‘O Wood Cutter
Cut my Shadow’*
Whether I turn Hindu
Buddhist
or Muslim
I can’t cleave this shadow.
Gone is the faeces pot
and the broom
but this shadow
does not depart.
Whether I change
name
work
address
or ilk
this shadow does not leave.
Whether I change
language
dress
or history
this shadow does not crumble.
Whether I compose a smruti
draft the Constitution
enact laws
or become a vote bank
this shadow can never be erased.
‘O Wood Cutter
Cut my Shadow.’
Translated from the Gujarati by Pradip N. Khandwalla