©DEV VIRAHSAWMY AND ICJM
(LET’S BUILD ROADS AND BRIDGES)
Walls, walls everywhere you look!
Walls, walls everywhere you go!
Walls, walls they creep up like hell!
When will the walls come tumbling down?
01. LAMOUR KONPASION-PARDON
Lalimier Lamour amenn lizour toulezour;
Konpasion, pardon, partaz: materyo ranz pon.
Me Mamon dir non, non, non; bizen ranz miray;
Met zepis gourman ek egois dan karay.
Lamour-Pardon dan partaz rod tengn nou laraz;
Olie konstrir sitadel, koup pie pou fer fles,
Dir nou pa perdi letan ar nenport so zes;
Ranz bann pon lor larivier, konekte vilaz.
Me lespri Mamon pli for dan latet pagla;
Fer lalians ar Toupoumwa, enpoz so lalwa:
“Dan vre paradi ena plennti lor-larzan;
Plis pitay plen tenk, plis vinn prezidan.”
Materyo ranz pon pe triy lanti dan prizon
Me zot sir dime Mamon pou dimann pardon.
04.01.18
COMPASSIONATE AND MERCIFUL LOVE
Love’s light brings life everyday;
Pity, peace help build bridges.
But Mammon says niet; build walls;
Season life with egogreed.
Mercy keeps fury in check;
Decries forts and weaponry;
Waste not your time in folly;
Rather build roads and bridges.
But Mammon reigns supreme;
Builds power with Imemine:
“Bliss is spelt ‘money and gold’;
Blessed wealth makes you lord-king.”
In jail, bridge-building impulse
Believes Mammon will beg for peace.
02. PON LINGWA FRANGKA
To rapel Loga ler nou pe ranz pon
Pou travers dilo; tras sime vwayaz
Pou al zwenn lotla; defons bann baryer
Ki separ zanfan imigran lontan
Nou ti zwenn tase parski bann dimoun
Ti prefer miray, filwar ros lor ros?
To rapel Loga ler nou zanfan ne
Nou ti fer serman ki nou pou ed zot
Tras nouvo sime, kiltiv enn zarden
Kot fler natirel ek bann nouvo gref
Pou grandi ansam dan lakorite?
Rev la zordi pe vinn realite!
Pon Lingwa Frangka permet pasaze
Lokal, dideor ranz nouvo dime.
05.01.18
THE LINGUA FRANCA BRIDGE
Loga, remember when building bridges
Over rivers and canals; charting new ways
To meet and greet others; smashing walls
Which kept us all apart in various ghettoes,
We flunked, ran into walls because of
Cretins’ craze and craving for forts and ramparts?
Loga, remember when our children came
We vowed to guide and help them
Chart new roads and grow in their gardens
Old and new blooms of different colours
And fragrances living in harmony?
The old dream is coming true!
The Lingua Franca bridge allows work and play
From here and there to build a new day.
03. KAN MIRAY BAR GETE
To kone twa ki vedir pirte kiltirel?
To kone twa ki vedir kiltir natirel?
Nayjanele, zennpannkonn, sori minotno!
Bann tribi dan mo pei koz disan san tas?
Bann dimoun dan mo lari touletan pe fas?
Kifer mo bayo kifer? Kajani koko!
Sak krwayan pe dir so prop relizion peper;
Sak vwazen pe dir so vwazen pou’al dan lanfer.
Keufer? Vy? Pourkwa? Sa zizman bondie, matlo!
Pourtan nou tou imigran lor later mazik;
Pourtan nou tou sorti dan vant mama Lafrik;
Nou tou ena mem disan, priye mem Bondie:
Bagwann, Elohim, Allah, zot tou mem Bondie.
Ala ki arive kan miray bar gete!
06.01.18
WHEN WALLS BLIND US
What does it mean, cultural purity?
What does it mean, natural culture?
Paakone, jenedenekonnpa!
