My lord, my beloved

(prabhu amar priya amar)  
প্রভু আমার, প্রিয় আমার


My lord, my beloved,
My supreme possession
Through all my wayfaring..
My lifelong companion.

My pleasure, my regret..
My freedom, my bondage..
Beyond all joy and woe..
You are my life, my death.

Supreme refuge of mine..
In this abode of love..
Supreme master of mine.

You are for all..
You who are mine..
From the world.. to my heart..
You traverse all around.
Endless your divine play..
Is newer and newer.. so..

Slowly my friend slowly

ধীরে বন্ধু ধীরে ধীরে
dheere bondhu dheere dheere

Slowly my friend, slowly
Lead me to your secluded shrine
Unknown is the way, the path unlit
Darkness there is inside and out
I welcome the sound of your step
In these deep dense woods today

Slowly my friend, slowly
Walk on the edges of darkness
Walk I will in the dead of night
Sensing the way from the wind
Welcoming your fragrance
In this spring breeze today

As if a lost wayfarer in garden of Eden

পথহারা তুমি পথিক যেন গো
pothohara tumi pothik jeno go

As if a lost wayfarer
In the garden of Eden
You go, where do you go?

Dazed benumbed with pleasure
Perplexed your crazed eyes
You seek, who do you seek?

Disheartened dejected
Whither gone has your heart
Leaving all ties of earth

As if you row a raft
A raft of fantasy
As if you speed to lands
Which lands of illusion?

Is this the first spring in my life

জীবনে আজ কি প্রথম এল বসন্ত
jiboney aaj ki prothom elo boshonto

Is this the first spring in my life
Aflood with new desires
My heart beside itself
Alive with life anew

Wishing to step outside
Into this joyful world
Wishing to enthrone whom
In my heart deep within
Seek I will far and near

Like the breeze speeding to the south
That knows not where bloomed have flowers
Likewise, my dear friend, I will go
Not knowing where, behold I will
In tunes melodious of which one
Ring out the songs of this world.
Awakens dawn in whose eyes
Filled with a love endless
Who is the one
Seek I will far and near

One who is near see you cannot

কাছে আছে দেখিতে না পাও
kachhey aachhey dekhitey na pao

One who is near, see you cannot
To seek whom, do you go afar
For whom search in despair
One to your heart’s liking
Is there such a one in the world
Such a one dwells in your own heart
Who will be to your heart’s liking
The one you will behold
In auspicious moment
One who is yours alone
See you did not
Whose door will you now knock.
What you wish for, get you will not
Your own heart, lose it too will you.

Do not go do not turn away

যেয়ো না যেয়ো না ফিরে
jeyo na jeyo na phirey

Do not go, do not turn away
Wait but for once, wait in my heart
Why wander like the restless wind
Flower to flower, forest to forest
To catch you I want, catch you I cannot
As if in dreams you are sculpted.
Come, let me see you but for once
My eyes will behold, hold with care
Amidst this heart will I enclose
Frame you will I beside flowers
Night and day, mingle you will
In gentle sleep of love

I come to give my heart

এসেছি গো এসেছি
eshechhi go eshechhi

I come to give my heart
To the one I have loved
I keep this heart of mine
Wrapped in flowers at your feet
Lest hard earth pain your sole
Do step onto my heart
So what if it gets crushed
And pain singes this life
Swept away am I,
Swept to shore-less unknowns

Love traps lie strewn

প্রেমের ফাঁদ পাতা ভুবনে
premero phand pata bhubone

Love traps lie strewn across the world
Who knows when where who is ensnared
When it is that pride is shattered
And flow the tears unabated

In this world of pleasure
You only seek to take
Know not you have to give
Your very own self
When it is you will go
Leaving shade of comfort
Willingly greet heartache

When it is the flute does play
And pride is swept away
The heart is then ensnared

Friend, my own heart bleeds with tears

সখা, আপন মন নিয়ে কাঁদিয়ে মরি
shokha aapon mon niye kandiye mori

Friend, my own heart bleeds with tears
What use is it to have another’s heart
My own heart I comprehend not
Who can know another heart

In ignorant mind, I ramble
Desire cries in despair.
This heart wanting to give, do give
Why seek a heart in return, thus

Realise this is all but a dream
None is yours, in this whole wide world
One who wanders for her own hopes
Why wander around her, do you.

