TIPA VER GRAN LALIMIER
DETRWA TI POEM DEV VIRAHSAWMY
(TOWARDS THE GREAT LIGHT)
A FEW SHORT POEMS BY DEV VIRAHSAWMY
©DEV VIRAHSAWMY FOUNDATION
The Management Company of the Foundation is OCORIAN, 6th Floor, Tower A, 1 Cybercity, Ebène, Mauritius.
Pou seki mo kone,
Seki mo pa kone,
To lamour
Li kouma laroze
Lor enn petal roz.
For those I know
And those I don’t know,
Your love
Is like dew
On a rose petal.
18 SEPTAM 2018 – ALA KI MO ETE!
Li enn gran soulazman
Kan nou kone, anfen,
Ki nou ete.
Konesans donn liberte.
Tou imen lor later ena mem anset:
200 Afriken ki plis ki 50,000 banane desela
Ti kit Lafrik pou peple lemonn.
Nou rasinn dan Lafrik.
Later Moris li enn later Kreol.
Depi 400 banane imigran sorti partou
(Lerop, Lafrik, Lenn, Lasinn)
Nou pe transform nou lil Kreol.
Nou tou nou Kreol;
Nou ena 2 lang Kreol:
Morisien ek Angle.
Nou viv dan enn repiblik maritim:
Nou ena 2,200 km2 later ek
2,300,000 km2 lamer.
Lavi sorti dan dilo;
Nou sivilizasion pou grandi dan dilo.
ENN GRAN DESTEN!
Aster mo kone ki mo ete.
Enn Indo-Afriken-Kreol
Ki kontan later,
Ki pa per lamer.
18 SEPTEMBER 2018 – THIS IS WHAT I AM!
It’s a great feeling
To know who you are,
At long last.
Knowledge gives freedom.
All humans have the same ancestors:
50,000 years ago, 200 Africans
Left Africa to people the world.
Our roots are in Africa.
Mauritius is Creole land.
For 400 years, immigrants
From Europe, Africa and Asia
Have been transforming our Creole island.
We are all Creoles;
We speak 2 Creole languages:
Mauritian and English.
We live in a Maritime Republic
Made of 2,200 km2 of land
And 2,300,000 km2 of sea.
Life comes from the sea;
Our civilization will grow in and on water.
What a great DESTINY!
Now I know who I am.
A Hindo-African-Creole
Who loves his land
And is not afraid of the sea.
19 SEPTAM 2018 – MO IDANTITE
Mo finn viv enn zoli lavi
Ar so bon ek move moman
Tranpe dan dilo sakre lamour,
Lamour Bondie;
Lamour Loga;
Lamour mo zanfan ek tizanfan.
Sak bon ek move moman
Finn ouver mo lizie
Pou konpran mo karrma.
Mo nepli per lamor
Parski li koumansman
Enn lot lavi.
Moksha ou nouvo nesans?
Pa kone.
Me mo atma kone.
Enn ti reflexion:
An Morisien, ki mo pou servi pou ‘atma’?
Mo servi ‘nam’; ena lezot ki servi ‘lam’.
‘Nam’ ek ‘lam’ zot ena plis ki enn sans.
“Zis minwi, bann nam kit zot tom.”
‘Nam’ se enn lespri malefik ousa tortire.
An Angle apel sa ‘ghost’.
“Li enn nam sinema.”
Savedir li kontan al sinema.
Akoz sa ena dimoun ki prefer servi mo ‘lam’.
Tou nam pa malefik.
Ena nam ki gid nou larout.
An Angle apel sa ‘Holy Ghost’.
Akoz sa mo trouv ‘nam’ plis korek
Parski ‘lam’ li kapav osi enn zouti
Ki servi pou koupe-transe,
Pa zis pou raze.
Mo pe viv enn zoli lavi.
Dimoun pe koumans aksepte
Ki nou viv lor enn lil Kreol
Kot nou koz 2 lang Kreol:
MORISIEN ek ANGLE.
Nou tou nou bann imigran
Lor enn lil Kreol.
Samem baz nouvo dime.
Samem soubasman
Pou konstrir NASION MORISIEN.
Malgre difikilte, malgre dife dan lorizon,
Ena lespwar.
19 SEPTEMBER 2018 – MY IDENTITY
I’ve lived a good life
With good and bad moments
Soaked in sacred love
Of God,
Of Loga,
Of children and grandchildren.
Each good and bad moment
Has shed light
On my karma.
I’m not afraid of death;
It’s only the beginning
Of new life.
Moksha or rebirth?
Cannot tell
But my soul knows.
By the way,
Should I say soul or ghost?
