Two Songs of Tagore – XIII

[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 became the national anthem of Independent India (Jana-gana-mana), asserting that the ballad is a paean of praise for the British monarch George V. Incidentally, “Ᾱmār māthā nawto kore dāo hé” and Bhāratavidhātā were publicised around the same time, within two consecutive years to be precise – 1910 (Gitanjali) and 1911 (Tattvabodhini Patrika), respectively. I translate “Ᾱmār māthā nawto kore dāo hé” here for the reader to judge whether such interpretation and allegations hold water or not.]    

Dhāye jæno mor

(To listen to the original Bangla song, click here)

May all my love, Lord! Rush towards You,

Towards You, and You alone.

May all my deepest hopes enter those Ears of You,

Of You, and You alone. 

Wheresoever may my mind be, 

May it respond to Thy call, 

Whatsoever shackles do bind me,   

Lord! May they break by Thy pull. 

This begging bowl, full of alms that I carry outwardly,

May it now exhaust itself completely;

And may the alms-bowl within me overflow, My Lord!

By the gifts that You secretly giveth me.       

O Friend! O Dweller of my innermost core! 

Everything that is beautiful in this life of mine –

May all of it ring out in a perfect keynote, Lord!

In a Song that is Thine, that is Thine, that is Thine. 

Ᾱmār māthā nawto kore dāo hé

(To listen to the original Bangla song, click here)

Let my head fall at the dust of Thy Feet, O Lord,

Let all my vanities be drowned in a stream of tears! 

Whenever I toil to gain glory, I only disgrace myself –

I die a thousand deaths wandering round my little self;  

So let all my vanities be drowned in a stream of tears! 

Let me not promote myself through my own work,

Let Your wishes alone be fulfilled through my life. 

Give me Your ultimate rest, Your brilliant form within,

Appear on the petals of my heart-lotus, obscuring me – 

Let all my vanities be drowned in a stream of tears!