Whisper Of Pines Cogar na nGiúiseanna Janak Sapkota Whisper Of Pines Cogar na nGiúiseanna Janak Sapkota With Irish-language versions by Gabriel Rosenstock Edited by Mícheál Ó hAodha H a i k u ORIGINAL WRITING Dedicated to my adorable Carla for whispering the secrets An Chéad Chló 2011 © Leaganacha Gaeilge: Gabriel Rosenstock, 2011 © Na haiku agus na senryu bunaidh: Janak Sapkota 2011 Gach ceart ar cosnamh. Ní ceadmhach aon chuid den fhoilseachán seo a atáirgeadh, a chur i gcomhad athfhála nó a tharchur in aon mhodh ná slí, bíodh sin leictreonach, meicniúil, bunaithe ar fhótachóipeáil, ar thaifeadadh nó eile, gan cead a fháil roimh ré ón bhfoilsitheoir. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems—without the prior written permission of the author. ISBNs Parent : 978-1-908817-41-9 ePub: 978-1-908817-42-6 Mobi : 978-1-908817-43-3 Published by Original Writing Ltd., Dublin, 2011. geese by the lake an bháisteach ina caille waterlilies lasann péacóg such whiteness an mhaidin géanna cois uisce in the darkening rain póicíní locha a peacock á, an bháine lights up the morning 14 15 a scattering old man dozes in the sun of magnolia blossoms - withering flower windswept clouds in a clay pot scata seanduine ag míogarnach bláthanna magnóilia – faoin ngrian; bláth feoite scamaill rite i bpota cré 16 17 ar pháirc an chatha an open grave idir na cnámha a bleached bone fiaile glows in the moonlight on the battlefield uaigh oscailte between the bones cnámh bhánaithe weeds ag lonrú faoi sholas na ré 18 19 on a windy night thinking it´s daylight the candle in the room a bee searches for flowers around a table lamp tries to be still á shamhlú go bhfuil sé ina lá oíche ghaofar beach ag lorg bláthanna coinneal sa seomra thart an ar lampa boird ag iarraidh a bheith socair 20 21 ploughing the rice field – These haiku wake up the senses, prick up the ears, open the eyes, birds gouge wax from the ears, tingle the touch, smell the universe. They squabbling over earthworms are as clean as every whistle, as cold as the mountain dews, as perfect as a snowflake, as welcome as Christmas, as sharp as a cutting edge, How curious it is that a Nepalese haikuist –someone from the as tangful as sherbet. They are an education, because we know the Buddha's territory – should present us with this haiku. Tradition has world anew and again. it that the Buddha's first inkling into the nature of conflict – and his Alan Titley mission to find the remedy for all conflict – came from such a sight, witnessed as a child, and now so succinctly sketched for us here by He masters the core of haiku poetry with his concentrated images of Janak. Relish these haiku and senryu. They come from the purest passion and sympathetic insight. source! Agnar Artúvertin Gabriel Rosenstock If God created the world, Janak Sapkota traces His mysterious ways Genuine haiku with fresh and unforgettable images that stay in our and reveals them in three-line poems. His distinct sensibility has mind after we close the book. added to haiku spirit something new the like of which cannot be Ion Codrescu found among most of American-led haiku. Susumu Takiguchi Chairman, The World Haiku Club Janak achieves a deep interpenetration with nature in these finely Managing Editor & Acting Editor-in-Chief, World Haiku Review engineered haiku, ably translated by Rosenstock who is at his best when in the presence of the mystic interface of the east. Seán Mac Mathúna Once in a while one reads a good haiku written by a Western poet, but many Western poets erroneously think that three lines, preferably consisting of 5-7-5 syllables, make a haiku. The haiku of Nepalese When instead of expressing merely the personal, these haiku turn poet Janak Sapkota offer what most Western haiku miss: that delicate transparent, then the enthralling fragility of the form comes close to Eastern flavour, turning a handful of words into poetry, into real eternity. haiku. Dileep Jhaveri Germain Droogenbroodt 64 65 Haiku is about movement in a world where we think that we understand stillness. It is about the journey, the passing through. The Brief Interview with Janak mind travels. The heart travels. The eye travels. They say that even as he lay dying, the Japanese haijin Basho was thinking of the next Mícheál Ó hAodha road he would take on his journey, the next words that would frame his frameless insights. Having read Janak Sapkota I can understand why. Mícheál Ó hAodha Can you tell us a small bit about your background, Janak? Where Author of “Survivor”: Dúchas Dóchasach (2007) you are from? Many writers cite early childhood as the