Poem

Amarjit Chandan

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Gunachaur

I have never been to Gunachaur.
When I hear the word Gunachaur
	     something happens to me.

Mother used to talk about her distant relations
				                             living in Gunachaur.
I used to fly there on her wings.

I felt —
	   Gunachaur is a place
	   Somewhere beyond Jalandhar
			              near Nawan Shahar.
	   A light flickers in darkness seen from above.
I imagined the relations I never met.

Even now that place is not far off
It’s near	quite near
Where ever I happen to be 
My mother is with me
	     and Gunachaur is close by.

© Translation: 2005, Amarjit Chandan with Julia Casterton
From: Writing Poetry – A Practical Guide. Julia Casterton.
Publisher: The Crowood Press, Wiltshire, 2005

GUNACHAUR

Amarjit Chandan

(Nairobi, 1946)

Amarjit Chandan is a noted Punjabi poet and essayist. He is the author of eight collections of poetry and three books of essays in Punjabi (in the Gurmukhi and the Persian script) and one book of poetry in English translation. Born in Nairobi, he graduated from Punjab University. As a result of his active involvement in the Maoist Naxalite movement in his youth, he was imprisoned and spent two...

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Poems of Amarjit Chandan

Gunachaur

I have never been to Gunachaur.
When I hear the word Gunachaur
	     something happens to me.

Mother used to talk about her distant relations
				                             living in Gunachaur.
I used to fly there on her wings.

I felt —
	   Gunachaur is a place
	   Somewhere beyond Jalandhar
			              near Nawan Shahar.
	   A light flickers in darkness seen from above.
I imagined the relations I never met.

Even now that place is not far off
It’s near	quite near
Where ever I happen to be 
My mother is with me
	     and Gunachaur is close by.

© 2005, Amarjit Chandan with Julia Casterton
From: Writing Poetry – A Practical Guide. Julia Casterton.
Publisher: 2005, The Crowood Press, Wiltshire

Gunachaur

I have never been to Gunachaur.
When I hear the word Gunachaur
	     something happens to me.

Mother used to talk about her distant relations
				                             living in Gunachaur.
I used to fly there on her wings.

I felt —
	   Gunachaur is a place
	   Somewhere beyond Jalandhar
			              near Nawan Shahar.
	   A light flickers in darkness seen from above.
I imagined the relations I never met.

Even now that place is not far off
It’s near	quite near
Where ever I happen to be 
My mother is with me
	     and Gunachaur is close by.