Today and always live in joy

সদা থাকো আনন্দে
Soda thako anonde (Subinoy Roy)

Today and always
live in joy
in your little world
free from fear
with a clear heart.

Rise in the morning 
and thrive in joy.
Rest in the evening 
with a song of joy.

In trials and abundance
find your heart.
In slander and scorn
find your joy.

Forgive all 
and live in joy.
Drink from the 
spring that never dries
and tastes of peace.

I will set sail on this lashing sea

আমি মারের সাগর পাড়ি দেব বিষম ঝড়ের বায়ে
Aami maarer shagor paari debo

I will set sail on this lashing sea
Plying along a terrifying tempest
In this broken boat of mine

Taking heart in “no more fear”
Setting out despite a torn sail
My boat will reach your shore
In the shade of the banyan tree

The one who loves me will show me the way
All I have to do is cast away fear and set sail
I know for sure I will come to shore at day end
I will place the crimson flowers of my woe at your merciful feet

I know he.. comes forth..

সে যে বাহির হল আমি জানি
(shey .. jey .. bahir .. holo)

I know he.. comes forth..
I hear.. the voice.. in my heart..

The sky.. is.. abuzz with whispers
The when.. and where.. of their sojourns..
At the seashore.. in the forest.. yonder..

Too.. bad.. I’ve set up home.. so.. far away
How.. long.. a path.. they’ll have to take
I splay my heart.. all over the trail..
May.. their footsteps.. tread.. my pain..

That is what I wish

সেই তো আমি চাই
shei to aami chaai

That is what I wish
I do not fret for an end to my arduous effort
I do not quest for the fruit of my action
Who can bear that unbearable load
As soon as it bears fruit, I let it go to dust
To begin afresh from a nascent bud

Thus is my life beset with eager yearning
With each new effort, ever a new agony
I expend what I receive and seek yet again
The giving never ends and so I go on taking

You stir me awake from my dream

স্বপন যদি ভাঙিলে রজনীপ্রভাতে
swapan jodi bhangile

You stir me awake from my dream
As the night gives way to dawn
Suffuse my heart then in radiance

Keep me engaged in your work
Renew this life of mine

Open the doors of my room
And summon me to your abode

Do come today O Lord

স্বামী, তুমি এসো আজ অন্ধকার হৃদয়মাঝে
swami tumi esho aaj

Do come today O Lord into my heart steeped in darkness
I feel ashamed, tarnished with guilt, I call out to you
My heart cries out, my mind knows no peace
I cannot see the road engulfed in my own darkness

Fie upon my life, futile is my effort
Futile is the transient love that fades time and again
My heart is scorched in pain
My eyes overflow with tears
My thirst for earthly enjoyment
Consumes me like a vile poison 

The dust of this marketplace overwhelms me

হাটের ধুলা সয় না যে আর, কাতর করে প্রাণ
haater dhula shoy na je aar

The dust of this marketplace overwhelms me
I cannot bear it, my heart feels stifled
Let the river of your melody wash over me
Let it’s drumbeat pulse through my veins
Let it wash away from my body all dishonour
Let it’s gurgling flow drown all commotion

O Beautiful One
I had wreathed a garland of your flowers
Remind me of that today, let me forget all pain
Invite me to the lotus garden of your song
Let me partake of it’s honeyed sweetness
Let my face be smeared with it’s pollen

Who will give me solace

হায় কে দিবে আর সান্ত্বনা
haay ke dibe aar shantona

Who will give me solace
All have gone
I beg you not to leave
Do gaze with a smile O Lord
Upon the weak and subservient

I look all around
I do not see a soul
Why did you leave me alone in the dark
Look at this empty world of mine

You.. made.. me.. surrender..

হার মানালে গো, ভাঙিলে অভিমান
haar.. manale.. go.. bhangile.. obhiman..

you.. made me surrender..
you crushed.. my sentimental pride..
the flickering lamps I feebly lit..
have been shattered.. into pieces..

light up now.. your luminous.. stars..
end this twilight of many hued shadows..

come my friend.. of the beyond..
the winds.. waft in from the road..
the lights in my home.. flicker out..

to this desolate.. wharf.. edging a deep darkness..
this act on the stage.. where all is lost..
i have brought.. this song of mine..

