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

Strength to carry your love

তোমার প্রেম যে বইতে পারি
tomar prem je boite paari

Strength to carry your love
Beyond my might it is

It is your kindness that you keep
A distance between you and me
Fences many of joy and woe
Of people, wealth and pride

Now and then from behind the veil
You give a hint of your presence
Glinting between the dark grey clouds
A slight ray of sunlight
For one whom you bless with
Power to carry your endless love
Lifted are all the veils

You leave him not a corner
You leave him not his wealth
You leave him not a remnant
As you put him on the road
No more honour or disgrace
Not even shame, coyness or fear
Alone you are for him in all
The one and only one

To be in front of you
Face to face in this way
To keep this life fulfilled
With you and only you
One blessed with such bounty
His hunger knows no end
All his greed he puts aside
To give you all the room

Untie your old strings one by one

একটি একটি করে তোমার পুরানো তার খোলো

ekti ekti kore tomar purano taar kholo

Untie your old strings one by one
Time to string the Sitar anew

Broken up has the day’s milieu
Assemble will all at twilight
Time it is for the one to come
Play who will the ultimate tune
Time to string the Sitar anew

Throw open your gates to dark skies
Let stream into your room
Silence from the seventh heaven
All the songs you have sung till now
Let them fade to an end

That your instrument is your own
Forsake you must that very thought
Time to string the Sitar anew

When immersed in sleep is the world

বিশ্ব যখন নিদ্রামগন
biswa jokhon nidramagan

When the world is immersed in sleep
The skies painted with ebony
Who strums with such vigour
The strings of my Veena*
Who abducts sleep from my eyes
I sit up from slumber
I gaze with eagerness
But I do not catch a glimpse

My whole life reverberates
I know not the boundless words
That find their way in restless tunes
I cannot fathom this deep ache
Swelling through my heart in tears
Who is it I wish to give
The garland I wear myself

- 17th April 1907

Veena*: a plucked stringed instrument 

This life long agony of mine

চিরজনমের বেদনা

chirojonomer bedona

This life long agony of mine
My abiding quest all life long
Let your fire ablaze
Do not shower mercy
Thinking me to be weak
All sorrow that befalls
To endure it I want
May desires burn to ash

Your absolute summons
Order me with that call
Why this delay for no reason

The chains that bind my heart
Let them break, fall away

Let your conch roar out
Let it resound now
Crushing my pride
Stealing my sleep
Awaken deep consciousness

So be it O ruthless one

এই করেছ ভালো নিঠুর 

ei korechho bhalo nithur

So be it, O ruthless one
Set ablaze in this way
My heart in searing ache

This incense if not burnt
Won't emit fragrance
This candle if not lit
Won't radiate light

When ignorant is the mind
Oblivious, unconscious
A wound is but your touch
A blessed gift in disguise

Blinded by illusions
Lost in the dark
Downcast with shame
These eyes fail to see you
With a stroke of thunder
Incinerate in fire
All that is dark and black

I succumb I surrender

মেনেছি, হার মেনেছি
menechhi haar menechhi

I succumb, I surrender
More I keep you aside
More I hurt my own self

If obscured you are
From my heart’s firmament
Endure it I cannot
This have I known
Time and again

My past it shadows me
Follows me with each step
With tunes captivating
Of flute illusory
It entreats me in vain
With it I bond no more
Yielded to you have I
All that is left in life
I have brought to your door

For as long as I can remember

জানি জানি কোন্‌ আদি কাল হতে

Jani jani kon adi kal hote (audio)

For as long as I can remember
you have set me adrift
in the flow of life.
Suddenly, at home and on the road
you gave me much delight, my love.

Many a times you hid your smile
on a cloudy day
appeared once more in the sun,
touched my face with fortuitous rays.

In distant time and space
in every new light
an unseen ecstasy
tasted and saved with my eyes.

In every secret birth
my heart filled with happiness,
sorrow, love and song
I found unearthly joy
In a waterfall of emotions.

