Modern, well-dressed, well-built young woman
moves, moves, is smart at work,
is open in her clothes and jewelry, and is cheerful
in field work, wears three-quarter pants or shorts
in short, she is versatile in everything.
She is especially indifferent to home food,
thinks eggplant and radishes are barbaric tastes
Curries with gourds, fish soup
are very ‘messy’ when seen, eating them is misery, misery.
She doesn’t even seem to have a taste for her mother’s cooking!
The young woman enjoys eating in flashy restaurants
but is a lover of ‘fish-fries’, French fries,
and ‘chow mein’ is not bad either. She loves it,
the young woman’s uncle said one day,
“Have you seen the fish that you eat when you eat ‘fish-fries’?”
He replied, “What’s there to see? It tastes like that,
Maybe even if you put it in a showcase, it won’t be a slander.”
Don’t be crazy, everyone says that’s a lie
Not the shopkeeper who said ‘Coral!’
Oh Arki! What a beautiful name for you, Rakshi!
Let’s take you to the market to show the fish,
Yes, yes, let’s go, let’s go, I want to see such delicious fish.
Uncle knows which way to go to the market, whether it’s a veggie or a koral
When I entered the market in the morning,
Uncle said, “Stand here, I’ll see if you have a veggie that’s tasty enough to put on display.”
In an instant, two rickshaws full of fish arrived,
Same forehead,
Blackened with color, flies, veggie scales.
The young woman said, “Wack! Wack!”, “Mummy, let’s go home.”
Why don’t you see, my friend! How will the fish be filleted,
The smell of fish and the inside of the fish market!
Sohagi pressed a colorful handkerchief to her nose.
Uncle, I won’t eat fish-fry anymore,
I want to appreciate the aroma of mother’s cooking.
Mama says, “Don’t do that,
There’s no point in eating at a restaurant.”
Toronto, Canada
