Hour of Coming (poem)
Encyclopedia
The Hour of Coming is the English translation of the Oriya
poem Asibaara Belaa by the noted poet and translator Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan. The poem was selected for the Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Literary Translation Award 1957-2007 of Sahitya Akademi
, the National Literary Academy of India. It received widespread acclaim following its publication in the Indian Literature Volume 242 during November-December 2007. The poem turned out to be prophetic, and became famous because of the miraculous coincidences between its final stanza and the events at the inaugural World Twenty20
Cricket
final match.
Cricket was held on 24 September 2007 at Johannesburg
in South Africa
. India batted first, scoring 157 runs in 20 overs, and in reply Pakistan required to score at least five runs off the last ball, with just one wicket in hand.
It is interesting to note that the poem Hour of Coming was originally written by Dr Pradhan during January 2007, and it was translated by him into English only during the first week of August 2007, almost a month before the Twenty20
Championship was held during September 11–24, 2007. Before this championship India and Pakistan had never clashed together in any cricket tournanament. The poem not only prophesized such a final match, but also the exact events in the last over of the match where Pakistan was left to score five runs off the last four balls with just a single wicket left. Although Pakistan
had the upper hand, as luck would have it Misbah-ul-Haq
got out scooping the third ball, resulting in sort of a Sudden Death for Pakistan.
Oriya literature
Oriya is an official language of the state of Orissa, India. The region has been known at different stages of history as Kalinga, Udra, Utkala, or Koshala. The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboring states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The...
poem Asibaara Belaa by the noted poet and translator Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan. The poem was selected for the Indian Literature Golden Jubilee Literary Translation Award 1957-2007 of Sahitya Akademi
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
, the National Literary Academy of India. It received widespread acclaim following its publication in the Indian Literature Volume 242 during November-December 2007. The poem turned out to be prophetic, and became famous because of the miraculous coincidences between its final stanza and the events at the inaugural World Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
final match.
The Poem
- Death does not come when you call Him
- However much you call, He never comes :
- He comes only at his appointed hour -
- Playing hide and seek, just biding his time
- Comes Death one day
- all of a sudden !
- When you are lying alone in your bed of rags,
- Flies on your face, blood in the nostrils,
- Knees full of pus, boils under buttocks
- With nobody nearby just to say 'Ah Dear !' to you
- With no strength left even to vomit things out
- And with eyes filled with tears mixed with pain
- You cry out loud - Death ! Death ! O Death!
- Can't bear it any more Oh Take me away Death !!
- But never comes Death !
- When you are sitting alone in the middle of the night
- Under the village banyan tree wrapped in a blanket
- Looking at your younger brother's funeral pyre :
- In the burning embers you see your wife's dead face -
- Remember your playmates, school-friends, dead face
- You cry out loud pressing your aching heart to your chest
- Friends gone, kins gone, daughter gone to her in-laws :
- Why do you now O Lord still keep me in this world !
- You wish, if only
- could just now
- come Death !!
- Never comes Death !
- When you are relaxing supine in your bed
- Pressing the radio close, listening to cricket :
- India versus Pakistan - final match,
- Just ten runs to win, and another wicket :
- Your daughter comes near, and breaks the news
- Son-in-law's promotion - ah what a good news,
- Playing in her lap your four-month old grand-son
- in his soft pink little fingers fondles your beard :
- "Oh dear one ! my diamond one ! my golden one, my little one !
- Umhh... let my remaining years be all yours O lovely one.... !"
- You softly kiss your grandson's forehead -
- Four runs to win :
- Then comes Death !
Elements of Prophesy and Miraculous Coincidences
The fourth and last stanza of the poem describes an old man listening to the running commentary of an India-Pakistan cricket final match on radio. It may be noted that the final match of World Twenty20Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
Cricket was held on 24 September 2007 at Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. India batted first, scoring 157 runs in 20 overs, and in reply Pakistan required to score at least five runs off the last ball, with just one wicket in hand.
It is interesting to note that the poem Hour of Coming was originally written by Dr Pradhan during January 2007, and it was translated by him into English only during the first week of August 2007, almost a month before the Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
Championship was held during September 11–24, 2007. Before this championship India and Pakistan had never clashed together in any cricket tournanament. The poem not only prophesized such a final match, but also the exact events in the last over of the match where Pakistan was left to score five runs off the last four balls with just a single wicket left. Although Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
had the upper hand, as luck would have it Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi is a Pakistani cricketer and the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team for s and s...
got out scooping the third ball, resulting in sort of a Sudden Death for Pakistan.