did you see your mother die?
Yes.
What happened?
Illness.
Where did she die?
There. Over there.
What’s your mother’s name?
Gouri.
Father’s?
Sarju Prasad Singh.
Have you ever seen him?
No.
Was it your mother who told you his name?
Yes.
How many years since he died?
Many.
How many?
Many years.
How old are you?
Many years.
--- (Silence) ---
Do you have any illness?
No.
Do you suffer any pain?
No.
Do you have sound sleep?
Yes.
Where do you sleep?
Here.
On that piece of cloth?
Yes.
What if it rains?
Let it.
Do you dream?
Yes.
Remember?
No.
Do you see your mother in your dreams?
Once I had seen her there.
Remember?
No.
What about your bowels?
Stiff, like goat-turds.
--- (Silence) ---
Have you heard of Jyoti Basu2?
No.
Indira Gandhi3?
No.
Shakti Chattopadhyay4?
No.
Uttamkumar5?
I do not know Uttamkumar.
Have you never watched movies?
No.
Where does the sun rise? In which direction?
Here! There! Over there! Almost everywhere!
Do you know the name of your country?
Country?
Ah! The soil you are sitting on right now!
B.T. Road6.
--- (Silence) ---
Aren’t you afraid?
No.
Not afraid of anyone?
I am afraid of the police.
You did not beg today. So, what did you eat?
That handi7…There was some curd in it.
Thrown away from the shop?
Yes.
The traces which remained?
Yes.
--- (Silence) ---
Do you know that dog?
Oh, yes-yes. He is my
dog.
Yours?
My mother brought it up.
What’s his name?
Robi. Hey, Robi…Huss…Huss.
--- (Silence) ---
What did I ask you in the beginning?
Hey, what about your parents?
One of your eyes is blood-red and all swollen up. Do you
know that?
No-no. Is it?
Did you not look at yourself in the mirror?
Yes, I did, but, that was long ago.
--- (Silence) ---
What is your name?
Ganesh.
[This is
an interview]
(Translated by Arka Chattopadhyay)
----------------------------
1. A sort of half pant.
2. Famous politician, one of the founders of
Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the
chief minister of West
Bengal (1914-2010).
3. Famous politician and the one-time prime
minister of India
4. A friend and fellow Bengali poet (1934-1995).
5. A famous hero of Bengali
language cinema (1948-1980).
6. The name of a road in
Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
7. “A deep narrow-mouthed
cooking utensil used in Indian and Pakistani cooking”—Wikipedia.
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