The play begins
When the crowd of men
Forms a garland of bodies
Around it,
She can watch it
Only through the slit in the crowd,
And smell life
From the action of the actor
Who plays the drunkard.
She can hear roaring laughs,
And the cries of women
And make a play
Out of each hazy sight
And each stuttering dialogue
An absurd drama
Throbbing with life
Of hearsay
And slit-vision
With legs straining on false legs
And dresses hked up.
Indian Literature-July-August 2008, page 58
Original in Malayalam: Ajit
Translation : C.S.Venkiteswaran