If you free me of my bonds

আমায় মুক্তি যদি দাও বাঁধন খুলে
amay mukti jodi dao

If you free me of my bonds
I will embrace your bondage

Forever the path on which I speed
If it comes to an end
I will rush to you forgetting my way

If you snuff out the lights in my home
I will come to love your darkness

If the shore I cannot see
In that directionless drifting of mine
I will be yours and yours alone

I will have to awaken

জাগিতে হবে রে
jagite hobe re

I will have to awaken
Wrapped in ignorance and illusion
This slumber will not last forever
I will have to forsake the comfort of my bed
At the resounding claps of thunder

His law and justice pervades the world
His wheel of time circles the skies
His eyes of fury flash amidst the sea of sins

When I go to sleep I set my heart

নিশীথশয়নে ভেবে রাখি মনে
nishitho shoyone bhebe rakhi mone

When I go to sleep I set my heart
To see you as soon as I wake up at dawn
O Lord! You who are the Omniscient

As I awaken to a pristine radiance
And bow at your feet with a thrill of joy
I set my heart to offer you my day’s work
O Lord! You who are the Omniscient

As I accomplish my day’s work I set my heart
To sit by you at dusk after my work is done
At the end of day I sit in my room and contemplate
How the aches and worries of a weary soul
Will sink into the restful sea of your night
O Lord! You who are the Omniscient

I will sing each day your song so sweet and pure

প্রতিদিন তব গাথা
protidin tobo gatha

I will sing each day your song so sweet and pure
Do grant me the words, do grant me the tune
Hoping you fill my life with your love to the brim
If ever you seat yourself on a blooming lotus in my heart
I will sing each day your song so sweet and pure

Hoping you hear my song sitting face to face
If ever in kind munificence your eyes shower a divine sweetness
If ever in tender affection you rest your hand upon my woe
Hoping you take away the vanity from my happiness
I will sing each day your song so sweet and pure

Who brought to me in secret

নিশা-অবসানে কে দিল গোপনে আনি
nisha-oboshane ke dilo gopone aani

As night ebbed, who brought to me in secret
A jewel encrusted with the pain of your separation

That gift of pain I hold dear to my heart
Let it not fade away in tasks of tedious days
Let it sway in my heart brushing away all my thoughts

This eternal suffering will be my life-long wealth
When O when will it find fulfillment
As my ultimate offering?

Beyond the dense dark stupor of dreams
Let it glow in secret in the perplexing night
As your silent summons to me

Across this distance separating us

তোমার আমার এই বিরহের অন্তরালে
tomar amar ei biroher ontorale

Many a bridge of melody and rhythm
I build across this distance separating us
Yet my heart echoes a secret ache
Now at this hour of dusk
Do summon me to your service

I stay away from the world
Retreating to the innermost recesses of my heart
My consciousness enmeshed in a phantasmic web of thoughts

My load of joy and woe has become too heavy
Let me surrender it at the supreme altar

Keep me at your door

দুয়ারে দাও মোরে রাখিয়া
duare dao more rakhiya

Keep me at your door ever engaged in your service
I will range across your lands at your summons

In a lustful lasting daze, I will not laze
Life feels oppressed by the shame of futile days

Let me not encircle myself in many a doubt
Let me not rove the roads to hoard and amass

Let me not be subservient to many a ruler
I will walk in fearless dignity as your servant

I will not ponder hungrily, when you may return

 কবে তুমি আসবে ব’লে
Kobe tumi ashbe bole

I will not ponder hungrily, when you may return
Withered blossoms, fall and perish, in succession
Time runs out in a moment's bout, and I should move on

The surging drift sends its heaves vibrating through me
Pull your anchor, rouse my oarsman, get plunged into the sea
I'll glide my ship into the deep to soar on my very own

The waxing gibbous moon swims sleepless in the sky
Sailing on her lonesome boat in a sea of dreamy high

You may not know which way to go, but cast your doubts aside
Your mind will be at liberty to take your chosen stride
With all the rest, make your haste, walking on along

