immortal man

That man died

having walked for a thousand years in a darkness
he lay there in the middle of the street
probably crushed by a bus

the sun had not risen
nor the birds chirped
a man came running
and said-this was my friend
was going somewhere
how did he die

the crowd on street
prompted a woman
to alight from a rickshaw
she looked at the dead man
and started crying

said-i used to love
had got his letter only yesterday
he wanted to say  so many things  to me
that man,was as if listening to everything
as if it was on
ly sleep that he had
fallen into .on that  street

he wanted to narrate the cause of his death
he did not  want people
to have misconceptions
about  him after his death

just then,came an old man
from some far off land
and said-this is my son
i knew he would not be
able to survive in this world

that dead man on the street
came back to life for a while
shook hands with his friend
kissed the man
and greeted his father
with folded hands

said-please go home
and live in peace
look, iam not dead yet.
and the man became immortal as soon as he said that


vimal kumar
translated by shalini s.saharma .