Monday 6 June 2011

My Tibet


Chinese authorities sentenced influential Tibetan writer Tashi Rabten, popularly known as Theurang,  to a 4-year jail term in Eastern Tibet.

Theurang is the author of Written in Blood and one of the editors of banned literary magazine 'Shar Dungri' (Eastern Snow Mountain).

He was arrested from the Northwest Nationalities University in Lanzhou on 6 April 2010.

Following poem (translated into English by Bhuchung D. Sonam) is from his book Written in Blood.






My Tibet
by Theurang*

Is it you, the flame that burns in the middle of a storm?
Is it you, the boat that rocks in the sea?
Is it also you, who offers the torch of life in the darkness of night?

Is it you, where there is no freedom?
Is it also you, who is chained and shackled?
Is it you, who writes her history in blood?

Are you a warrior?
Where are your battlefield and the weapons?
Are you a prisoner?
What crimes have you committed?

Is it your sky that the sun shies away from?
Is it your vow to let yourself be silent?
Are these your border guards, the long guns surrounding you?

Freedom is different from restrictions
Because of which you move,
Because of which they tie and bind you, isn't it?

Isn't it you who is being murdered?
Isn't it you who is being jailed?
Isn't it you who is being tortured?
Why is it that you still want to move?
Do you want to move amidst shadows of guns?

No.

Isn't it you who can never be cowed down?
Isn't it you who fiercely burns with passion?
Isn't it you who marches ahead into history?

Don't you need to move even more?
Don't you need to move till the time runs out and the life ends?

1 comment:

  1. Hello Bhuchung D. Sonam

    thank you for a wonderful translation of Tashi Rabten's poem. May I have your permission to reprint it at my blog?

    ReplyDelete