O Supreme Lord of life and death

হে মহাজীবন, হে মহামরণ
hey mohajibon hey mohamoron

O Supreme Lord of life and death
I seek refuge, I seek refuge
Strike a flame in my dark lamp
Paint a radiant tilaka on my forehead
O Lord, do efface my shame

Your caress is the Midas touch
I seek refuge, I seek refuge
All that is murky, all that is inky
All that is foul let it become fair
O Lord, lift away the veil and dispel all ignorance

Let your will be fulfilled

তোমারি ইচ্ছা হউক পূর্ণ করুণাময় স্বামী
tomari ichha houk purno

O compassionate One
Let your will be fulfilled
Your love I hold close to me
My hope I place at your feet
If you inflict pain
If you exact suffering
I’ll endure it all

Ever awake are your eyes so full of care
Knowing, I know it not

I forget your benevolence
And sink into a sea of sorrow
Your world is full of joy and beauty
My own failing leads to my pain
From my blind pursuit of desires

Dispel my illusion with a stern blow
And then in a heart cleansed with tears
Dwell O Lord through night and day

Place me on trial

আমার বিচার তুমি করো
amar bichar tumi koro

Place me on trial and judge me yourself
I bring my day’s work to your hall of judgement

If my worship is but a falsehood
If I clutch on to false rites
If in malice I wrong someone
Place me on trial and judge me yourself

If I hurt someone lured by greed
If in fear I stray from righteousness
If I find joy in another's woe, even for a moment
If I defile the life you blessed me with
If possessed by temptation I destroy my own self
Place me on trial and judge me yourself

The room you allot me in this world

সংসারে তুমি রাখিলে মোরে যে ঘরে
shongshare tumi rakhile more je ghore

The room you allot me in this world
There I’ll stay forgetting all woe
With your own hand be so kind
To keep a door open through night and day

In all my work and leisure
That door will be for you to come
From there will the wind waft in
Fetching the dust of your feet

As each shelter of mine gets demolished
Let my heart stay focused on one refuge
Whenever I suffer the singes of sorrow
Let one name be seared into my heart

When in tough times
Pain sets up home in my heart
Let it arrive bearing your command
When harsh words strike at my soul
Let each wound awaken your melody

Submerge this darkness

এ অন্ধকার ডুবাও
e ondhokar dubao

Submerge this darkness in the abyss of your darkness
O Lord of darkness

Come closer, come deeper
Come into my life stepping into my heart

Let my body and mind fade away and lose itself
O Lord of darkness

My desires, my vices, my wants
Let them dissolve at your feet

I live in exile, enmeshed in unattainable desires
O Lord of darkness

In all my attachments, bind me to you
O I pine for such bondage

My beloved, my beatitude, my absolute
O Lord of darkness

Exfoliating all, replenishing all
Let the final moment arrive
Let this I-me-mine be annihilated

In drifts of high spring my blossoming song

চৈত্রপবনে মম চিত্তবনে
*Chaitra pabane / Choitro pobone (audio: Debabrata Biswas)

In drifts of high spring
My blossoming song
Surges in my heartland-blues, o fair muse

If lonesome hours pass me by
A searing sun may wilt her dry
She may be disgraced by dust diffuse, o fair muse

With yearning ache I hope that you alight
My time ends soon, my heart is in plight

In the dark groves reveal yourself to her
Let your gracious hands softly secure
Clad her as a pendant, with tenderness profuse, o fair muse

*An attempt has been made to restore the original rhythm of the song

My voice soothes my soul

আমার বাণী আমার প্রাণে লাগে
amar baani amar praane laage

My voice soothes my soul
The more I call out to you
My own heart awakens

This longing for you is my own attainment
And so my heart seeks with all its might

O frail one! your fear holds you back
If you set out to serve
This frailty would itself fall apart

What need have I to seek directions?
Your lamp guides me on with each step I take

Your steadfast gaze looks down upon me

তুমি যে চেয়ে আছ
tumi je cheye aachho

Your steadfast gaze looks down upon me
From across the skies through night and day

