Two Songs of Tagore – XVII
Translated from the original Bangla by Sreejit Datta
Āji godhuli-lagone ei bādolo-gagone
(To listen to the original Bangla song, click here)
Today at this hour of the dusk, beneath these overcast skies
I count in my heart the steps of His feet –
“He will come”, so says my mind throughout the day,
And these eyes well up in causeless joy.
This sash of His, fluttering in the restless wind;
Is this His touch offered from but a distance?
“He will come”, so says my mind,
Down a whiff of air fragrant with Rajanigandhā[i].
Anxious are these vines of Mālatī[ii],
Her heart’s content she hasn’t exhausted.
What’s this whispering ‘cross the forests today –
I know not what message have they,
The ānchal quivers o’er the breasts of the Diganganā[iii] –
“He will come”, so says my mind.
Tomārei koriāchi jibonero dhrubotārā
(To listen to the original Bangla song, click here)
You I’ve taken as my life’s lodestar,
Amidst this ocean I won’t be adrift ever.
You illuminate the place that I can ne’er access,
In my tearful eyes agog, You spill forth radiance.
Forever Thy face shines bright in the heart secretly;
The moment that vision’s lost, there’s no solace for me.
If ever my wanton mind wants to stray around
I behold Thy face, and my shame knows no bound!
[i] Tuberose, Polianthes tuberosa
[ii] Aganosma heynei
[iii] Presiding goddess of a quarter.