Just feast your eyes and gaze on
Just give your heart and find peace
Lifts not her face to look at you
Let her be, ensconced in her pride

If having loved you find no peace

ভালোবেসে যদি সুখ নাহি
bhalobeshe jodi shukh nahi

If having loved, you find no peace
Then why, oh why this futile love
To win another heart
In surrender of own
Why this futile expectation

Lighting flicker of desire in heart
Painting illusive mirage in eyes
Just to drift in deserts of despair
Oh why this futile thirst for love

One who is secure in oneself
Lacks nothing in this universe
Gentle breeze, floral ornaments,
Woods whispering with bird song

Vanishes all of creation
What is this love
That brings forth a blinding darkness
As Rahu engulfs life and youth
Why then, why this false fog of love

Friend, happy am I in myself

সুখে আছি, সুখে আছি  সখা, আপন মনে
shukhey aachhi shokha aapon money

I am happy in myself my friend
Joyful in my own thoughts
Ask for nothing, do not go far away
Just gaze, encircle and stay nearby

Let only eyes speak of love,
Soundlessly, offer life.
Composing pleasant sweet nothings,
Out of sight, sing your song.
In secret, pluck and string flowers,
Leave behind your garland.

Ask not for my heart, just look away
Just encircle and stay nearby

Sweet is life, pleasant is the night
Enchanting is the southern breeze
This sweet stream glides by itself
One wishes for nothing more.
Lost I am within myself
Awash with my own fragrance
As if I have surrendered
My heart, my life, to myself.

That pleasing face comes to my mind

ওই মধুর মুখ জাগে মনে
oi modhuro mukh jaage mone

That pleasing face comes to my mind
Forget will I not in this life
Not in dreams, nor in my senses
Whether or not you know
Plays melodious flute forever
Forever are you in my heart
Express I cannot my feelings
And so I gaze with aggrieved eyes

How catch one if caught are you

তারে কেমনে ধরিবে
taarey kemone dhoribey

How will you catch him, if caught you are
How will you make him cry, if you cry yourself
If you long to get his heart
Keep your heart a secret
Who will bind him if bound you are
No one stays near if you go near
No one speaks back if you speak
They move on discarding what is in reach
They turn away smiling from those who plead

With all my heart the one I loved

সকল হৃদয় দিয়ে ভালোবেসেছি
shokol hridoy diye bhalobeshechhi

With all my heart the one I loved,
Can she turn me away.
Away I stay from worldly life
Know not what goes on in the world
Who knows if here,
With all your heart, what you hold dear
Whether or not you get what you want
With trepidation have I come
To the gates of an unknown heart
All of you I love,
That beauty, that play,
That song, that pleasing smile
Enveloped is my life with it
Boundless is your presence
Amidst this whole wide world

A sight to soothe the eye

আজি আঁখি জুড়ালো হেরিয়ে
aji aankhi juralo heriye

A sight to soothe the eye today
Enchanting love match - winsome pair.
The air fervent with fragrant flowers
Soulful melody from the flute
The arbour deluged in moonbeams
Amidst all of this,
Enchanting love match - winsome pair
Bring flower garlands
Bind the couple in love-knot
Heart ensnared with flowers
Immortal will be love
Forever lo behold
Enchanting love match - winsome pair

Met the twain on a sweet spring night

দুজনে দেখা হল মধুযামিনী রে
dujoney dekha holo modhujamini re

Met the twain on a sweet spring night
Why did they speak not
Why quietly walk away
Moaned the southern breeze in bowers
Swayed the leaves to beckon them back
Softly streamed their tears in secret
Untold their secrets remained within
No more did the twain meet
Alone as ever in the world
A separation forever
On the banks of the river

How can I appease you my friend

সখা হে, কী দিয়ে আমি তুষিব তোমায়
shokha hey ki diye tushibo tomay

How can I appease you my friend
Stricken is my heart in distress
From deepest core of it’s being
Day and night streaming down with tears
I love to see you smile with joy
Beside this unfortunate one
Lest that smile disappear

No longer can I bear this pain

সহে না যাতনা
shohey na jatona

No longer can I bear this pain
Counting the days in seclusion
Night and day I await
Just gazing at the road
My friend you have come not
No longer can I bear this pain

The day it passes by
The night it passes by
All things pass me by
As I sit and lament

My body lacks in strength
My eyes deprived of sleep
Dried up have all my tears

One after one withers each hope
No longer can I bear this pain

Near you were far you went

কাছে ছিলে, দূরে গেলে
Kachhey chhiley doorey geley

Near you were, far you went,
From afar do come close.
Around the world you went
Awaits still does the one.

