With one salutation, master

একটি নমস্কারে, প্রভু
Ekti nomoshkare probhu (audio)

With one salutation, master
Let my body embrace my earth.

Let my heart bow down
juicy as a rainy cloud
yielding at your door.

With one salutation
let all songs combine
to make a silent, single sea.

Like a swan song let me fly
day and night to the end of death.

Eternal sunshine

 হে চিরনূতন, আজি এ দিনের প্রথম গানে
He chiro nuton, aji e diner prothom gaane (audio)

Evergreen sun,
make me bloom
to your first song.

Your words give me hope.
they sound like eternity.
Your blessings last me.

In this golden moment
let the sky fill with a lovely wind.
Give me new air to breath.
Birth me again.

Mend my broken and weak.
Flood my old and dim
with new sunshine.

Inferno descends in laps of thunder

প্রচণ্ড গর্জনে আসিল একি দুর্দিন

Prochondo gorjone ashilo eki durdino (audio)

Inferno is at the door,
listen to the tempest roar.
Lightning is a snake
the sky bitten with ache.
Heaven's gone blind
with tears and a sigh.

Release your woe
your fear, lazy one.
Shine your power
with joy.

Open your eyes.
There's serenity here.
In the seat of big fear
there is deathless wave
and it can make us brave.



(another version by Rumela)

What calamity descends

With such a growl and roar

Such a parade of clouds

With a thundering drumroll

A night lashed by snakes of lightning

A sky blinded by teary downpour

Break free from your terror

Awaken from fear and laze

Arouse the courage within

With a buoyant burst of bliss

Unabashed, lay your eyes upon

The stretch of the silent still

Resplendent in the conquest of death

The conquistador of fear

Cosmic heart at work

যিনি সকল কাজের কাজী 
Jini shokol kajer kaji (audio)

The cosmic heart at work
who we aid at all travail
He humours every flash
He startles every turn
He sweetens with abundance
and lifts us in the fun.

With that monumental beat
we march along in glee
He blows upon his horn
we dance his rhapsody.

His game riots with life
His sport spurs with death
we cherish in his rules
it hems in joy and ache.

When he asks for presence
His voice, a booming cloud
we rush to meet his call
our faith clear and loud.

We trample tricky thorns
and sail the seven seas,
we cross mammoth mountains
to answer his entreats.

In my deep wilderness

হৃদয়নন্দনবনে নিভৃত এ নিকেতনে
Hridoynondono bone nibhrito e niketone (audio: Subinoy Roy)

In my deep wilderness
in my house of silence,
arrive, my beautiful
arrive, my joy.

Show me your tender face
take away my sadness
arrive in my tormented heart
aching with divorce.

Bring me 
worthy days and nights.
Make my hollow life
worthwhile.

Let your melodies
make my heart sing.
Day-and-night
shower my heart
with your ambrosial wine.

(another version by Rumela)

Into the secret abode in my heart's wilderness
Come O Lord, ever joyous, ever good
Show your loving visage, set aside all woe
Scorched in the sorrow of separation
My heart awaits your soothing presence
Usher into my life days and nights of well-being
Bring to fruition this futile life of mine, my dearest
Let my heart ever resonate with sweet melody
Let cascades of sweet nectar sprinkle my heart night and day

O Beauteous One, I have bedecked my home

ওহে সুন্দর, মম গৃহে আজি
ohe shundor, momo grihe

O Beauteous One,
I have bedecked my home
For this night of supreme joy
I have laid a lotus seat
In the golden temple of my heart

Come my dearest, my sweetheart
Shower upon my tearladen eyes
The lustrous smile of your compassion

From across groves and glades
Jasmines I have culled
To adorn your bosom, to lay at your feet

I will play my Veena
Clinging close to your feet
I will usher you in with a bow
O companion of my soul

A conch reverberates at Mother's gate

জননীর দ্বারে আজি ওই

Jononiro daare aji oi (audio: Srikanta Acharyya and Lopamudra Mitra)

A conch reverberates at Mother's gate

Will you not free yourselves from useless bustles,

Come away, with salvers of offering

Carefully light the lamp of devotion 

Arrive, laden with fresh buds  

Will you not spread the word, She calls.

