Tomatoes

Poem by

Chandrika Razdan (12 years)

A dry, half rotten, weird plant.

In a balcony on the sixth floor

A little green, more brown,

Can you guess any more?

It's stem bended, it's leaves curled,

It's branches dried, it's leaflet swirled.

I gave it water, soil and sun

But still it gave nothing in return.

"What should I do now ?"

I thought and thought and thought,

Until at last I bought medicines,

compost, pesticides and coco peat.

I waited and waited and waited,

till it got at least two leaves.

Few days later it bore

two tiny flower buds

and fresh green leaves.

The next day I was so happy

that I couldn't stop my gaze

and to my amaze,

It's buds are now flowers,

It's leaves now nice and. green.

It's stem straight and branches not so weak

A whole new fresh plant

It did get many tomatoes,

Yes, a tomato plant it was

And it lived for a long time as I know ...

---

Kashmiri Translation by Vishal Kachroo

Myon Kul

म्योन कुल

Poem by

चंद्रिका राज़दान (१२ years)

अख खॊश्क, ऒड दॊद्रयोमुत, अजीब कुल

शेयिमि पोरॖ चि डब्बि प्यठ

केंच़ा सबॖज़, ज़यादॖ बॉदॉमी

वॅन्यतव ओस कुस कुल ?

थम डॊकिथ, पन मॊच़िथ

खॊश्क थरि, पनॖवॅथॖर खटिथ

द्युतमस पोन्य, म्यॅच़ तॖ सिरी

मगर तोति च़ास नॖ मसां ज़ुव

वन्य क्या करस, सूचुम हॆरि बॊन्न

द्युतमस दवाह तॖ खाद, ऑखॖर प्योम ज़ॊन्न

पतॖ प्रारेयस ज़नॖ मुदॖथस

ऑखॖर आयस ज़ॖ पनॖवॅथॖर

दॊयि दोह द्रायस ज़ॖ गॊनचॖ

बेयि केंह सबज़ार

दोयमि दोह गॅयस बॖ स्यठा खॊश

थलि थलि वॖछुम पनुन कुल

प्रुछ़ुम पानस यॖ किथकॅन्य सपुद

वन्य छु म्यॅनिस कुलिस नॊव बहार

पनवॅथॖर बेशुमार

थम स्यॊद तॖ थरि ज़ोरावार

म्योन कुल छु वन्य खॊशगवार

अख नॊव कुल ज़नॖ ज़नॖमस आव

आ यॅहय छु म्योन टमाटर कुल

म्योन फॊलवुन तॖ शूबिदार कुल