One day a seasoned butcher
called me and said:
‘Excuse me, Sir! Can you tell me why
the Hindus eat mutton,
and the Muslims take beef ?’
It is a long story, said I,
The answer would indeed be
Long enough to write a fresh book
In at least a thousand pages of Karnafuli paper.
The butcher gave a tricky smile;
‘Unique, indeed, is the answer you give!
But it is with the same knife
that I slaughter them both everyday.’
Translated by Siddidue Mahmudur Rahman