The drift today enjoys it's dewy crispness,

The bud relishes it's newborn smell.

Hold your head high, brighten up

Join the somber new wave of music

Dress yourselves with blooming wreathes
Transform this moment

With a whiff of newness 

Where beauty burgeons, benevolence sprouts.

I will keep you treasured

 তোমায় যতনে রাখিব হে

Tomay jotone rakhibo he (audio: Subinoy Roy)

I will keep you treasured

I will hold you close

I will enamor you
With fragrant buds of love

My love for you 
Will be my embellishment

My longing for you
Will keep me athirst

You will come to me,
How will you resist?

I will catch your smile
Suffuse the sky
Like sweetened luminosity

I pray to you for a song

Tomar kachhe e bor magi 
তোমার কাছে এ বর মাগি (audio: Debabrata Biswas)

I pray to you for a song
If I die would give me back
life again.
Nursing me, my heart
like a mother's milk so sweet sublime
a new leaf of life to turn
once again. 

Trees and grass be the tunes
from the flute of mother earth
as divine.
Sunshine will be the joy 
a message from the blissful sky
up and about my heart
once again.

What will hold, what has to sway?

রইল বলে রাখলে কারে, হুকুম তোমার ফলবে কবে
Rolio bole rakhle kare (audio, Dohar)

What will hold, what has to sway Since you command just that way? Your tug will dwindle in the end What stays on, was meant to stay. Your law, your wish is final call You flex your muscles and death befalls The Heart which senses every pain Knows when to stop that rolling ball You have the wealth, you have the ties You have the means and device To make the world turn and dance But that won't happen one fine day One fine day, as you wake What never happened will happen away.

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

Take me with you, who will

আমারে কে নিবি ভাই
amare ke nibi bhai
(audio)

Take me with you, who will
I wish to yield myself
If you can thaw my heart
Wean me from my work
Take me along with you

I see you march through this world of beauty
A colourful fair of forms and names
I lag behind straining at my own burden
I see you pass your days in cheer
A sigh escaping my heart

Tear down my door
Rip through my bonds
Plunder and pillage my all
Take me with you
Leaving behind my load
Like the flash flood
That wipes all out
And bears down to the sea

So many go to and fro
But who is it my own
Who calls out my name
If she comes just once
If smiling, she stands by me
If I can know her just then

Perhaps I will never find my paradise

আমার নাইবা হল পারে যাওয়া

Amar nai ba holo pare jaoa (audio link: Kanika Bandyopadhyay)

Perhaps, I will never find my paradise
But I hear my heart caper carelessly
In the breeze that nudges me on 
To the endless sea, 
Like it has always done.

Perhaps my destiny eludes me
But I see myself at peace 
As I pause at passing ports.

My hopes have all sunk in the deep
But what of it? 
I am content to see others
Keep their dreams afloat

I count my blessings nearby
Little things that lend me delight
Should I sigh for untouched glories
Of my promised land?

Perhaps I have my flaws
Which I will complement
With the breath in my body.
Whatever remains of my disgruntled demands 
Will whet my poet's imagination

Light a lamp in my home

আমার এ ঘরে আপনার করে

Amaro e ghore aponaro kore (audio)

Light a lamp in my home,
let it bless all my hurt.
Take away my lurking dark
I'll be blessed to love the world.

Your touchstone make a quiet light,
digging gold from darkest night.

Fires that I duly burn

leave ashes and deep injury.

Yet, I crave for your sunshine
on my door and in my eyes.

I offer you a fresh heart

আমারে দিই তোমার হাতে

Amare di tomar haate nuton kore nuton praate

I offer you a fresh heart
with every sunrise.
Every day my life blossom anew
in your courtyard.

Beats of separation
makes a fresh start of our unity.

With every sunrise
I lose you to find you
near shores of light and dark.

Someday my garden.. will flower..

আমার  সকল কাঁটা ধন্য করে 

(amar sokol kata dhonyo kore)

Someday my garden.. will flower..

rewarding the thorns, that bled..

All my pain.. will transform

into a flushing rose..

A spring wind.. one day..

will leave my sky-gazing behind..
and spill.. all the sweetness.