In Mauritian there are 2 words for ‘soul’,
‘Lam’ and ‘nam’.
When words are polysemic
Choice is difficult.
Let’s skip this.
Not really relevant.
My life is good.
That we live on a Creole island
Speaking 2 Creole languages,
Mauritian and English,
Is no more repugnant.
That we are all immigrants
On a Creole island
Is our blessed tomorrow,
The foundation-stone
Of the nation to be.
Threatening difficulties? Yes.
Lurking dangers? Yes.
And yet hope shines.
20 SEPTAM 2018 – PARDONE ME RAPEL
Bate-rande pa fer dimal!
Yer, bann Eropeen ti rant partou,
Koken, viole, touye.
Zot ti sir tousa ti zot drwa.
Bondie ti dir zot
Al siviliz bann sovaz.
Zordi bann sovaz pe rant partou
Pou enn bouse manze.
Bann Eropeen pe ranz miray,
Fit zouti, imilie, tortire, touye …
Bate-rande pa fer dimal?
Ki Bondie pe dir aster?
Enn sans lor nou ti lil Kreol,
Kot imigran sorti partou
(Sorti Lerop, Lafrik ek Lazi)
Nou pe ranz sime lalimier,
Tipatipa ziska Gran Lalimier.
Bate-rande fer dimal.
Olie bate-rande,
Anou aprann partaze;
Anou aprann pardone.
Anou lir ansam
Bhagavad-Gita
Ansien Testaman
Nouvo Testaman
Koran.
Tousala parol mem Bondie.
20 SEPTEMBER 2018 – GOD OF MERCY
A tooth for a tooth cannot hurt!
Yesterday they invaded us;
Robbed, raped and butchered.
It was their right, they felt.
God told them
Tame savages
Today savages are invading
For some grub.
They now build walls
Getting ready to humiliate, torture and kill …
A tooth for a tooth cannot hurt?
What is the Lord’s message?
Thank goodness! On our little Creole island
Peopled by immigrants from everywhere
We build paths of light
Step by step to The Great Light.
A tooth for a tooth does hurt!
Instead,
Let’s learn to share;
Let’s learn to forgive.
Let’s together learn to read
The Bhagavad-Gita,
The Old Testament,
The New Testament,
The Holy Koran,
Words from the same God.
23 SEPTAM 2018 – NOUVO KILTIR POLITIK
Tou zafer politik
Me politik pa tou zafer.
Dan tou zafer ki nou fer
Ena so kote politik
Me sa pa vedir ki politik
Kapav ranplas tou.
Politik pa kapav pran plas
Lafwa ek lamour.
Bizen osi fer diferans ant
Politik ek politik-parti.
Ena bann gran problem politik
Ki transand politik-parti,
Politik-partizan.
Sanzman klimatik,
Sekirite alimanter,
Egalite zom-fam,
Drwa minorite sosial ek sexiel,
Literesi … Tousa konsern tou parti politik
Apart bann rasis, fasis ek sexis…
Anou adopte enn nouvo kiltir politik.
23 SEPTEMBER 2018 – NEW POLITICS
Whatever we do
Is in a way political.
Yet politics is not All.
Politics is present in all we do
But politics cannot replace All.
Faith and love transcend politics
Which bows its head.
Let it be clear:
Politics and party-politics
Are not the same.
There are issues
That transcend party-politics,
And political bias.
Climate change,
Food security,
Gender equality,
Minority social and sexual rights,
Literacy concern us all
Except racists, facists and sexists of course.
Let’s adopt a new political culture!
25 SEPTAM 2018 – NOUVO LESPRI
Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders, Yanis Varoufakis ek lezot
Pe plant lespwar dan leker limanite;
Pa lespwar koz manti,
Fer manti vinn vre
Ek vre vinn manti,
Kouyonn lizie,
Angourdi lespri
Me lespwar ki repoz lor mesaz lavenir,
Lor okip zarden Bondie,
Lor parol mars ar aksion,
Lor kouraz kalkile
Dan lentere zanfan ek tizanfan,
Ki konbat egoism ek gourmandiz
Pou ranplas li par
SOLIDARITE EK PARTAZ.
Zordi gramaten, mo finn aprann
Ki Parti Travayis Angle
Finn deside pou entansifie konba
Kont Pitay-Plen-Tenk
Ki pe touy nou planet,
Fer Lenzistis vinn lerwa
– Enn manz 99, 99 manz enn –
Lamizer nwar pou 99,
Fortinn vantar pou Enn.
Zom, fam, zanfan, partou dan lemon
Pe kriye for-for:
“ARETE FOUTOU!”