The Lord of this life solitaire

নিভৃত প্রাণের দেবতা

nibhrito praaner debota 

The Lord of this life solitaire
There where he stays awake all alone
Throw open the door, devotee
To catch a glimpse of him today

I wander outside all day long
Who is it that I yearn for so
The prayers of evening worship
I have not yet learned

I ignite the lamp of my life
In the lustrous flame of your being
O devotee, today in seclusion
I will decorate my flower offerings

Where the world creates a place for worship
Engrossed in mindful practice
There I shall too hold a ray of light

How you sing O virtuous one

তুমি কেমন করে গান কর যে গুণী
tumi kemon kore gaan koro hey guni 
(Tagore's own translation)
(audio)

How you sing O virtuous one
All I can do is hear in awe
Melodious glow pervades the world
Melodious breeze wanders the skies

Crashing through rocks
Gushing in eager impatience
Surges a river of melody

My heart wants to sing to that tune
I fail to find it in my voice
What do I want to say
Oh why cannot I say
My heart cries out in surrender

How you enrapture and ensnare
Weaving a web of melody all around me

Timid is not this love of mine

আমার এ প্রেম নয় তো ভীরু
amar e prem noy to bheeru

Timid is not this love of mine
Nor does it lack in strength
Will it just in anxious worry
Shed sorrowful teardrops
In gentle sweet beauteous comfort
Why put my love to sleep
It wants to stay awake with you
Delirious with delight

Assuming form terrifying
When you erupt in deathly dance
Your violent rhythm strikes and wounds
Runs in panic, flees in shame
My bewildered doubt disbelief

May this love of mine welcome home
The one fiercely fascinating
Heavenly dream of trivial wants
Let it sink in oblivion

If I knew I would let you know

যদি জানতেম আমার কিসের ব্যথা
jodi jantem amar kisher byatha

If I knew I would let you know
Just what it is that hurts me so
Who is it that brings forth tears
If I only knew his name

Where in vain I reach out to
In search of whom I wander
As if my all has sold out
The price I got was trifling

Where are the riches of my suffering
I wonder throughout my life
They seem to fill this whole world
Yet I fail to fill my life with it

What they call ease and comfort
I try it time and again
Without a pause deep within
Echoes the tune “I want it not”
“I want it not”

That which we get unasked

না চাহিলে যারে পাওয়া যায়

na chahile jare pawa jay

That which we get unasked

That which rejected, still comes back

That wealth I lost in daylight

To find it in the darkness of night

The one beyond sight
The one beyond touch

Surrender your life to that one

And awaken!

The stars above echo that voice

It blooms in flowers of the morning

Many a tear I shed for it

On the lotus seat of learning*

They ripple and brim over the lotus petals

In many a song of mine

In each and every moment

It shines and dazzles in flashes

In kindly light of a calm smile

I see it glimmer and glow

*The Hindu Goddess of Learning Saraswati is visualized as sitting on a lotus

All that my heart wishes for

আমার পরান যাহা চায়
amaro porano jaha chaay(audio)

All that my heart wishes for
You are the one, that you are.
In this world, apart from you
I have no one, nothing have I.

If pleasure you do not find
Go in search of happiness.
I have found you within me
Nothing more I desire.

Pining for you, in your absence
My self will fade, to live in you.
Long be the day, long be the night
Long be months and years that go by.

If you love someone else
If you never return
Then whatever you covet
That may you get
May all suffering be mine

Suffer I can a lot more hurt

আরো আঘাত সইবে আমার
aro aghat shoibe amar (audio)

Suffer I can a lot more hurt
Play a tune more severe
On my heartstrings

The melody you awaken
Scaled it has not the highest note
Thus in merciless tremors
Manifest your self in music

May it be caressed with more than mere compassion
Amidst a play of lullabies be not futile this life

Set ablaze all fires
May the winds roar out
Stirring all of azure
Do impart completeness

When did I leave home with your song?

কবে আমি বাহির হলেম
kobe ami bahir holem (audio)

When did I leave home with your song?
It was such a long ago.
When did I first long to see you, can't recall.
It was such a long ago.

I was a mountain spring
who doesn't know her love.
My heart flowed along with life.
It was such a long ago.

How many names did I give you then
How many times have I painted you?
In what delight have I walked my path?
It was such a long ago.

I was like a flower that waits at night
My heart hoping to find the light.
It was such a long ago.

