Early Version: January 14, 2015 
Latest Version: May 27, 2015 
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By the field, the mason deftly made 
The yellow house, with a modest strip of a yard 
Latticed scaffold, a boundary-wall brick-laid 
All of these the mason deftly made. 

How deeply did he care for the house 
Kept it tidy, as he would his face 
That a failure no one called it, nor hideous 
Or an outpost, a forlorn gathering place. 

By the field the mason deftly made 
The yellow house, where clouds billowed and flocked 
And, besides, the latticed scaffold swayed 
Luckless fate, in trite pomposity locked. 

Suddenly, one eve brought tremors down the street 
As a vehicle pulled up southwards with panache 
Fun-watchers, curious, swarmed forwards to greet 
As he bought up all there was in cash. 

Alone, and away from public view to find, 
The mason left his scaffolding behind. 

Translation-cum-transcreation of a classic Bengali poem হলুদবাড়ি (holudbari) meaning ‘Yellow House’ by Shakti Chattopaddhay. The poem appeared in the collection ধর্মে আছো জিরাফেও আছো (dhorme achho giraffe-eo achho, meaning, you exist in religion as well as in the giraffe). Surja Sankar Ray’s help is gratefully acknowledged. But for him, the project would have remained incomplete.