Sabika Abbas

Poem

Pratishtha Pandya

Editor

Labani Jangi

Painting

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She was stitching away rapidly, pinning her flying rage onto the kantha coverlet. She had learnt the stitch from her grandmother. As a child she had watched, with utter fascination, the magic of grandma&#39;s wrinkled fingers turn rags – little soft pieces of old dhotis, cotton sarees, worn out kameez collected over time – into finely embroidered quilts. It was one such piece done by grandma that came with her dowry when she got married. A safety blanket she held on to, ever more tightly, on troubled cold nights. But it was when she started stitching a coverlet of her own that she felt closest to Naani jaan. It was as if she had learnt to speak her language. It was not imagination, or blasphemy, or rebellion that guided her needle. She came alive at its tip, she loved and spoke with the thread, lived in the patterns it created. She roamed freely inside the stitches, and motifs. She dreamt and parrots flew on the pale white, the splendour of their wings red, orange, green dyed the flower vines next to it. Her anger glistened on the thin, sharp edges of the leaves; resentments deepened the densely stitched centres of  flowers. The fish, horses, elephants, and bees marched to the rhythm of her untold stories.

Translated from Urdu by Pratishtha Pandya.

Lives and languages hanging by a thread

దారపు అల్లికల జీవితాలు, భాషలు

நூலாக தொங்கும் வாழ்க்கைகளும் மொழிகளும்

ਤੰਦ ਨਾਲ਼ ਲਮਕਦੀਆਂ ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀਆਂ ਤੇ ਭਾਸ਼ਾਵਾਂ

ଗୋଟିଏ ସୁତାରେ ଓହଳିଛି ଜୀବନ ଓ ଭାଷା

തലനാരിഴയിൽ തൂങ്ങുന്ന ജീവിതങ്ങളും ഭാഷകളും

ನೂಲಿನ ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನೇತಾಡುವ ಭಾಷೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಬದುಕುಗಳು

नफ़रत के साए में सांस लेतीं ज़िंदगियां और मादरी ज़बानें

એક તાંતણે બાંધી કંઈ કેટલી જિંદગીઓ ને ભાષાઓ

एक सूत मं लटके जिनगी अऊ भाखा

एगो डोर में गूथल बा जिनगी संगे जबान

নাড়ির টানে জারিত মায়েদের ভাষা

লাহী সূতাৰ সীয়নিত জীৱন আৰু ভাষাবোৰ

نفرت کے اس دور میں زندگی اور مادری زبانیں

 Lucknow

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Lives and languages hanging by a thread

In times of divisiveness and hatred, a poet goes looking for the languages of love and liberty. And where else does she end up but in a gossamer of mother tongues rising from silenced histories

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