BUNKYACHA (Scarecrow)
Out of my Grandfather's Lahuray hat,
Father's Army overcoat,
A clay pot in which mother roasted corn,
And my own tattered trousers.
I constructed fright for the birds,
Among the paddy seedlings,
Now the wind has blown life in it,
The scare crow dares turn to frighten me instead...
- Translated by D.T. Lepcha
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Samsher Ali is a social activist and a writer from Kalimpong.
