Duck Lal Ded
Hu-kus Bi-kus
Who he? Who me?
Telli Wan t’che-Kus
Now tell, who you?
Onum Batuk Lodum Daeg
got this duck,
drop it in a saucepan
shaal khich khich waangno
Jackal slit the neck,
add some Eggplants
Brahmin charas pouyn chhokum
poor Brahmin sprinkle some water
Brahmi boyas tyekis tyakha
Brahmin brother, now have some in plate
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As a kid I remember hearing these lines first in the kitchen, it must have been winter, no light, sitting next to a gas daan, grandmother sining. Maybe that’s why – Onum Batuk , shaal khich khich – I always imagined the ditty as a recipe for cooking a duck.
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Not for:
Culturally lost Kashmiris expecting to find the real meaning of the lines, the deeper meaning, the yogic and the Shivic, the breathing and the panting peace.