My bashfulness will pass

as I wield my abounding wealth

when my desire ripens in my heart.. 

and begins to shape my life..

When the night ends 
my friend.. will touch my garden.. 
letting my pale blossoms.. will fall apart.. at their feet..

We seek out playmates

আমরা খুঁজি খেলার সাথি

Amra khunji khelar shathi

We seek out playmates
In an endless match

Up at the strike of dawn 

To astonish drowsy eyes.

We lilt like the birds

We dance with the boughs.

Our charms befuddle

With invisible entrapment.

Death does not hold us;

We are up to redeem

Plundered treasures, taken by Time.

We have penetrated your heart

You are ours now.

Even as you walk 

To greet a strange darkness

The gloom will glimmer with stars

Impassioned by us.

My lightless lamp faces lustrous stars

আমার অন্ধপ্রদীপ শূন্য-পানে চেয়ে Amar ondho prodeep My lightless lamp faces the lustrous stars In defeated silence Seeking missives of radiance, A spark to ignite it's soul with success. Asking to be indebted forever  To the blazing hearts of the sky, In their endless quest of love lost. To be united in the one truth of light Within the same inky darkness; To seize that serendipitous moment of  gloom.

May joy flow from my flute

আনন্দগান উঠুক তবে বাজি Anondogaan uthuk tobe baaji (audio) May joy flow from my flute—woebegone. I shall sail across the sea of tears. The wind says it's time to move on take all my sleepless nights. My heart dances with thunder  laughing in endless waves. Who are you that can make a song? Make a song with my flute —woebegone. Stranger, give me a symphony never heard of, never sung. Make my ship float across  with your upstream wind. A soul I have never seen pulls my heart, who could stay? I lost my hopes of a home. I fall headlong into the stars. Call of the wild,  sing through my flute — woebegone.

Arise with clear eyes..

জাগো  নির্মল নেত্রে

Jaago nirmal netre

Arise with clear eyes.. 

beyond the darkest skies..

Rise within your heart.. 

with your freedom's right..

Arise with all you have..

rise like flowering airs..

Rise like a sparkling skies..

arise bold and bright..

Rise in a lovely dance..

near your ambrosia..

Rise in the house of love..

far from the voice of fear..

Arise bright and big..

rise with stubborn dreams..

Arise in endless space..

where all fullness brims..

Arise in the land of strength..

rise when fight demands..

Rise where one is all..

rise as good deeds can.. 

Rise on the road not walked..

rise on the path of pain..

Rise in the house of love..

far from the parted vein..

Celebrate.. celebrate..

জয় হোক, জয় হোক

joy hok..joy hok..

Celebrate.. celebrate.. new sunrise..!
Let the eastern horizon glow with brilliance..

Arrive.. message.. of indomitable courage..cut through harmful lies..
Master.. the fear.. Master.. disputes..
Arrive.. resurrected hope.. an ode.. for ever-green life..
Arrive.. eternal hope.. cut through rigidity..
Put an end to.. despair..let go.. of what need be gone..

Breathe new life in me

নূতন প্রাণ দাও, প্রাণসখা, 

Nutono praan daao (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

(another rendition by Jayati Chakrabarty)

Breathe new life in me
my companion, this dawn.
Rub all my black, with fresh joy.
Kill the old night with new sunrise.

I listen to your footfall

চরণধ্বনি শুনি তব, নাথ,

Chorono dhoni shuni tobo nath (audio: Ritu Guha)

I listen to your footfall 
somewhere in the shore of life. 
In silence, in every sweet breeze. 

Stars and planets speechless overhead  
steadily gaze on.
My thoughts heave gently, ever gently. 

My eyes look on aching with thirst.
My ears, anticipate your homecoming. 
Maybe you'll rise with some sunrise. 
And sink my pain and pleasure
with deep joy.

(another version by Rumela)

I hear your footsteps O Lord

Along the shore of life

In the stillness of seclusion

In the sweetness of the wafting wind

The stars and planets in the sky

Look on with a steadfast gaze

Many a thought stream in my heart

Slowly ever so slowly in solitude

My eyes gaze on like a bird athirst

My ears alert in the depths of my heart

At which auspicious dawn will you come

You will stand at the threshold of my heart

Forgetting all joy and sorrow

I will sink into the depths of bliss

You robbed me of my pride

গরব মম হরেছ, প্রভু

Gorobo momo horechho probhu (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

You robbed me of my pride
with gifts of humility.
How can I raise my eyes to you!

