LAPEY KARMACHI REKHA (MY FATE LINE HIDES)

This ovi was written by Bahinabai when she was widowed early in life. Here she addresses a fortune teller

The karma line on my forehead
lay sheltered under my kunku*
the kunku is now wiped away and
the fate line lies bare.

God! the fountain of plenty that flows
from your house has receded
that lacerating line of kismet
cuts and tears into my palm!

My man, don’t tell me stories
whether they be true or they be false
it is not destiny, no it is not
these lines and scratches on my palm!

Arey! destiny, destiny!
now my feet are tied to wheels
just as your own nine planets
are bound forever to their orbits!

May my two boys be safe and happy
is all that from God I pray
In this where does destiny figure?
What more will the horoscope say?

No, no, my dear fortune teller
don’t ask to see my palm
I know what future has in store for me
Don’t come knocking at my door!
*Kunku: Sindoor

Ovis and introduction excerpted with permission from the book Go Talk to the River: the Ovis of Bahinabai Choudhari by Anjali Purohit (translator), published by Yoda Press, Delhi, January 2019