On a cold dewy night

হিমের রাতে ওই গগনের দীপগুলিরে

himer rate oi gogoner deepgulire (audio)

On a cold and dewy night
Winter drew close her veil
Cloaking the lamps lit in the sky
She sent a message to each home
“Light up, o light up a row of lamps
Illumine with your own glow
Bedeck this earth with radiance”

Barren are flower gardens
Silent is the cuckoo

Kaash* wilts on riverbanks
The robin sings no more

Be gone ennui, grief dark
Light up a row of lamps
Illumine with your own glow
Proclaim the triumph of radiance

Wake up children of earth
The Gods gaze down

Light up, wake up the night
Day ends, darkness descends
Light up a row of lamps
Illumine with your own glow
Defeat dark ignorance

Kaash* : a tall species of grass that is usually seen in autumn

Whenever I wish to light the lamp

যতবার আলো জ্বালাতে চাই

joto bar alo jwalate chai 

Whenever I wish to light the lamp
It flickers out time and again
Your seat of honour in my life
Ever remains in deep darkness

Withered have roots of the last vine
Buds take form never to blossom
I serve you therefore, gifting my life's ache

The glory of worship
The power of piety
None have I, not a trace
This devotee of yours
Wears humble clothes of shame

None have come to this festival
The flute sings not, bedecked is not home
I have summoned you with my tears
To my temple that lies in ruins

Make me bow kneel down at your feet

আমার মাথা নত করে দাও
amar matha noto kore dao (audio)

Make me bow, kneel down at your feet
Submerge my arrogance in tears

To lavish honour on myself
All I do is insult this self
Encircling ensnaring my self
Each moment I spiral to death
Submerge my arrogance in tears

May I not promulgate myself
In work that is my very own
May fulfilled be your own desire
In this life that you have made mine

I pray to seek your utmost bliss
Bless me with your splendour supreme
Shrouding this vain ego of mine
Grace my spirit with your presence
Submerge my arrogance in tears

Today my heart has drifted off

আজি হৃদয় আমার যায় যে ভেসে
aji hridoy amar jay je bheshe (audio)

My heart drifts off today
In search of the one yet unseen
Oblivious of strings that fasten
It flutters, floats on with the breeze
Sailing upon the lap of clouds
To which land beyond the probable

There on solitary sea shores near the foothills
Monsoon clouds thicken
On dark Tamal* branches in the King's abode
Peacocks starts to dance
On hearing anklet bells
Beyond the distant wilderness

Tamal*: a tree associated with Lord Krishna

Come have I with great hope

বড়ো আশা করে এসেছি
boro asha kore eshechhi

Come have I with great hope
Do summon me to you
O mother please
Do not turn me away

The distressed and deprived
Have none to look after them
You will I know tend to them

Nothing more do I want
But to sit at your feet
Nothing more do I want
But to call you mother

If you shelter me not
Where will I find refuge
Roam about in tears where
Ahead I see
Deep dark illusions
And a dense dim night

(another version by Arunabha Sengupta)

Come do I with hope filled heart
Shelter me in you
Forsake not me,  o mother
Come do I with hope filled heart
Shelter me in you

No one does want the poor and needy
      I know you will – welcome them too

There is no more I desire
But abode at your feet
By just calling you mother
All my wants will I meet

Renounce if you where will I find refuge –
Where tearful will I retreat?

Hark, wherever I look –
Darkness abounds, deep is the night …

Alone I walk in this world

আমি একলা চলেছি এ ভবে
ami ekla cholechhi

Alone I walk in this world
Who will show me the way

Fear not, fear not
Go on yourself
Like the bee that surges ahead
With just the fragrance of flowers

Voice of spring in autumn

হেমন্তে কোন্‌ বসন্তেরই বাণী
hemonte kon boshonteri bani  (audio)

Voice of spring in autumn
The full moon does carry
As if paints floral dreams
Moonlight on Bakul* stems
What secret whisperings
The full moon does carry
Enraptured are forests
With untimely blossoms
Of the white oleander
Warbles time and again
The sleep bereft bird
Whose name no one knows
Sweet memories of whom
The full moon does carry

Bakul* - a fragrant white flower that grows in the Indian subcontinent

The day you had called me

সে দিন আমায় বলেছিলে
shey din amay bolechhile

The day you had called me
Time I had not in hand
You wandered to and fro
Before you went away

