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Saki

a few poems
in the saki's* diary
when reading
I remember my stories
he always listened to

chand ashaa'r-o-nazm
saaki ke roznaame mein
jo padhe maine
mere daastaan yaad aaye
jo woh sunte reh gaya

Raamesh Gowri Raghavan
India

*The Saki in an Indian & Middle-Eastern bar or alehouse is a person who acts as bartender, waiter and more. Saki also refers to a personal servant employed by merchants and aristocrats to serve wine. The British short story writer Hector Hugh Munro used 'Saki' as his pen name. The saki is a recurrent theme in Urdu poetry, with many poems addressed to him. I have therefore left Saki untranslated, 'bartender' seemed odd.




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