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POEM OF THE END - 4
The fisherman has landed on the riverbank.

Kalidas becomes watchful.
And in the fish’s stomach, our heroine’s ring is watchful.

No, no deals for you here,
fisherman. Go away!

This time
no memory will just glide into your net.

The world-to-be
will not get caught on your hook
this time, fisherman.
 
 
 
 

Translator's Note: An allusion to Kalidas' play, Shakuntala. King Dushyant gave Shakuntala a ring when he married her while visiting her ashram. The ring was lost as a result of a disgruntled sage's curse so that the king would not recognise her when she arrived at court to claim her place. It was finally recovered from a fisherman who had found it in the belly of a fish. Shakuntala gave birth to Dushyanta's son, Bharat, the mythological progenitor of Bharat, India.