Light of love you had not
Know her well you could not,
Now seared by separation
Ablaze is fire of love

Entangled is the web
Adverse are time and tide
Frenzied are the key-notes
And so lost is rhythm

Who knows if your Veena
Can sing in tune again
Lest it’s strings are snapped
Plucked by a ruthless fate

No Dear, this dust

না গো, এই যে ধুলা আমার না এ
Na go, ei je dhula amar na e

No Dear, this dust -- it is not mine,
The dust of Your earth, I cause to blow
In the evening breeze.
This body of mine is a tray,
You built for your own worship
Will fall in pieces at you feet,
When final prayer with lamps ends.
The flowers gathered for offering
Have fallen mostly on the way
The many lamps you lit on this platter
Have been put out by wind,
Never to reach your feet.

In the dark you hold me

অন্ধকারের মাঝে আমায় ধরেছ দুই হাতে
Awndhokarer majhey amay dhorechho dui haatey

You hold me in the dark with both your arms
When did you come, my lord, softly treading?
I thought I had lost you, lord of my life
I've come to know tonight
That you will never lose me

On the nights I put out the light
With my very own hands
You light up the pole star to guide me on
When I cease to walk on your way
I sense you come to me
To walk along my way unseen

- December 1910

What will be will be

যা হবার তা হবে
ja hobar ta hobe

What will be will be
He who brings forth my tears
Can He bear to abandon me?

Enticing me away from the road
It is He who knows where lies my way
He who renders me homeless
Will reach out His hand to give me a home

- 1914

My friend you are my lord you are

তুমি বন্ধু তুমি নাথ
tumi bondhu tumi natho

My friend You are, my lord You are
Through night and day my own You are
You are my bliss, You are my peace
You are the elixir of life
You are the promised land of joy
You soothe my heart, You slay my woes
Pain and grief dissolve at Your feet
You are the refuge of those in need

- circa 1886

Come come my crazed friend

আয় আয় রে পাগল
aay aay re pagol

Come, come my crazed friend
Forget, forsake your self
A self so slight and small
Whirl no more in endless spirals

Which sudden gust of wind
Shatters the bolts of your doors
Take this chance to slip out
Step out when open are your doors

Tumultuous tempest all around
Confounded is your heart
It knows not where to go

Deep within your own heart
Who is it that plays
What is it that tune
You will find your path, your calling
In that call deep within your heart

Look back I will no more

আমি ফিরব না রে
ami phirbo na re

Look back I will no more,
No way will I turn back
Set forth has my boat
Such a wind in my sails
Shore it I will no more
Severed are threads that bind
Lie scattered all around
Clutch at them in despair
I will no more
My house it is in ruins
With the little left of it
Build a fence I will no more
Torn are dock lines that moor
Hold tight I will to halyard lines
Let them wear out I will no more

Spring scrawls her symphony

বসন্ত তার গান লিখে যায় 
Boshonto taar gaan likhe jaay (audio link)

Spring scrawls her symphony
On the parchment of the soil
With great tenderness.

The soil melts with bliss, ever so often
Filling her bouquet with fresh beauty,
In great tenderness.

The same grace
Gladdens me with it's magic.
So my melodies blossom, irresistible,
With heart-sifting tenderness,
Ever so often.

I glimpse you now and then

মাঝে মাঝে তব দেখা পাই
Majhe majhe tobo dekha pai (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

I glimpse you now and then
Why not everlastingly?
Why do clouds curtain my heart
And veil your face from me?
In momentary flashes when I do get a glance
The tremor of losing you remains,
Instantly you are gone.
Tell me how I may find you
Forever to set my eyes on.
How could I find such love,
So you may endure in my heart?
I will get distracted by none
If, when you summon, I will be free
To surrender all my carnal bonds.


-1885

another translation by Anandamayee Majumdar for rendition in English

Time to time I meet you
Forever, why do I not?

Clouds hide you in my heart,
Disconnect I and you.
Clouds that disconnect
I and you.
Clouds of fantasy
they blind me,
blind me.
I can not see!

In a blink, in a flash of light
I see you so suddenly!
Dear, I am scared to lose you
Lose you so suddenly,
before I can feel you,
before I can glimpse you
my heart hasn't felt you,
oh, so suddenly.

Tell me now, how could I
see you before my very eyes
Dear, how could I find the love
to keep you in my heart?

How could I ever
if you do not favor
if you do not favor,
stay forever?

I shall not seek anyone,
It is you I desire.
Dear, if you say so,
I shall let go
of my need for anything.

I shall let go at your feet.
I shall let go of my need.
I shall let go all my need.
Just for you.