Clans at home claim to have untainted blood?
People where I live see mote not beam?
Why brother why? Me not know!
Believers say their’s is true religion;
Neighbours pray for neighbours’ damnation.
Why oh why and wherefore? Divine justice!
And yet we’re all immigrants on magic island;
And yet we all grew in Africa’s womb;
We all have the same blood and worship the same God:
Bhagwan, Elohim, Allah? One and only.
See what happens when walls blind us!
04. KISASA?
“Ki li dir? Ki li pe dir? Ki pe dir?
Pa pe konpran, do ta! Pa mo kiltir!”
Dan Paradi Babel, bel tourdisman!
Boukou son ek tapaz. Zero konpran.
Bann anz dan Babel dan koze pa peng
Parski zot bileng, trileng, boukouleng
Me parol rantre-sorti san kit tras;
Servo pe kaye; paz kouver ar tas.
Sak anz dan Babel finn ranz enn miray
Otour so lang, so kiltir, so maray;
Anpes polision, kontaminasion
Ki sorti partou ar lezot nasion.
Bann anz pa kone nou ki fer kiltir.
Kiltir partaze samem lavenir.
07.01. 18
WHAT THE HELL!
“What he says? What he’s saying? What is said?
No understand friend. Not me world!”
In heavenly Babel there’s much confusion.
Much sound and fury signifying nothing.
Babel angels love lingual activity
For they are multilingual, no worry;
Unhindered, words galore flow freely
While the brain stagnates and blots pages.
Each Babel angel has built a wall
Around their language, culture and hut;
Fight pollution and contamination
From foreigners, aliens and elsewhere.
Pity they don’t know we make culture;
Sharing is the road into the future.
05. PON POU PAROL PON
300,000 an desela homo-sapiens
Ar lanatir ti konstrir so kiltir;
Ar poumon, lagorz, labous ek nene
Nou anset Afriken envant koze,
Parol pon ki soud linite imen.
Partou dan lemonn, tou bann desandan
Anset Afriken finn devlop parol
Varye, diferan avek mem rasinn,
Rasinn imen responsab devlopman,
Devlopman lespri, devlopman lekor.
Parol pon ki soud linite imen
Pa ase. Bizen pon ant parol pon:
Koine Grek, Anglo-Saxon, Morisien
Petri dan seni zeni tradiksion.
07.01.18
BRIDGE FOR BRIDGE WORDS
300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens
Used nature to build their culture;
With lungs, throat, mouth and nose
Our African ancestors invented speech,
Words to build and boost humankind.
Throughout the world, our ancestors’
Descendants developed a world of bridge words,
Variegated, different but having common roots,
Human roots responsible for development,
Development of both mind and body.
Words that build and boost humankind
Also need bridges between bridge words:
Greek, Anglo-Saxon, Mauritian koine
Kneaded by the translator’s genius hands.
06. O SARASWATI!
O Saraswati, ansam ar to ser,
Tifi Gran Zeous, gid nouvo lespri
Ki pe fer parol vinn enn libreri;
Ki pe fer bann son vinn enn moniman;
Ki pe ranz bann pon ek kraz bann miray;
Ki pe fer zimaz danse dan divan;
Ki pe ranz lasos dan nouvo karay;
Ki zame aret fer zoli travay.
O tifi Zeous, ansam ar to ser,
Bramma so Shakti, dir poet laba,
Dir poet isi, bizen lafaya
Pou met armoni dan leker amer.
O Saraswati, O tifi Zeous!
Zot pe trap lame? Ala lavi dous!
09.01.2018
O SARASWATI!
O Saraswati, you and your sister,
Great Zeus’ daughter, guide new minds
Who translate old words into standard books;
Who with rhyme-rhythm erect monuments;
Building up bridges and tearing down walls;
Painting new pictures that swing in the wind;
Inventing delicacies for all tastes;
Never giving up, never complaining.
