I so do love, yes, love do I

ভালোবাসি, ভালোবাসি
bhalobashi bhalobashi

I so do love, yes, love do I
This tune that plays afar and near
The flute that rings on land and seas

Whose heart is it amidst azures
Singing in deep melancholy
Whose dusky eyes awash with tears
Brimming over in the distance

In that melody sad and sweet
Rise endless wails in rolling waves
Breaking free on sea shores

In that melody sad and sweet
Resonates the heart for no reason
Lyrics old of songs forgotten
Tears and smiles of forgotten days

Wonder who you are

মোর স্বপন-তরীর কে তুই নেয়ে

mor swapan-torir ke tui neye

Wonder who you are
        Cruiser of my dreams,
My sails, seized with passion,
        How this maddened heart sings away.
Let me take leave, as you rock the boat,
    And sail me off to remote destinies.
Worries all, cast behind
                     Bear me along,
Unveil your face
                  And look me in the eye,
Flooding my soul with your smile.

A brimming wave of tears

ও চাঁদ, চোখের জলের লাগল জোয়ার

o chaand, chokher joler laglo jowar
(audio)

A brimming wave of tears
Surges in my ocean of sorrow
Dear Moon,  do you hear
The secrets whispered
From one brink to another?

I was moored at familiar shores
When the harness suddenly unleashed.
Tugged adrift, I sailed away
To strange destinies.

Seekers have reached their ports,
Yet I am discombobulated
In a darkness of haunting lights.

In my passionate desire to be lost
Quaint pathways are launched,

And I am nudged on impulsively.
The wild soul who spurs me on
Laughs in the curious dark.



(another version by Rumela Sengupta)

A tidal wave of tears
Swells and brims over
Deluging the shores
Of my sea of woe

My raft unmoored
From the shores of the known
Nudged by winds
Reaches a shore unknown

Wayfarers on the quay
Have all gone their own way
Lost and adrift I am
Directionless in the dark night
Vision of an aurora in my eyes

The path beckons to me
With an impatient tug
Urging me to lose my way
Fogging my sense of direction
That crazed friend of mine
Chuckles in the darkness




- September 1924

You long to hear me sing

তোমায় গান শোনাব

tomay gaan shonabo

Audio: Kabir Suman

You long to hear me sing
Is that why you keep me astir
All night, my sleep-hunter,
You who spark awake my sorrow!

Twilight overcasts,
Birds retire to nest,
Boats row back to shore;
Yet my heart finds no rest,
You who spark awake my sorrow!

You let my tears flow endlessly
Interspersed between my tireless tasks

You touch me, filling my goblet
With unearthly grace
And then, disappear --
I wonder if you remain unseen
Behind my wall of pain,
You who spark awake my sorrow!