2019 03 18

The one you bid adieu in tears

বিদায় করেছ যারে নয়ন-জলে 
biday korechho jaare noyon-jole

The one you bid adieu in tears
How will you now summon her back

Beneath the Bakul tree tonight
Amidst a soft breeze and wild flowers
Does her memory haunt you now

That soft night too had melted into breath
Efflorescent all sides with wild flowers
If two words of love, whispered they had been
If only blossoms garlanded that neck
How will you now summon her back

Full moon nights they will come again
Return will never, one who has gone
Time auspicious it was
A lapse momentary --
Now inflamed is life seared by thirst
How will you now summon her back

Unknowing whom have you flooded with tears

না বুঝে কারে তুমি ভাসালে আঁখিজলে
na bujhe kaare tumi bhashale aankhijole

Unknowing,
Whom have you flooded with tears
Who keeps gazing at vacant roads
Whose life bereft of joy, heart scorched
Read have you not words, of whose eyes
Realised not, whose innermost hopes
Looked not behind
Crushed whose anxious longings of life

You asked me to go

এবার আমায় ডাকলে দূরে
Ebaar amay daakle doore
(audio)

You asked me to go
to a far secret home
on another side of shore.

I'll leave my luggage here
take me along, my dear,
calm my bitter thirst
with a drink of silent night.

My twilight bud's
wine shall be yours.
You'll hold the lamp
of stars in my heart.
All I had to say
shall now be a song.

(another version by Rumela)

You beckon me now to a land far away
Hidden beyond the distant sea shore

I have unburdened myself
Take me along with you
Let me quench my thirst
With the sweetness of the still night

The honey of my evening flower
Is for you, my sweetheart

Starlight like a lamp
Will light up my soul
All that I had to say
Will be afloat in your melody

I meet you in the place

বিশ্বসাথে যোগে যেথায় বিহারো
Bishsho shaathe joge jethay biharo

I meet you in the place
where you touch the world.

Not in solitude, or nature
nor in my thoughts.
You are mine, my dear
where you are one with all.

My love finds you in the place
where you embrace the world.

It does not hide, but blooms with light.
You are a wealth of joy, my dear
when you are joy to the world.

We all rule as kings in the kingdom of the King

আমরা সবাই রাজা
*Amra shobai raja (audio)

We all rule as kings in the kingdom of our King.
Why else would we join hands with him?
(We are all kings)

We do as we please, our pleasure blends with His.
We are not enslaved to any trepidity
Why else would we join hands with his?
(we are all kings)

The King honors us -- receives it back at once.
Never are we tantalized by any fantasies.
Why else would we join hands with his?
(We are all kings)

We travel free and wide, yet fall back on His stride.
We will not be teased by futilities.
Why else would we join hands with his?
(We are all kings)

*an attempt has been made to restore the original measures of the song, to be able to sing in English

With new gems from unknown mines

অজানা খনির নূতন মণির গেঁথেছি হার
Awjana khonir nutono monir genthechhi haar

With new gems from unknown mines
I have laced a necklace
And set fresh strings
On my tireless and youthful lute.
Such freshness found in the forests' robes
And blossoms of the mango orchards,
Such novelty reflected in the winter sunrise
Knocking open wondrous doors of heaven
Find way into the newness of my songs,
The compassion of tunes
Springing from the strings of my lute.
Unspoken words of mine forever locked within
Will master their way like artful dance
Into my lyrics.
Without rhyme or reason today the winds
Bear the tunes from faraway times,
Arbors shed their burdens in murmurs.

As my own hearts bursts open with words,
New rhythms find effusive expression
In a fearlessness of melody
As music takes flight from my lute.

Whom would you offer your gems' array

কাহার গলায় পরাবি গানের রতনহার
Kahar golay porabi gaaner rotonohaar

Whom would you offer 
Your gems' array of songs?
Is that why you attach new strings 
On your lute with such care?
Nature adorns herself with green robes,
Mango branches fill with fresh blossoms.
Your heart pines with longing for the ever-new.
Those forever unspoken words of yours
Who knows to whom you yearn to reveal?
The earth overwhelmed with the southern breeze
Is verbose with the warble and twittering of birds,
The world has today opened the doors 
To her inner voice.

Secrets of my heart

আমি হৃদয়ের কথা
ami hridoyer kotha

Anxiously eager am I to
Divulge the secrets of my heart
A response I have from no one
Yet has not come the one to whom
Surrendered have I mind body and soul
Does he await me, does he sing
Lovesick songs of separation
Heard have I the strains of his flute
For him left my home and abode

Follow the cosmic caveat

সব দিবি কে সব দিবি পায়
Shob dibi ke shob dibi paay (audio: Bikram Singh)

Follow the cosmic caveat
To offer up your treasure,
Every richness you have

There is a vibrant sign 
Of an approach
As august as a king,
Golden, mysterious,
Meant to transform wintry paths.