O dear Greek goddess, you and your sister,
Brahma’s own Shakti, tell poets hither,
Tell poets thither, keep fire burning
To fill life with grace and bless our yearning.
O Saraswati, O Zeus’ daughter!
You are holding hands? We’ll climb your ladder.
07. NOU PA ENN LIL
Yer mo ti kwar mo enn lil otonom,
Endepandan ek otosifizan.
Zordi mo kone mo ti dan erer.
Personn pa enn lil. Nou bizen lotla.
Mo konsian ki pase dan mo latet,
Ousa dan mo leker, dan mo lekor
Me kouma pou kone seki pase
Dan latet, lekor ek leker lotla?
Bien bizen ranz pon pou mo konn lotla.
Zis lamour ek lamitie pa ase.
Ki bizen anplis? KRE-A-TI-VI-TE!
Nou bizen kontinie travay Bondie.
Sinema, natak, teat, poezi
Neseser pou fer enn lavi beni.
10.01.2018
NO ONE IS AN ISLAND
I thought I was self-governing and free,
Independent and self-sufficient too.
Now I know how wrong I was.
No one is an island. We need others.
I know what’s going on in my mind
Or in my heart, or in my body.
But how would I know what’s going on
In others’ minds, hearts and bodies?
Bridges are needed to know others.
Love and friendship are not enough.
What more do we need? CRE-A-TI-VI-TY!
We must sustain our Lord’s work.
Films, musicals, plays and poetry
We need to make life blessed and free.
08. PON LAMOUR 1
De fami lager, pa kone kifer
Me garson Ramdeo ekout so leker
Ki koz ar leker tifi Zoliker.
De zanfan Bondie ar lamour sakre
Finn fini ranz pon pou leternite
Mem si dan vilaz partou kot gete
Lapeti miray pe kas tou konte.
Tifi Zoliker, Garson Ramdeo
Toulede ansam finn fini konpran
Pa kapav les ros separ zot desten;
Les laenn diriz fler dan nou zarden;
Les bann pa konpran touy nouvo lelan;
Les bann zoli pon grene dan dilo.
De konstrikter pon desid pou dir NON!
15.01.2018
LOVE BRIDGE 1
Two families at war, no one knows why
But Ramdeo’s son listens to his heart
In unison with Zoliker’s daughter’s heart.
God’s children blessed with love
Have already built a bridge for ever and a day
Although everywhere you look
Walls creep up to smash bridges.
Zoliker’s daughter and Ramdeo’s son
Are fully aware that
They cannot allow stones to stand between them;
Allow hate to bully garden flowers;
Allow “dinnae ken” to kill new prospects;
Allow bridges to fall into deep water.
The two bridge builders say ‘NO’ to all that.
09. PON LAMOUR 2
Olie rezwisans, ti ena gou rans
Dan vilaz parski garson gat nasion
Ti desid partaz lamour ar tifi
Bannla, lamour ki dan tou liv Lespri,
Ki li dan Gita, Labib ou Koran,
Met ansam de atma ek de fami,
Fer vilaz grandi, amenn armoni,
Beni lavi ar gras ek elegans.
Ton Toulsi, abba, sey fer zot konpran
Me sab, lamans pios ti ranplas kontan.
Enn aswar dan nwar, zot ti asasinn
Jati bechwa ki ti amenn mofinn.
Kot disan fane enn fler ti leve;
Ton Toulsi ti dir li’apel “khounkephooul”.
15.01.2018
LOVE BRIDGE 2
No rejoicing, only bitterness
In town because naughty boy
Felt love for alien girl,
Love which according to wisdom
— Be it Gita, Bible or Koran —
Binds souls and families,
Makes life better, brings harmony,
Makes living blessed and sublime.
Old Tulsi in vain tried to appease
But knives and cudgels flourished.
One dark night they were murdered,
Those rotten misfits, seeds of disease.
Where blood was spilt a red flower grew
Which Old Tulsi called “drops-of-blood”.
