By Yogesh Maitreya, TwoCircles.net
Mr. Ketan Pimpalapure, a poet, writer and journalist died in the month of July 31st, 2015. He was about 50 years old and suffering from a liver disease. He is survived by his wife, son and large family. According to senior literary personalities and his contemporaries from Maharashtra, Ketan Pimpalapure was one of the most important literary personalities and poets of our time. However, the notice of his death largely went unnoticed.
Hailed from a small village from Vidharbha region of Maharashtra, Ketan Pimpalapure spent most of his life in Nagpur working and writing. ‘Hey smaran yugandharannche’ and ‘Kaarva nilya pakhrannacha’ these were his anthologies of songs. His published anthologies of poetry include ‘Martial race’, ‘Demofun’, ‘Suryakankan’ and ‘Makabi’. ‘Waiting for visa’ and ‘War and peace’ were his anthologies of poetry, which are yet to be published.
Ketan Pimpalapure was not only engaged with writings, but he was actively involved into Ambedkarite movement. He held the post of Marshal with ‘Samata Sainik Dal, SSD’, the troupe volunteers established by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. He was also a working editor of the magazine called ‘The People’.
Reminiscing about Mr. Ketan Pimpalapure, the stalwart Ambedkarite writer, poet and scholar, Yashwant Manohar from Nagpur had rendered a very heart-touching obituary in his words. He said:
“Ketan’s death posed very difficult questions before his family, Ambedkarite movement and literature. Magnitude of his personality was huge. He had attained the exceptional insight to look at that essence of the things, the rarest quality among contemporary poets. His reading was extensive. His poem easily turns out to be a thoughtful poem as he had a habit to read about philosophers around the world. The wings of his talent and wisdom were utterly thirsty for reaching to the Sky. His poem was being shaped while conversing with sufferings. He was creating a galaxy of words with the vision of Babasaheb. And this brooding writer and exceptionally talented poet, was immaculately humble.”
Here are four poems by Ketan Pimpalapure, translated from Marathi.
1)
When he was doing protest,
and into Morcha,
on battleground and, was underground,
village has ostracised the locality;
Then,
his leader has become tout,
and an activist within him
slaughtered by police’s baton.
Now an activist goes on
employment guarantee of government and
enough full-timers are available out there
to be sold into wholesale price.
Festival of traders is in full swing,
where has lost
the sturdy man of lion-heart?
2)
Here, rebel of hungry and cloth-less people
sabotaged by the rain of bullets,
hence, I am reflecting on the question:
whether this country is mine or not?
3)
I often dream of pigeons
sitting on the Parliament
who flew carrying banyan-leaf
into their beak.
4)
While carrying me
for the funeral,
O friend!
please put banyan-leafs
on my eyes.