I offer to you a garland woven in surrender

হার-মানা হার পরাব তোমার গলে
haar mana haar

I offer to you a garland woven in surrender
I can no longer keep myself away in self-delusion

I know my sentimental pride will be swept away
My heart will shatter in acute pain
Emptied, it will sing out like a flute
My tears will erode even stone

The lotus petals will unfurl one by one
The honeyed sweetness will not be withheld

Whose gaze will beckon to me from the skies
Call me away from home in silence
Nothing will remain, nothing at all
I will attain ultimate oblivion at your feet

Why has the smile left your eyes

হাসি কেন নাই ও নয়নে
Hashi keno naai o noyone

Why has the smile left your eyes
You roam about with a forlorn face
Look up, my friend, look at the flowers blooming in the garden
The blossoms weep seeing you so forlorn
The wild vines beseech you to talk to them

Come, my friend, come here and tell
For whom does your heart ache
Whose dreams steep your heart so

My heart quivers my friend

হিয়া কাঁপিছে সুখে কি দুখে সখী
Hiya kanpichhe shukhe ki dukhe

My heart quivers my friend
Is it in pleasure or in pain
Why do my eyes well up in tears

My beloved will come to me today
What should I do my friend

When I meet him, my friend
I know not what to say

Will he not know, my friend
What my heart wishes to say
Will he not fathom it
Will he turn away

Sighting you secretly within their heart

হিয়ামাঝে গোপনে হেরিয়ে তোমারে
Hiyamajhe gopone heriye tomare

Sighting you secretly within their heart
Tender green leaves quiver in thrill
Chafing the flowers now and then

My heart has cast off it’s veil in joy

হৃদয়-আবরণ খুলে গেল
hridoy-aboron khule gelo

My heart has cast off it’s veil in joy
At the touch of your feet, O benevolent One
I see you within and outside
In each world, in every direction
In light and darkness, in joy and woe
I see you in my home, my heart
All across the whole wide world

My heart is too delicate

হৃদয় মোর কোমল অতি
hridoy mor komal oti

My heart is too delicate
It cannot bear the sunshine
When touched by light
It curls up in fearful shyness
When a bee alights beside me
My eyes drop shut in dread
I wish to wither and fall
Down into the earth
In distressed shame
When nudged by the breeze
My petals quiver and fall
So I hide my frame in a veil of leaves
I will pour my fragrance
Into the dark deep woods
I will wither and die
In the lap of these woods

Let my heart know your grace

হৃদয়ে তোমার দয়া যেন পাই
hridoye tomar daya jeno paai

Let my heart know your grace
I will accept my lot in this world
Let me find you in my heart

Your grace will suffuse my thoughts
Night and day in life and death
In joy and woe, in prosperity and calamity
Let me seek your grace
Let me know your grace

Your grace like a stream of tranquility
Will cascade softly into my heart
Your grace like a glow of well-being
Will light up the darkness of my life
My love and devotion
All my strength and solace
Let me gain in the form of your grace
There is nothing that is mine

O my heart’s treasure

হে অন্তরের ধন
Hey ontorer dhon

O my heart’s treasure
You pine in separation
Empty is your abode

I leave you alone in my home
I wander out and about all day long

O my heart’s treasure
The whole world weeps
Bemoaning this separation

Your flute in many a tune
Searches for me afar and near
Impassioned is spring’s southern breeze

I got your message, my friend

হে সখা বারতা পেয়েছি মনে মনে
hey shokha barota peyechhi

I got your message, my friend
In the caress of your breath
Within my heart
You’ve come, my unseen friend
With the southern breeze

Why do you deceive me
Why do you bind me
In a bondage invisible
Do let me see you
To my heart’s content
In the bowers of my heart

Do let me see you
In flowers crimson, white and gold
Why do you go far away
Putting a spell on me with your flute
In this celebration of youth
Do let yourself be seen
For my eyes to behold

My friend, abide in my heart

হে সখা, মম হৃদয়ে রহো
hey shokha mor hridoye raho

My friend, abide in my heart
In this world, in all my work
In my thoughts, in my knowing
Abide in my heart

Come O Lord, gently, slowly
In my joys, woes, smiles, tears
Gather up my life in your embrace
In this world, in all my work
In my thoughts, in my knowing
Abide in my heart

The whole day comes to naught

হেলাফেলা সারা বেলা
helaphela shara bela

The whole day comes to naught
What is this game I play with myself
Whose face do I recall
In the flower scented breeze
Who knows whose smile
Flutters across my sight
Leaving behind a teardrop
In the corner of my eyes

Who is it in stoic indifference
Plays a languorous tune
Beneath which yonder shade
Wails as if an aching heart
In the song of the flute
All day long I string my song
For whom sings my heart
Like a shadow I sit
Beneath a tree in the garden

Divulge your face now

এবার   অবগুণ্ঠন খোলো
Ebar obogunThono kholo (audio link) 


Divulge your face now.
As the magic of opaque clouds and soft shades in the forests
complete their loot.
Reveal your soul-secrets with whispers of the night, 
Shiuli-fragrant, vivid in mature moonlight.
Allow your tearfulness to marry a demure smile,
a rendezvous, somehow unfold in the flute-like savory Madhabi wilderness.
Discover a new rhythm of love: tryst, intermittent with yearning
to dance by, in the dewy breeze, in the florid web of shade and light.

