Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Ranajit Das

ANIMAL PLANET

"I am the master of this universe, my fun and frolic are the only things that matter, besides which there is no other truth or mystery, inside this creation,"— Whenever the modern man thinks like this, he turns into a beetle. A stout, strong black beetle of the Amazon basin. He roams the branches of the rubber trees with a snobbish swagger. He sits in a coffee house of Rio de Janeiro, wearing spectacles and a grave expression on his face, indulging in intellectual discourse about musk and Michel Foucault. In fact that coffee house is nothing but a tall branch of a huge rubber tree, under which flows the river Amazon. And in the water of that river swims a ‘water-monkey’ fish. The fish has two very long beards on its chin. Amid the dense rainforest, suddenly the water-monkey fish jumps from the water up to a height of six feet in the air, neatly gobbles up the beetle in its mouth, and disappears under the waters of the river Amazon.

আ্যানিম্যাল প্ল্যানেট

আ্যানিম্যাল প্ল্যানেট

আধুনিক মানুষ যখনই ভাবে যে, আমিই সব, আমার এই ফুর্তি আর ফাজলামিই
সব, বিশ্বসৃষ্টির ভিতর আর কোনো সত্য বা রহস্য নেই, তখনই সে গুবরে
পোকা হয়ে যায়। আমাজন অববাহিকার কেঁদো কালো শুক্তিশালী গশুবরে পোকা।
কফি হাউসের টেবিলে চশমা পরে বসে থাকে গম্ভীর মুখে, মৃগতৃষ্ঞা ও মিশেল
ফুকো বিষয়ে জ্ঞানগর্ভ আলোচনা করে । আসলে ওই কফি হাউস, বলাই হয়েছে
যে, একটা মস্ত উঁচু রবার গাছের ডাল। যার নীচ দিয়ে বয়ে চলেছে আমাজন
মাছের থুতনিতে দুটো ইয়া লম্বা দাঁড়ি। চতুর্দিকে গভীর জঙ্গলের ভিতরে হঠাৎ
নদীর জল থেকে পাক্কা ছ"ফুট উঁচুতে লাফিয়ে ওঠে সেই "জল-বাঁদর” মাছ,
এবং রবার গাছের ডালে-বসা গশুবরে পোকাটিকে টপ করে মুখে পুরে আবার
তলিয়ে যায় আমাজন নদীর জলে।
Close

ANIMAL PLANET

"I am the master of this universe, my fun and frolic are the only things that matter, besides which there is no other truth or mystery, inside this creation,"— Whenever the modern man thinks like this, he turns into a beetle. A stout, strong black beetle of the Amazon basin. He roams the branches of the rubber trees with a snobbish swagger. He sits in a coffee house of Rio de Janeiro, wearing spectacles and a grave expression on his face, indulging in intellectual discourse about musk and Michel Foucault. In fact that coffee house is nothing but a tall branch of a huge rubber tree, under which flows the river Amazon. And in the water of that river swims a ‘water-monkey’ fish. The fish has two very long beards on its chin. Amid the dense rainforest, suddenly the water-monkey fish jumps from the water up to a height of six feet in the air, neatly gobbles up the beetle in its mouth, and disappears under the waters of the river Amazon.

ANIMAL PLANET

"I am the master of this universe, my fun and frolic are the only things that matter, besides which there is no other truth or mystery, inside this creation,"— Whenever the modern man thinks like this, he turns into a beetle. A stout, strong black beetle of the Amazon basin. He roams the branches of the rubber trees with a snobbish swagger. He sits in a coffee house of Rio de Janeiro, wearing spectacles and a grave expression on his face, indulging in intellectual discourse about musk and Michel Foucault. In fact that coffee house is nothing but a tall branch of a huge rubber tree, under which flows the river Amazon. And in the water of that river swims a ‘water-monkey’ fish. The fish has two very long beards on its chin. Amid the dense rainforest, suddenly the water-monkey fish jumps from the water up to a height of six feet in the air, neatly gobbles up the beetle in its mouth, and disappears under the waters of the river Amazon.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère