Ah! Today in spring many a flower blooms

আহা, আজি এ বসন্তে এত ফুল ফুটে
aha aaji e boshonte ato phool phute
(audio)

Ah! Today in spring many a flower blooms
Many a flute plays, many a bird sings
A tender flower, her heart
Withers away unattended

Why draw near? Smile for no reason?
The one who did come close
Wishes not to approach anymore

Joyful who are, in joy remain
Joyous spring, in joy may it end
A woebegone woman’s tears
May they not espy

In seeing, they see not
In knowing, they know not
They do not even look back

Do adorn me with flowers

দে লো, সখী, দে পরাইয়ে গলে
de lo shokhi de poraiye gole

Do adorn me with flowers, my friend 
A garland of my much loved Bakul
Pluck the yet to bloom buds of Juhi
Twine them together and bedeck me
Tresses full of blossoms.
Tie back the restless locks
That brush my cheeks time and again

Fly along little bird

ছিন্ন শিকল পায়ে নিয়ে
Chhinno shikol paaye niye (Audio: Ritu Guha)

Fly along little bird,
Even as the remnants of a chain
Dangle at your feet.
Let it chink,
That slight fetter.
Your wings will be free
As the wayward clouds call out to you

This sacred hurt you sense, is freedom
The liberated love of a pure space in the sky
Don't  mock yourself any more, let go

You were in a cage for so long
Your fantastic hopes lived there,
As well as died
Leave them all beneath on the dust forever

In search of joy.. they look for love..

এরা সুখের লাগি চাহে প্রেম
(era sukher lagi chahe prem)

In search of joy.. they look for love..
Love.. they find not, and lost.. is joy..
Such is false.. play.. of illusion..
They forget.. what they lose..
To acquire what they want..
Thus night.. goes by in tears..
Thus it is scalded.. life..
Thus ego.. hurt.. and pride..
Thus laments.. of despair..

When in love.. dissolve joy.. and woe,
Then.. it is.. they find happiness..

Night.. hastens, with fade dreams..
Moon.. unravels the spell.. of sleep..
Comes to an end this love.. story..
Some smile.. some sigh, through tears..

Ensnared are two in a love-trap

প্রেমপাশে ধরা পড়েছে দুজনে
premo paashe dhora porechhey dujoney

Ensnared are two in a love-trap
Afloat on a wave of amour
Two flowers fall and drift off

A night illumined by the moon
A soft caress of scented breeze
In a trance half-asleep half-awake
With the dulcet song of cuckoo
Locked their gazes for a moment
And Cupid found his mark
With his calamitous arrow

We weave a web of illusion

মোরা জলে স্থলে কত ছলে
mora jawley sthawley

We weave a web of illusion
On land and seas with deception
Dreams for sleepy eyes we design
Steal our way into hearts with spells
Spring breeze we make it swing
To intoxicating ripples

Abuzz are rows of Bakul flowers
Awakened by a swarm of bees
In half formed tunes
With a few broken words
They arouse doubt and foreboding

We weave a web of illusion
Men and women we entangle
Ensnare their hearts in fantasy
They fumble their way through blunders
With many a smile, much tears

We cast a dark shadow
On the meeting of two lovers
We inflame pride and hurt
Estranged, they find true love in dreams
We weave a web of illusion

Welcome spring, welcome to earth

এস' এস' বসন্ত, ধরাতলে
esho esho boshonto dhoratole

Welcome spring, welcome to earth
With cooings of new tunes, new songs, new life
In a breeze languid with heady fragrance
Infuse in each soul a consciousness deep

Bring waves of new delights
Joyful rhythms to rock the earth
All bondages shake free
Imbue new feelings of passion

Come in trembling rustles, humming murmurs
Come in dusky foliage, thrill of new leaves
Come in Malati bowers bursting with blooms
Come in comforting shades, redolent breeze

Come O eternal wayfarer
Seeking the road to paradise
Ever eager, ever curious
Step into hearts throbbing with joy
Breathe in new life with each new song

Welcome to the lap of a sun kissed dawn
Blushing a deep shade of crimson
Welcome to mesmerising moonlit nights
To the banks of babbling brooklets
To the calm of languorous lakes

Come like a flash of lightening
Thundering down like a storm
Rippling in waves over seas

Come to the dawn
Astir in wakefulness
To bustling towns
The woods and wilderness
Step into hearts
In words and in action

Come in soft steps tinkled by anklet bells
Come in warbles lilting with melody
Come in garlands of lovely Jasmine flowers
Come in raiment of tender verdant leaves
Come with the eager force of graceful youth
Come valorous one with fiery new pride

Indomitable one, embark on victory spree
In the battle to decimate the decrepit
Spreading far and wide pollen of new life
Restless locks of hair fluttering in air

Sweet spring comes to sweetly unite

মধুর বসন্ত এসেছে মধুর মিলন ঘটাতে
modhuro boshonto eshechhey

Sweet spring comes to sweetly unite
To spread the news of sweet union
In soft southern breeze

With a fleeting touch of magic
It nudges buds to bloom
In many a hue and colour
A love story it weaves

Behold the earth so primeval
Decked up in dusky foliage
As if to curb the reign of time
Gushes forth the spring of youth

Slays the pain of absence long gone
Heralds hope of a union new
Fresh spring comes to inspire fresh love

Where hidden lies your heart

ওগো সখী, দেখি, দেখি মন কোথা আছে
ogo shokhi dekhi dekhi mon kotha aachhey

Where hidden lies your heart
Let me see, fair maiden
Many a heart stricken
Around you do hover
Is there one worth your gaze

