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Nov 29, 2010

When centered my play around you

আমার খেলা যখন ছিল তোমার সনে
aamaar khela jokhon chhilo tomar shone 
(Listen to the song )
(Tagore's own translation)

When centered my play around you
Who knew then who you were
Fear there was none nor diffidence
Life surged forth in all restlessness

Oft at dawn you called out to me
As if like my own friend
I laughed with you in sheer delight
Racing through forests and beyond

The songs that you sang then
Who knew then their meaning
My life it was that sang along
And danced my heart always astir

At sudden end of play
What do I see today
Stunned into silence are the skies
Hushed are the sun and moon
Gazing at your feet with eyes downcast
The cosmos comes to a standstill

- 31st May 1910


Another translation by Anandamayee Majumdar

When I was lost in play with you
I had no hint of what you meant.
I wasn't scared, wasn't shy of you
Life was a stream of merriment.

In the dawn you called upon my name
Like a friend, time and again,
I smiled and rushed to join you
In a wilderness enchantment.

Dear, songs you had sung for me
had no rhyme or reason then
But my heart would sing along with glee
And dance to the merriment.

Suddenly the play was all done,
I saw the sky, the silent moon and sun
Gazing at your feet in stillness was
the earth lost in devotion.

translated 17 August 2019

1 comment:

  1. (another version by Suman Dasgupta)

    When I played with you O beloved,
    Who knew then who You were.
    Then there were no fear or shame,
    ...Life gushed out in all restlessness.

    Call me did you oft in the morn
    Like my own beloved mate.
    Embraced you in laughter that day,
    Pranced through forests and fields.

    The songs, then you sang to me o beloved,
    No meaning could I ever know.
    Happily chimed in with your melody
    My heart danced in all restlessness.

    What portrait of You do I see now at end of play
    The listless firmament, the motionless Sun and the Moon.
    I cast my eyes down at Your feet in submission,
    O You, the Only You.

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