Mar 1, 2012

When you could seek your royal prize

পূর্ণ প্রাণে চাবার যাহা
*Purno praane chabar jaha (audio)

When you could seek your royal prize
Why extend your hands for alms, why?
Why should you plead with tearful eyes?

Welcome her with a string of gems
Your hearts will be duly exchanged
Why do you wish to seat your goddess
On pathways in a desert of sand?

In summer when the groves are dry
The drift seethes with a pitiful sigh
Would you present your bouquet of buds
A heart-offering, so wilted and wry?

When you usher in your special guest
Usher her in with true respect
Let the sky glow with a thousand stars
In the darkness of your precious tryst

*an attempt has been made to restore the original rhythm to able to sing in English

1 comment:

  1. The translation of the first line is interesting in this: the tone in the original poem is as if a self admonition. But in this translation it became berating to a second person. In the original poem the second person is actually the poet himself. The poet is saying to himself what should be claimed with a rich heart should not be desecrated by claiming it with a shallow heart. To be able to claim it, the claimant be deserving enough, an uplifted soul, purified by tapashya.

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