When I open my eyes to this radiance
Your long vigil will then bear fruit
The skies count the days to that moment

Spring’s bloom will remain unfufilled
If my one blossom fails to flower

Blessed will be the stars above
Who light their lamps in your land
The day my darkness is dispelled

Now and then I forget

ভুলে যাই থেকে থেকে
bhule jai theke theke

Now and then I forget
You call out to us time and again
Wishing to seat us in your home
The gatekeeper knows us not
He restrains us at the road
We await you outside
Do summon us in

You’ve given us life
You gave us honour with that
That honour slips away in greed, fear and shame
It gets stained day after day
Accumulating layers of dust

She seems distraught

উদাসিনী-বেশে বিদেশিনী কে সে
*Udashini beshe bideshini ke she (audio: Debabrata Biswas)

She seems distraught, an exotic sort,
                              Unknown she may be
Mirage of mine, I sketch her shrine,
                           With colors close to me.

Eastward drifts made her soar
                 Farther from my wasted shore
Lost beyond the distant blue
                 With assailing haste at sea.

I fondly gaze with lonesome laze
                                        At the all-escaping surge,
The waves that leave, don't conceive,
                                         A reappearing urge.

I know she stays beyond my might,
                         Yet I seek to rest my plight,
A niche to store my troubled score
                      Through the music of my plea.

* an attempt has been made to restore the original rhythm

My dreams of life on a raft of lays

গানের ভেলায় বেলা-অবেলায়
*Gaanero bhelay bela-obelay

My dreams of life go drifting by on a raft of lays
In my absent thoughts of everyday
What do they find, these tears and smiles, what shoreline
Do they reach, these songs of mine, at eventide
With just such buoyant tides of play
The drift will carry you away
The sailing wind will be your aide, have no fear
If you lose all that is dear, to liberty you know the way

*An attempt has been made to restore the original rhythm of the song

We met at the confluence of night and day

রাত্রি এসে যেথায় মেশে দিনের পারাবারে
ratri eshe jethay meshe
(audio)

Where night flows into the day
We met, you and I, at that confluence
There, in streaks of ebony and ivory
Darkness and light mingle
There, from one shore to the other
The waves race and ripple

From the silent blue of the netherworld
Resonates a voice of the deepest timbre
On the touchstone gleams a streak of gold

I try to look into your face
I peep and peer but fail to see
Still wrapped in my dreams I wake up
And my eyes brim over in tears

From where do I hear such a sigh

কোথা হতে শুনতে যেন পাই
*Kotha hote shunte jeno pai

From where do I hear such a sigh,
Like a wave of adieu in the sky!
On leaves and bowers, on verdant grass,
A gasp, a breath, of quiet nuance!
So much ache, so much twinge,
Blowing, brushing, borne by wind.
The path that trails off to endlessness
Meets my gaze like a parting embrace
As I look back, with a sigh.

*an attempt has been made to restore the original measures of the song

As soon as tears stream down

দুঃখের বরষায় চক্ষের জল যেই নামল
dukkher boroshay chokkher jol

As soon as tears stream down releasing the rains of sorrow
The chariot of my friend arrives at my heart’s threshold

The cup of togetherness is filled with separation and sorrow
I yield to his embrace and I regret no more

My heart denied for so long had amassed many a hope
In the blink of an eye I have been satiated with his touch

At long last I know now for whom I cried out my heart
Blessed is this awakening, fortunate are the tears
Gratified am I

My last cent — my songs

আমার শেষ পারানির কড়ি ( কন্ঠে নিলেম গান )
Amar shesh paranir kori / Konthe nilem gaan  (audio: Kanika Bandyopadhyay)

My last cent — my songs, I have borne
I shall not be left on the shores alone.

My oarsman, he loves a tune
I'll charm him with my solo score,
wage my sailing with his boat
to get my place on the other shore.

I do not care if I touch
my destiny, the airs are drunk
with melodies of the far
that bleeds, entreats my reeling heart.

You all vainly bother so
about if I leave or not.
Leave I shall, leave I must,
break the door and free the knot.