Time it was then to play
Fair of flowers in forests
Ever restless was breeze
Anxiously rustling leaves

Today heralds autumn
Dissolved has foggy mist
Departed has décor
The hours draw near
Is it now time?
Awaiting at the door
As day comes to a close
I look towards the road

My heart yearns to give you something

তোমায় কিছু দেব বলে
tomay kichhu debo bole

My heart yearns to give you something
Whether you need it or not
When I caught sight of you
I saw you roaming by yourself
In dense darkness of lonely woods
I wanted to light a lamp for you
Whether you needed it or not

I saw the people in the marketplace
Flinging filth and abuse at you
Amidst the dirt and dishonour
On and on played your lute
Engulfed in it’s own tune
I did wish then to garland you
Whether you needed it or not

They come in hordes singing your hymns
Many languages much tumult
Knocking hard at your door for alms
Cursing much, weeping even more
I yearn to give this self of mine
Unconditionally to you
Whether you need it or not

- circa 1918

Why did I not moisten with tears

কেন চোখের জলে ভিজিয়ে দিলেম না
keno chokher jole bhijiye dilem na
(audio) 

Why did I not moisten with tears
The dust and dryness of the road
Who knew you would come unbidden

Across the desert you traversed
Not a tree there was for your shade
The travails of the road you bore for me
Such is my wretched fate

Couched in indolence I was then
In shaded comfort of my home
I knew not how much pain
You suffered at each step
Yet that feeling resonated
In a secret grief deep within
Left it’s mark in my very core
A deep wound to bear on my heart

- 7th Apr 1914

Who wafted by my heart

আমার প্রাণের পরে চলে গেল কে
amar praner pore chole gelo ke (audio)

Who wafted by my heart
Like soothing breeze of spring
He touched me, brought me to my knees
Made flowers bloom in tens of thousands

Went by, without a word to me
Where did he go never to return
On his way he did gaze
What was the song he sang
So it is by myself
I sit in the garden

Like a wave he rippled
To go where the moon beams
With each thing he smiled at
He left back his laughter
From a corner of his eye
I think he beckoned me

Where should I go, where should I go
I think thus sitting by myself
He waved his wand of moonlit dreams
Dangled a string of flowers deep within
What was it he whispered to wild flowers
Their heady fragrance went away with him
Fervent is my heart, heavy are my eyes
Through which place to where did he go

A slight sensation a few words

একটুকু ছোঁওয়া লাগে
ektuku chhowa lage

A slight sensation a few words
With that I create spring serenade
In my heart deep within

A little intoxication
Of Palash* mingled with Champa**
With that I weave in many shades
Soulful tunes so many

The little that flows in
Slipping between moments
Paints dreams in a corner
Of the mind mesmerised

The little that drifts far away
Tingles thought in sweet melody
With that passes the hour and day
Keeping beat to the anklet bells

Palash* & Champa ** : flowers of spring

Singing your melody

তোমার সুর শুনায়ে যে ঘুম ভাঙাও
tomar shur shunaye je ghum bhangao (audio: Debabrata Biswas)

My sleep from which you awaken
Singing your divine melody
That slumber to me is charming
A companion to wakefulness
Do bless her with your touch

A deep hunger she has within
A concealed wish for radiance
In the bosom of my night she is
Your own beloved of the morn

For her breaks dawn in crimson skies
Awakens new hope in birdsong
Silent your footsteps sing to her
A welcome song of your advent
Tender bud of twilight she is
Do pluck her at sunrise

The flower that blooms now and then

নিত্য তোমার যে ফুল ফোটে ফুলবনে
nityo tomar je phool phote

The flower that blooms ever so often in your garden
Why not nourish this heart with it’s nectar
This heart that wanders like a bee
The assembly that gathers ever so often in your courtyard
Why not make this servant sing there

The world like a lotus blooms at the kiss of your step
It looks up to you with ardent devotion
Why not let my heart-flower look up to you evermore

The sun moon and stars pace the skies
Tireless your rivers speed to seas
Why not in that very same way
Make hasten the stream of my life
To seek forever the sea of nectar

You arouse a joy in the twitter of birds
You fill the flower with fragrance
Why not in that very same way
Ever bless this heart with your grace
This heart a beggar at your door