period when they were first drawn to books and poetry. What drew you to litera- ture initially? I was born in Baglung in the mid-western part of Nepal. Until the age of five I was under care of my grandparents in a small village, Bihunkot. Later on, I went to live with my parents in some other village of Baglung, where I stayed most my childhood. Both are very remote villages where nature is the only technology to which villagers have access. Daily life of local people is led with simplicity and complete dependence on nature. From the early morning shower in natural spring water till the moon-lightened stone trails at late evening, everything remains shaped by nature and virginally untouched by man. Definitely, the contact with nature during my childhood has enlightened me and awakened my senses for poetry. Many of those experiences are still reflected in my Haiku. 66 67 What are your interests/hobbies outside of literature? What style or genres of literature do you enjoy as a reader? Actually, poetry is my main past time. As a postgraduate student I enjoy reading all types of poetry in general but especially true in Science, my days are fully stressed with assignments and Haiku pieces. Philosophy and biographies also attract me more deadlines. Whenever I find a little gap in between the busy days, than fiction. I refuge myself in the poetry, which I feel as a shelter to forget the ritzy world and oxygenate my senses. Besides poetry, I share my Can you tell us a little bit about the situation for writers in Nepal free time playing cricket. and the development of Nepalese literature and language? How did you first become interested in creative writing and when The Nepali language evolved from Sanskrit and it is difficult to did you first think that you could be a writer? date the beginning of the Nepali era. Before Bhanubhakta (the ‘Adhikavi’, meaning the ‘first poet’) most of the writers used I developed my passion for writing from the early stages of my Sanskrit as their primary language. Bhanubhakta Acharya and life; already I used to write for school competitions and literature Motiram Bhatta brought forward the Nepali literature from the classes. And although teachers and friends could recognize talent Sanskrit era. After them the most significant period in Nepali in me and kept on incentivising me to continue, I honestly literature began and poetry became the richest genre of twentieth- never believed I could one day become a writer. In Nepal it is a century Nepali literature. very tortuous path to survive being a writer. Luckily, I had the It has always been impossible for a Nepali writer to earn a opportunity to meet Cathal Ó Searcaigh accidently in the bus livelihood from literary work alone and hence writers need to stop from college back to home, in one of his frequent visits to support themselves from other income sources. Nowadays, the Nepal. We found that poetry was a common interest between us, situation continues to be precarious. There is not any significant and I can say poetry bonded us for a long-lasting friendship. After support for writers except for very few leading authors. Some reading some of my poems, perhaps he sensed some potential in institutions which were established with the aim of promoting me and offered me a British haiku journal, Blithe Spirit, where I Nepali literature such as Nepal Academy, Sajha Prakashan and had my first insight into Haiku. There my fervour towards Haiku Madan Puruskar Guthi are struggling without funds. Also, the was born and under his guidance I start to write the first Haiku. limited nature of official support for publishing and literature One year after that, I published my first Haiku collection together force writers to seek opportunities in the English language. with Cathal, Winter Lights. It was only then that I realized I Unfortunately, I need to say that was the same reason why I could go further with my dream to be a writer. started writing in English. 68 69 Is Nepali literature thriving? You have spent some periods un- limited edition, and is also a bilingual Irish-English edition, dertaking writing workshops in Ireland and other western countries. ingeniously translated by Gabriel. How does western literature or writing differ from that of Nepal? Are many Nepalese writers actually living outside Nepal as was true What is it about the writing of haiku that you like most? (still, to a certain extent) and especially in the past in relation to Irish writers? Haiku is my shelter, the only place where I feel safe to truly express my inner and most intimate memories.