Translated from the original Bangla by Sreejit Datta (continuing from Part I and Part II) We know that not every member of a community upholds his dharma in its pristine form at all times; in fact, many of them fail to do so. In the Purāṇa-s we come across instances wherein many individuals, even though they […]Read More
A Prayer God of Poesy! Grant me a wish, just this one: So I may use my words discreetly, and never appease anyone; But blaze thru them Thy Rage pure and sublime, to duly warn Of consequences of hypocrisy, and forever shun The platitudes of mediocrity, and to rightfully earn The scorn of the little […]Read More
Translated from the original Bangla by Sreejit Datta Tāro Tāro Hori Dīnojone (To listen to the original Bangla song, click here) Redeem, O Hari, redeem this wretched one! Karuṇāmaya! O Thou who art full of love! Keep him who knows not sadhana nor worship, on Thy path! I fail to see a rescuer on […]Read More
Translated from the original Bangla by Sreejit Datta Translator’s note: Shantidev Ghosh, one of the many direct disciples and a close associate of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, has reminisced about the creation of the song “Śarbo Kharbotāre Dahe Tabo Krodhodāho” (translated in this edition of Two Songs of Tagore) in his 1942 book Rabindrasangeet. The book […]Read More
Translated from the original Bangla by Sreejit Datta Pinākete Lāge Ṭaṅkār (To listen to the original Bangla song, click here) A terrible twang from the Pināka bow is issued – And tremors of fear from beneath the terranean ribs ensued. Yonder in the sky, a violent tempest whirls, And the very fabric of Creation thus unfurls; […]Read More
[Translator’s note: Some people have construed the second of these two songs, viz., “Ᾱmār māthā nawto kore dāo hé” as Tagore’s supplication to the British monarch in the hope of winning the favour of His Majesty’s Government. Similar allegations have long since been imputed on Tagore’s Bangla ballad Bhāratavidhātā, the first stanza of which eventually […]Read More
Pāre loye jāo āmāye I remain on the bank, alone; The Sun, he called it a day. My plight, when it heightens – Without Thee, I see no way. I am a shoreless boat, a hapless one – Take me across, O Merciful One! I know not how to praise or worship Thee, My mind, […]Read More
“Tumi āmār ontostholer khawbor jāno”: a Song of Self-Analysing Bhakti
Translated from the original Bangla by Sreejit Datta [Translator’s note: Rajanikanta Sen (1865 – 1910) was one of the five finest poet-songwriters that Bengal has ever produced (the others being Rabindranath Tagore, Dwijendra Lal Roy, Atul Prasad Sen, and Kazi Nazrul Islam) during the golden age of Her cultural rejuvenation in the late nineteenth and […]Read More
ɑːntɑːre jāgicho ɑːntɑːrojāmī (To listen to the original Bangla song, click here) Within You’re keeping vigil, O Indweller, And yet I keep drifting afar, for ever. I have embraced this world’s comfort, And yet my life is Yours, my Lord! Blind to the path, I wander in vain, Conceited, thro’ this world without end. And […]Read More
Bipulo tɑːroṅgo re (To listen to the original Bangla song, click here) O Mighty Ripple, O Ripple Gargantuan! O’erwhelming the vast skies, deluging the past and the future, Radiant with light, vigorous in life – what Ripple of Joy is this! By It the sun, the moon, and the stars are impelled to oscillate, By […]Read More