Who entreats that I take my leave?

কে বলে 'যাও যাও'
Ke bole 'jao jao' (audio: Srikanta Acharya)

Who entreats that I take my leave?
My partings are compact.
For ever more, your gates release,
The wind drifts me back

You egg me on an ebbing sea
To unseen, distant shores
My way back on the tidal waves
Turn to former moors

A tramp I am, the path my home,
Just at ease with go and come

If dawn fades out my waning star
So then, let her go
Her speechless gaze will shine again
In twilight, all aglow

The one after your heart

সে যে মনের মানুষ
shey je moner manush
(audio)

The one after your heart
Why make Him wait at the gate of your eye
Call him into your heart
Let your eyes be awash in tears

When the light dims as night falls
Lay a mat within your heart
He will come in secret
In the very darkness of separation

On the secret path he to-and-fros
He will come and go as per his wish

The moment you pledge to bind him
He stays no more, the bonds remain
Trapped in your own thoughts
All you do is bind yourself with those bonds

- 1925

My eyes see you not yet you fill my eyes

নয়ন তোমারে পায় না দেখিতে
noyon tomare paay na dekhite
(audio)

My eyes see you not
Yet you fill my eyes
My heart knows you not
Yet you dwell there in secret

My mind races in all directions
Crazed by the relentless clutch of desire
You stay ever awake with a tranquil gaze
In my deepest being, in sleep, in dreams

She who is alone, deserted by one and all
For her you are, your love there is
He who is homeless, a refugee of the road
For him there is a place in your abode

Not a friend there is but you
Ahead in the vastness of life
You ply across the ocean of time
None there is who knows how

All I know is - I am because you are
You overflow with life and so I live
The more I seem to attain you
The more I pray and seek
The more I know of you
The more I have left to know

I know I will attain you forever
In this world and beyond,
Through this epoch and beyond
You and me, none in between
No other barrier in this world

When worldly matters occupy my mind

সংসার যবে মন কেড়ে লয়
shongshar jobe mon kere loy
(audio)

When worldly matters occupy my mind
When the heart is awakened no more
Even then my Lord, I bow to you
I keep on singing your songs

You who are all-knowing
Forgive the worthless offering of this barren heart
My worship sans flowers
My song devoid of devotion

I call out your name in a parched voice
I hope with all my heart
For the sweet rain of a love profound to pour down upon my soul

If asudden you choose to bestow me with your nectar
I offer my barren heart at your feet with that faith

- 1901

Who are you awake?

তুমি জাগিছ কে?
tumi jagichho ke

Who are you awake?
The light in your eyes
Pierces the deep darkness of night

You look deep into your heart
Gazing without a blink
Your restless heart riddled by doubts
Quivers in fright

Where can I hide from you O Lord?
This life stained with guilt
You have seen, knowing all
O Lord, forgive me

At your feet
Let me sit in solitude
Let me weep
Where else do I go?


- 1887

Bearing a heart full of woe

হৃদয়বেদনা বহিয়া
hridoyobedona bohiya

I come to your door O God
Bearing a heart full of woe
You can read my mind
O Lord of my heart
You are the all-knowing –
All my pain, shame, wants and crisis
Whom else can I tell?

Much have I erred, O Lord
Ensnared by temptations
None in this world but You
Can ever forgive me, O God

I’ll renounce all my desires
Immersing them in Your sea of love
I’ll forget my pain of separation
In the sweetness of union with You

I can no longer think through my thoughts
Relieve me by taking up my load
Ferry this weary soul, O God
Across the ocean of this world

- 1888

If I speed like storm clouds

যদি ঝড়ের মেঘের মতো আমি ধাই চঞ্চল-অন্তর
jodi jhorer megher moto dhai

If I speed like storm clouds restless within
Then I plead for your mercy O Lord
O sinless One, I’ve come to the shores of sin
With my wretched and weak self
O Lord, I plead for your mercy
Be so kind to take me unto you
I dwell amidst water, yet die of thirst
O Lord, I plead for your mercy
Be so kind to fill my heart with nectar

- 1909