It is a wake-up call for your heart
To make vigil, like the hungry winter,
With light in your eyes

The spring-tide game will end in a flash,
There will be a swift goodbye
There will be aches of separation

If you are late to rise,
Your noblest wealth will go in vain.
Could you bear the weight
Of that profound loss?

Arose dust from cows homeward bound

গোধূলিগগনে মেঘে ঢেকেছিল তারা

godhuligogone meghe dhekechhilo tara

Arose dust from cows homeward bound

Stars in the twilight sky

Blanketed by the clouds

All that I had to say

Said it have I

Heard it you may have not

Thus a farewell

You bade me with such ease

Resonated the skies

Drops of rain drizzling down

When I gazed at your face

You lifted not your eyes

Darkness covered my silent pain

When and where will there ever be

An evening such as this

Oh! for the rest of this lifetime

Lost will be this moment

Flooded are the banks of my heart

হৃদয়ের এ কূল, ও কূল, দু কূল  ভেসে যায়

hridoyer e kool o kool du kool

Flooded are the banks of my heart

This side and the other, my friend

My tears overflowing

Whichever way I look

I don't recognize a thing

A tug there is in the heart

Swells the river in high tide

What a tempest today my friend

The dams there are no more

What is this, why is it so

In the springtime of my life

What is this sudden gust

That wafts in on which wind

My heart becomes distracted

Plagued by a dejection deep down

I know not this yearning, this pain

How do I allay it

Whose Veena is it that rings out

বাজিল কাহার বীণা মধুর স্বরে
bajilo kaharo beena (audio)

Whose Veena is it that rings out
With such sweet melody
Amidst my new life solitaire
Like the lotus at dawn
Blossoms this heart of mine
To adorn whose feet
A pair without peer

Arouses all beauty, all that is sweet
This heart thrills in every moment
From where does the breeze
Bring new awakenings
To shake free the layers
Sheathing this life

Much is the pain in joy and woe
That touches this heart
Words to convey it I have not
My desires ring out today
Amidst the whole wide world
Quivers the river and forests
Overcome with feelings




Another version by Anandamayee Majumdar:

Whose lute resonates in my heart?
Lilting so sweetly,
In the quiet freshness of a new beginning.

My heart surrenders itself
At the feet of my unmatched love
Like a lotus-offering.

Nature shimmers with beauty and sweetness

Brimming my heart with a feisty joy.

From where does the drift flow in

Renewing my breath,

Cleansing my heart.

My soul churns with bliss and sadness,

In shades of inexpressible emotions.

My desires echo in the world, in the sky,

Making every river and arbor quiver with ache.

Fire that inspires

প্রাণ ভরিয়ে তৃষা হরিয়ে
Praano bhoriye trisha horiye
Audio: Debabrata Biswas

Fire that inspires,
spring that relieves
give me breath
more breath to be.
In your world,
at your home
give me more
more space to be.

Deeper light,
deeper light
to fill my heart.
In my flute,
in my flute
more melody.

Deeper pain,
deeper pain
to wake me up.
Smash locks and blocks,
set me free
set me free.

Deeper love,
deeper love
to drown little me.
More nectar
more nectar
to give little me.

Dear Newness

হে নূতন, দেখা দিক আরবার
He nuton, dekha dik arbar (audio link here)

Dear Newness,
I look forward
to the joyful return
Of your day.
Show yourself
like Sun to the fog.

Invite Demand to release
Life to win,
and the Infinite to sparkle
through you.

With bells of joy
the Sun rises in my heart.
Your birth anniversary
is an invitation to eternal birth.

*Boishakh - The first month in the Bengali calendar
*Ponchishe Boishaakh - Twentififth day of Boishaakh, the day Rabindranath Tagore was born

Who opened the doors today

 এ দিন আজি কোন ঘরে গো
E din aji kon ghore go

Who opened doors today?
Who blessed the dawn?
For whom fills a golden pot
a crown made of sun?

Whose blessing does the bird
take across the dark?

Forests heap with flowers
leaves dance and dart.
Who brought them together
together in his heart?

Who is the ancient gift?
And who was received?
Whose morning face
cast away the grim?

I will not depart just so

আমি যাব না গো
Ami jabo na go omni chole

I will not depart just so,
Before I offer you this garland of my heart
In my moments of joy and sorrow
I have labored in mastering your message
Before I leave in Phalgoon,
My own missives I will have rendered
Tasks some, I completed, 
Much I did not,
Wont you forgive me for that
The song arrived, but the tune is yet to come
I never got a chance to sing my lyric,
Its melody hidden by my tears

*Phalgoon, the first month of spring in Bengal