Through whom did you send your garland

কার হাতে এই মালা তোমার পাঠালে
Kaar haatey ei mala tomar pathaley

Through whom did you send your garland
In this dawn of a spring day
Your name etched in its colours
Your rhythm in its fragrance
I wear that garland as a crown
In this dawn of a spring day
Your song arises in the sky
In the breeze of this spring day
O how did you string my name in your melody
Weave it secretly into your song
In this dawn of a spring day

I make a wish in solitude

কামনা করি একান্তে
Kamona kori ekante

I make a wish in solitude
May peace and joy shower down on the world
May sin, envy, sorrow sink into oblivion
May all creatures find refuge at your feet
There where fear has no place

It is time to go now

ওরে, যেতে হবে, আর দেরি নাই
orey jete hobe aar deri noy

It is time to go now
The sun is about to set
Your friends have all gone ahead

Finish your play on this stage of life
Darkness draws near
Who do you turn back and look for?

New actors appear on this stage with a new play
Come away from there, lest they throw brickbats

Set down the load you’ve been holding close to your heart
Move on to a new land, build there a nest anew
Start afresh with a new play

Girl.. of fifteen..

ওগো তুমি পঞ্চদশী

(ogo tumi ponchadashi)

Girl of fifteen,
touching.. the fullness.. of the moon..
a hint of a smile alights your dreaminess..
sudden.. wild.. tweets.. solemnize.. your juvenescence..
your slumber.. fragrant with
the first.. fresh watery buds.. of monsoon..
your heartthrobs.. become.. whispers of the forest..
An untenable melancholy.. shades your mind..
like the dark blue.. rainy.. horizon..
as tears.. gather.. in your eyes..

O my oarsman of the raft of monsoon clouds

ওগো আমার শ্রাবণমেঘের খেয়াতরীর মাঝি
Ogo amar srabonmegher kheyatorir majhi

O my oarsman of the raft of monsoon clouds
Unfurl your sails in the tearladen eastern breeze
My distracted heart gazes on
Her burden is not all that heavy
Just one spray of Kadamba flowers

The playmate of my morn who was with me
I ask myself if you know her whereabouts
Your song as you row brings to my mind her eyes
My sobs ring out in the sky filled with ache

O the Lord of my life

ওগো আমার প্রাণের ঠাকুর
Ogo amar praaner thakur

O the Lord of my life
Your love has made you ruthless
You will not let me be inert
So in my heart through night and day
A severe tune plays

O the Lord of my life
Let the ache I feel for you
Be made sweet
My search for you
My pain for you
Makes me cry
Driving comfort away

You come quietly to that shore of death

ওই মরণের সাগরপারে চুপে চুপে
Oi moroner sagorpaare

You come quietly to that shore of death
You O Lord who enchants the world
You come in the form of a dream

My tears called out to you throughout the day
They swirled around tripping over obstacles
I was locked up in a dark well
You O Lord who enchants the world
You come today in the form of a dream

I see the dark cascade of your hair
The locks bejewelled with bright stars

The sky is filled with the pathos of song
It pulsates at your feet with the chirp of crickets
The incense of flowers suffuse my hymn
You O Lord who enchants the world
You come today in the form of a dream

The dark night has passed

ওই পোহাইল তিমিররাতি
Oi pohailo timir raati

The dark night has passed
The glimmer of a new dawn appears on the eastern sky
In this life and youth, in the heart and all around
Awakens a beauty beyond compare, a sweet radiance

Who sent this beautiful day to stir us from sleep
Awakening the universe in utter delight
You shower auspicious blessings
Spreading the word of joy
You who are the eternal companion

I will lay down on the ground beneath your altar

ওই আসনতলের মাটির 'পরে লুটিয়ে রব
Oi ashontoler maatir pore

I will lay down on the ground beneath your altar
Let the dust at your feet besmear me

Why bequeath honour and push me away
Do not distract me thus throughout my life
Pull me down to your feet in disgrace
Let the dust at your feet besmear me

I will stay behind all your wayfarers
Give me a place below all others
So many rush to partake of your grace
I will not ask for anything, I will merely gaze
I will be happy with whatever is left at the end