I pretend I found you
yet the lies fall apart
at my work, in my home.
How can I raise my eyes to you!

Could I even house you
when I failed to release
my innocent heart?

I have always longed for you
yet me eyes have only seen myself;
I failed to see you
seated in the majesty of being.
How can I raise my eyes to you!

Your music.. sets ..

তুমি যে  সুরের আগুন লাগিয়ে দিলে মোর প্রাণে

(tumi je surer agun)

Your music.. sets.. my heart.. on fire..
multiplies.. everywhere..

Fire.. on the dead.. old.. leaves.. 
Dance.. dance.. in measured.. flare..
Hands.. raised.. to the sky.. 
something like.. a prayerful.. sigh..
Who.. listens.. I am.. not sure..

The stars.. gaze.. wonderingly..
what madness.. in the wind..

This lotus.. splayed ..with golden light..
in the heartbeat.. of the night..
what a magical.. surprise..
What.. is it about the fire..
I am not certain.. I am .. not sure..

When I give, I shall hold nothing back

বাকি আমি রাখব না কিছুই
Baki ami rakhbo na kichhui (audio Santosh Sengupta)

When I give,  I shall hold nothing back
A handful of earth I shall splay your way
Your veil will be scented with fragrant buds,
My mingling of soulful blossoms of spring.

Across oceans, bays and southern shores,
You, my guest, have made your path
And I the grove, in return shall gift
Everything I hold and have
The nests I nurse lilt vibrant songs;
A gift from my soul to yours.
I become the ardent giver, as I bow,
As I die to surrender you my heart.

I never dreamed of reaping fruit

ফল ফলাবার আশা আমি মনে রাখি নি Phol pholabar asha ami mone rakhini (audio:Arghyo Sen)  I never dreamed of reaping fruit I am happy to shower my blossoms off At the slightest tug of the southern breeze When birds sing soulfully in spring, Their warbles wane with the wind, I, too, have let my scores slip, like fallen buds. When all blossoms are blown,  When I am left barren, all alone, What will that day be like, Never have I fretted, nor cared. Maybe, in my branches, bare with giving, This message will trill with a beat, 'I have given the ultimate gift, My heartbeat-sweetness,  My spring-time-bliss.'

Give me a layover to seat the world

Bhubono jora ashono khani 

ভুবনজোড়া আসনখানি

Give me a layover
to seat the world 
the stars by night, 
the sun by day,
tapestries of shade and light,
every poetry in the sky.

Give me every tune
from the cosmic lute.

Make every tremor
of joy and sadness
every touch of 
flower and thunder 
show me your grace.

Vein of lightning

দেখা না-দেখায় মেশা হে বিদ্যুৎলতা

Dekha na-dekhay mesha he (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

Vein of lightning,
A sudden sight,

An image lost and found,
You charge the storm with a reeling presence 

You induce an ambling agony.

Struck with anonymous passion

The storm becomes a seeker,

Drifting, delving, near and far.

You flash, content to watch it rove
With silent laughter.

The sky deepens, the river wedges

Waves in a vehement quest

With nameless desires,
Dreams, unrealized.

The arbors press against the sky

Embracing despair,

Tears of suffering 
Hovering in the horizon.

blissful.. lilt..

 মধুর মধুর ধ্বনি বাজে

Modhuro modhuro dhoni baje

A blissful.. lilt in the lotus pond

of my own heart ..

My secret muse .. my diva..

sits quietly.. playing her lute..

Her music.. blends her missives.. into timelessness..

She paints.. images.. bathed in gold..

Somewhere beyond.. my heart..

In a timeless cycle.. of succulence.

With every breath.. a cuckoo .. 

submerges me with her songs..
My being inhales the aroma like a honey bee..

And drunkenly.. surrenders at her feet.

Come my goddess..
Let me gaze at you in unblemished light.
Manifest beyond the abstract..
Let me feel your tangible presence.. 
beyond this pleasurable .. somber allusion..