10. TRWA DAN ENN
Omilie enn ti lil, omilie enn gran sitadel
Ti ena enn shivala, enn legliz ek enn moske.
Trwa plas pou priye, trwa plas pou kriye ensanite:
Eta zangarna, eta bechwa, eta enfidel!
Monper, maharaj ek mawlana ti gagn kongolo;
Pa kone kouma pou fer bann fidel trouv larezon
Parski sakenn ti pe get zis so tibout lorizon,
Refiz sey konpran kifer so vwazen pa so matlo.
Enn zour enn fouka – li apel Toktok –
Asiz anba enn pie tanbalakok
Pou konpran mesaz, konpran Lekritir
Dan Gita, Labib ek dan Koran ‘si.
Enn kou Lalimier ekler so lespri:
Touletrwa bizen pou nou lavenir.
16.01.2018
THREE IN ONE
In the middle of an isle, middle of a citadel
Stood three shrines: a mandir, a church and a mosque.
Three places of worship but alas of hate grotesque:
Hey you pagan, hey you traitor, hey you infidel!
Priests, Pujaris and Imams were deep in quagmire;
Knew not how to make their flocks see the light
For each one only saw their narrow blinkered sight,
Unwilling to open ears and minds to others’ choir.
One day a loony – his name was Nutty –
Sat beneath a tree – it was a dodo tree –
To study and understand the words true
In the Gita, the Bible and the Koran too.
Suddenly Light shone bright to light his mind:
We need all three to serve mankind.
11. KOINE
Ena pon ki vizib, ena pon envizib.
Koine li enn pon envizib me neseser
Parski li permet diferan kiltir koze,
Partaze; parski li permet evolision;
Fer lide avanse; fer lespri devlope;
Permet dimoun diferan tap lame ansam.
Koine Grek, zouti lager Alexann Legran,
Ti vinn enn gran pon pli tar pou mesaz Zezi;
Koine Angle, enstriman kolonizasion,
Finn vinn enn pon endispansab pou nou kiltir;
Koine Morisien, sorti dan vant esklavaz,
Pe vinn siman pou ranz enn nasion larkansiel.
Lavi enn kontradiksion: rekto vinn verso;
Verso vinn rekto; seki anba mont lao.
16.01.2018
KOINE
Some bridges are visible; others invisible.
A koine is an invisible vital bridge
As it makes room for culture dialogue
And sharing; it fosters growth;
Promotes new forward-looking thoughts
And help strangers to hold hands.
Greek koine helped Alexander’s conquests
And later helped the spread of Jesus’ teachings;
English koine, powerful colonial torture
Has become an essential engine of culture;
Mauritian koine from the womb of alienation
Is now the cement to bind a rainbow nation.
Life is a contradiction: bad becomes good;
Good becomes bad or what you would.
12. OM, AMENN, AMINN
Ena ki kwar ki limem tou,
Ki li forzron so prop desten;
Ena ki kwar ki li’nn ne lib
Me ena Enn pli gran ki li.
Ena ki kwar ki so Aminn
Pli for ki tou; ki so Amenn
Pli gran, pli bon; ki so mantra,
Samem so Om, pli bon, pli gran,
Pli siperyer. Ala kouma
Bann zoli pon finn vinn miray.
Ena kone ki touletrwa,
So Om, Aminn ek so Amenn
Trwa pon solid ki mars ansam
Pou tir nou dan obskirite.
17.01.2018
AUM, AMEN, AMEEN
Some believe they’re all in one
And they make their own future;
Others think they are born free
But there is One above them.
There are those who think their Ameen
Is above all; that their Amen
Is above all; that their mantra
Is second to none, that Aum is boss,
Is paragon. Here’s why, friend,
Sublime bridges have turned into sordid walls.
But a few of us know that all three,
Aum, Amen and Ameen
Are perfect matching bridges
Bringing light to darkness.