Who goes by playing a flute

ওগো কে যায় বাঁশরি বাজায়ে
ogo ke jaay bashori bajaye

Who goes by playing a flute
Passing by my door
I sit alone, lonesome
Evoked into thoughts
Of the one I yearn for

The flute gives voice to
His impassioned heart
His song of separation
How do I voice my feelings
My heart cries out in despair

I could not wreath the flowers
They wither and fall to the dust
Night gives way to the dawn
The moon hides its lacklustre face

Who do I worship through the night
Offering the springtime of my life
He carries off my heart
With the melody of his flute
Why do I remain behind

Who jolts me out of ease

আরাম-ভাঙা উদাস সুরে
aram bhanga udaash shurey

Who jolts me out of ease
With such a distracting tune
Who fills the empty heart of my flute
With such an ache today

The anxious flute beckons
The restless, the homeless
It sends its summons
In wakefulness and dreams
It draws out from the near
To sweep away to the far

It stirs which hidden recess of my heart
It makes me weep in secret at eventide
Even today…
My heart knows his name not
Not even what he looks like
Only in shadows and silhouettes
Does he flit around in my dreams

She takes limits lightly

ও যে মানে না মানা
o je mane na mana

She takes limits lightly
If I avert my gaze “No, no, no” she says
The more I urge “the night ends, the lamp dims”
She looks at my face saying “No, no, no”

Bewildered and overwhelmed with the crazed winds
Spring runs amok in forests bursting with flowers

The more I urge “Now I should go”
She stands at the door saying “No, no, no”

Do silence your verbose poet now

এবার নীরব করে দাও হে তোমার মুখর কবিরে
ebar nirob kore dao

Do silence your verbose poet now
Seize the flute that his heart is
Play yourself it’s deepest strains

Let your flute ring out
In the rich silence of the night
In a melody that enthralls
The skies and beyond

All that lies strewn across
My being and death
Draw them all to your feet
With the magic of your song

The heaps and piles of words
Will be swept away in a trice
I will sit alone and hear your flute
In a darkness that knows no bounds

Till now my eyes have seen him not

এখনো তারে চোখে দেখি নি
akhono taarey chokhey dekhini

Till now my eyes have seen him not
Till now I have just heard his flute
My heart and soul, whatever I had
I have surrendered unto him

I have heard of his dark appearance
That I should refrain from seeing him
Tell me friend if I should still
Venture out to the Yamuna

He came only in my dreams
A smile touched the corner of his eyes
Since then do I tingle in fear
I fear to look up and see

They walk around the forest as they please
They gaze at the Kadam tree as they please
Tell me friend if I should still
Look up and gaze at someone

Amidst this to and fro

আসা-যাওয়ার মাঝখানে
asha jawar majhkhane

Amidst this to and fro
For whom do you wait
Alone, gazing at the road

In the monsoon clouds
In ebony rimmed with gold
Who knows what is this game
Of shadow and light
Amidst this to and fro

Withered leaves flutter to the earth
Fresh leaves drape the boughs
Amidst that you lose yourself
What songs so tearladen
Stream around you
Amidst this to and fro

Nothing seems to allay

আজ কিছুতেই যায় না মনের ভার
aaj kichhutei jaayna moner bhaar

Nothing seems to allay today
The heaviness in my heart
Clouds loom across the sky
Shrouding the day in darkness

My heart said he would come
Maybe he could not find me
Unspoken his words
Wrench a wail out of me

Now and then in tearladen winds
The skies cry out for him
A deep sigh of this cloudy day
Tells me he will not return
He left with a heavy heart
Because this tryst was never to be

Do tell me what troubles your heart

তোমার মনের একটি কথা আমায় বলো বলো
tomar moner ekti kotha amay bolo bolo

Do tell me what troubles your heart
Do tell me why your eyes brim over

The pitter patter of raindrops in the forests,
the chirp of crickets beneath the Kadamba trees,
the gurgle of rivulets through vistas of Sal trees
resonate through this evening

The horizons vanish
The azure evanesces in the drizzling downpour
Shadows flit across your face
Shadows cloud around your mind
Your heart heaves with the torpid tearladen winds

None here speaks of you

তোমার কথা হেথা কেহ তো বলে না
tomar kotha hetha keho to bolena

None here speaks of you
In vain they create a commotion
They sit beside a sea of nectar
And yet sip only poison

They have ripped their own roots
They know not how to swim
They cannot find a shore
They drift down the stream
Maybe to drown in the end
They flounder and fumble on
Through night and day

Where do I go
Whom do I ask
They pull and drag me along
I fear I’ll be left alone in the end
Amid fathomless seas
I search for a friend, a well-wisher
My eyes moisten with tears
My own load bears me down
My heart trembles in weakness

I love you night and day

আমি নিশিদিন তোমায় ভালোবাসি
aami nishidin tomaay bhalobashi

I love you night and day
Do so at your leisure
I sit here night and day
Do come when you remember
I stay awake through the night
Enduring the ache of separation
Do come in the morn
Even if for a moment
Grace me with your smile

Do walk the way you  please
Through sweetly wafting winds
Through everlasting blooms
Buoyant on the waves of your own joys
If I happen to come by
I too will float along
If I fall behind, no harm in that
Efface my memories from your thoughts

I’ve come to see you today

আজ তোমারে দেখতে এলেম অনেক দিনের পরে
aaj tomaarey dekhte elem

I’ve come to see you today
After a long time
Fear not, be at ease
I won’t linger too long
I’ve come for only a few moments
Only to gaze at your face
And listen to you
If you have something to say
Or only just to see your smile
From behind a screen if need be
Before I go on to lands far away

How far is it, the abode of joy

আর কত দূরে আছে সে আনন্দধাম
aaro koto doorey aachhey

How far is it, the abode of joy
I am weary
I am blinded
I do not know the way

The sun dips below the horizon
Darkness enshrouds the earth
Have mercy on this helpless one
O mother of this universe

I drift from one road to the other
Driven by unfulfilled desire
In vain is this game
In vain is this show
In vain does time pass by

Today in this eventide breeze
Do lead me to the abode of peace
Bestow upon me everlasting peace
With the soothing caress of your love

You’ve given so much O Lord

অনেক দিয়েছ নাথ
Awnek diyechho naath

You’ve given so much
O Lord you’ve given so much
And yet is my desire not fulfilled
My penury not dispelled
My tears not effaced
My deepest thirst not slaked

You’ve given me life and consciousness
My heart’s treasure - my family and friends
The soothing caress of the breeze
The blue canopy of the skies
The verdant beauty of the earth

If so much have you given
You have to give some more
If you I do not get
I will not go back

I am so impoverished

আমি দীন, অতি দীন
aami deen oti deen

I am so impoverished
How do I repay Lord
The debt of your kindness

Your affection in endless streams
Deluges this world
It showers night and day
Soothing my scorched heart

I will surrender all of my heart
I will give you back your own love
I will live to do what you ask of me
I offer my life at your feet