What charm, what nectar, what fragrance
What beauty have you kept hidden
Which morn, with the dawn of which sun
Will you offer it all to whom

If he comes not in this lifetime
To this Eden if he finds not a way
What if at end of spring
Return the ones who did come
Hearts heavy with disappointment

Where did she go dear friend

সখী, সে গেল কোথায়
shokhi shey gelo kothay

Where did she go dear friend
Do beckon her here
Stand around her we will
Beneath the treeshades

Amidst floral bowers
In this pleasant twilight
Watch her smile we will
Prancing around in joy

Stars have dotted the skies
Southern winds have rushed in
Sings out a bird in sleepy haze

Come O joyous maiden
Bringing with you sweet spring
Let the treeshades revel
In your charm and beauty

Who calls! I never look back

কে ডাকে। আমি কভু ফিরে নাহি চাই
ke daakey ami kobhu phirey nahi chai

Who calls! I never look back
Many a flower blossoms
Many a flower withers
I simply drift along

I leave a touch of thrill
I never get entrapped

Flits past floral fragrance
A sigh in vines and leaves
Echoes a sad lament
From forest to forest
I hear but for a trice
I go on, I never look back

Why this deception, ask him friend

ওকে বল্, সখী বল্-- কেন মিছে করে ছল
okey bol shokhi bol keno michhe kore chhol

Why this deception, ask him friend
Why fake a smile, shed a tear false
I know not surging flow of love
Therefore it is I have this fear
Who knows where hides nectar divine
And where lurks a lethal poison

To cry they know not
To make one cry plot
Futile it is
To hear these words
A mere play with hearts
Just a game of love
Let’s return this hour
Let’s go, friends, let’s go

Flits the bee going to and fro

অলি বার বার ফিরে যায়
oli baar baar phirey jaay

Flits the bee going to and fro
Goes to return time and again
Only then does a flower blossom

The bud longs to bloom, yet cannot
Curled up in bashfulness and fright

Forego your pride
Forget your fear of rejection
Forfeit your heart and soul
Stay with her night and day

Forsaking hope yet keep some hope
In hope to win the gem of heart

Come back, come back
The forest is fragrant with flowers
This long night of separation
Glides by on dewdrops and blossoms

Love is no game my friend

এ তো খেলা নয়
eto khela noy

This is no game, my friend
A soul searing blaze it is
An anxious agitation
An ache of secret feelings
That permeates my being
To offer my life my death
At the feet of one unknown

Who calls me unceasing
Filling me with fervour
The heart says “I’m coming”
But venture I cannot
The words I want to say
I fear I should not say
Where can I lay it down
My salver of love

With tender care I thread it
Offer I cannot the garland

Why cannot I bare my soul to her

তারে দেখাতে পারি নে কেন প্রাণ
taarey dekhatey pariney keno praan

Why cannot I bare my soul to her
Make known, why cannot I, my heartache
How she smiles and saunters away
Sparing not even a glance
How she scorns such desire, such love

None can see the aching love
Hidden deep within my heart
If this love were a blossom
I’d tear it from my being
And offer it at her feet
Pick it up she would not
Droop it would from want of love
Yet, diminish would her doubt

Keep aside futile words of love

ওলো রেখে দে, সখী, রেখে দে
olo rekhe de shokhi rekhe de

Oh, keep aside, do keep aside
These false and futile words of love
Joyful affliction, throes of affection
Words that I fathom not

Floral bondages, tears of volition
This quest of heart to give itself
Yearning to surrender
To worship another
To place hope at another’s feet

To catch a glimpse, to feel a touch
Ages awake in agony
To see a smile light up a face
Aeons afloat on sea of tears
Bliss of life to find it
Forsake this peace of life

Time goes by in laughter and play

সখী, বহে গেল বেলা, শুধু হাসিখেলা
shokhi boye gelo bela

Time goes by in laughter and play
How much longer can it be so
Anxious thirst for love
Why does it not awaken

When will it be in this lifetime
Engage will eyes with another
Sweetly aflame in sweet despair,
In a love new forevermore

Tears will rise to moisten the eye
Slowly will that stream of sorrow
Wipe away this lively laughter

Restless will become troubled breath
Heartbroken in hope and despair
The glow within will bloom on cheeks
In blushing colours of the dawn sky

Night.. and day.. for whom.. I stay,

দিবস রজনী, আমি যেন কার..
(dibas rajani ami jena)

Night.. and day.. for whom.. I stay,
Agog.. with expectation..
Thus enraptured.. is my heart..
Startled, so my listening..
These eyes.. fervid.. with yearning..

Restlessly.. I roam.. around
Ever hoping for a glimpse --
“Who comes” I look with a start..
At each tweet.. in the forests..

In wakeful hours.. I see not..
I live in hope of dreams--
If I sight in veil of sleep..
Ensnare.. I will in dreams..

One I love so much..
Want with all my heart..
Never do I feel..
With me she.. is not..
As if my deepest desire..
A force passionate..
Draws her.. close.. to me..

(another version by Anandamayee Majumdar)

For whom.. do I keep my hope alight..
Night.. and day, I wonder..
My mind so heedful..
My ears so alert..
My eyes so keen.. with longing..

Restless, I wander..
Hoping to catch the glimpse..
Even when a bird simply whistles.. in the trees..
Startled, 'whoever comes there'', I wonder..

He.. is never there in my wakeful hour..
I await him in my dreams..
As if to secure him.. with reverie..
In the hidden.. canopy of my slumber..

Someone so profoundly I love..
Someone so profusely I desire..
Would he still be far away from me..
Would my impassioned heart..
Not be enough.. to summon.. him..

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