ছোঁ হোৱাই ভাল

Here's a translation of the same poem. It was published in a feminist anthology by Zubaan. 

Better Being a Scarecrow
RITUPARNA NEOG
Translated by Banamallika

Sometimes, I think
It's better to be a scarecrow.
No one asks—now what have you worn?
Better to be a scarecrow,
Nobody cares what lies beneath the clothes!
Better to be a scarecrow.
No sideways glares that strip me naked.
Yes, better to be a scarecrow,
No one will ask me—male or female?
The other day, I saw a scarecrow
It sat unperturbed
Wearing a black shirt and a mekhela
But no one asked,
Oh dear, what on earth have you worn?
On another scarecrow,
RITUPARNA NEOG
Someone turned its lips black
With the ink from the Phutkola seed
But no one asked,
Now what have you smeared on yourself?
On another scarecrow,
Loving hands placed a bunch of jute on its head
No one thought, when did this scarecrow grow hair?
On another scarecrow
With a piece of charcoal, someone drew its eyes
But no one raised an eyebrow at that!
The other day I saw
Some people putting together a scarecrow with care
They got
An old blouse of their mother's
And hung it on its body
You could tell that the blouse was once a bright red.
They tied a piece of
the grandfather's old markin-dhoti to its waist too.
The jute hair was already there
Then they wondered what more, what else, they could add
So, someone fetched a piece of charcoal
and drew two lines above its eyes
The kohl from the Phutkola was already there
The scarecrow was complete.
These days, the scarecrow hangs on a terrace.
But no one asks,
What is beneath the scarecrow's clothes?
Nor do they twist their glance sideways.
4
BETTER BEING A SCARECROW
Smiling passersby merely remark:
Ah what a beautiful scarecrow!
Sometimes I wish to be a scarecrow
and stand by the roadside
Then no one will ask,
What have you worn?
No one will wonder,
What lies beneath these clothes?
And their eyes?
Maybe they will not strip me naked
Sometimes I think
It's better to be a scarecrow.