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..

I chanced upon my muse

সুনীল সাগরের শ্যামল কিনারে 

Shuneelo shaagorer shyamolo kinare (audio: Debabrata Biswas) 

I chanced upon my muse
Across a navy blue sea
In an emerald shore on my way.
Now I sense her presence,
Her unsurpassed wonder
In the sweetness of the earth.

How often
Have I crafted her with my music,
How often
Have I laboured to voice her
Through my lute.

These missives and melodies
I will sow in my yesterdays,
Like potent seeds
Reaping my dream's harvest

These tunes will buzz
With the honeybee
Shifting with buds in the arbor.
They will surrender to the earth
Like raindrops of a high monsoon.
Then again in an autumn sky
They will idly drift with the sparse clouds
Aching with remembrance.

There she will be
Catching me with heavenly surprise,
Seeping into the songs of my twilight, my night,
My spring darkness,
Penetrating my deepest, lilting melancholy.

Bare open my reverie

এ মোহ-আবরণ
E moho-aboron khule daao (audio: Subinoy Roy)

Bare open my reverie.
Reveal your beautiful heart
See me within.

(another version by Rumela)

Do remove this veil of illusion
Let my eyes have their fill
Let them sight your beautiful face
Do lay your gaze upon my heart

My heart.. dances.. like a peacock..

হৃদয় আমার নাচেরে
(hriday amar nache re)

My heart.. dances.. like a peacock..
Rejoicing, reeling.. in the monsoon..
Emotions.. splayed like plumes..
Reach.. to the sky.. like an iridescent arc..
Yearnings tuned to a passion.. unknown..

I walk.. down lanes of myths.. missives..
Reliving.. someone, somewhere..
Swaying.. in a tangled swing..
Of the spicy Bokul branch..
Starry.. blossoms.. spewed adrift..
Resonating to the drumbeats.. of rain..
A woman's veil.. flashing in the sky..
Tresses.. tumbling down her face..
Careful braid flung open.. by the breeze..

A thick rain.. douses the emerald leaves..
Crickets.. spawn a chorus in the arbor..
The water.. picks up in the canals and rivers..
Islanding an enchanted.. village..

Eternal voyager, you befriend every traveler

পান্থ তুমি, পান্থজনের সখা হে 
Pantho tumi, panthojoner shokha he (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

Eternal voyager,
You befriend every traveler.
Every pathway, a sheer sensation
Of nothing, but you.
The tune that articulates bliss
Through a tramp's voice, is yours.

A heart touched with your breath
Does not ponder its past,
Does not pause from shore to shore,
Is nudged on by turbulent winds
To wide open seas.

Eternal voyager,
You befriend every traveler,
You sail away in her endless heart.
As she unlocks her latch to peer forth
What she finds, is your embodiment.

She braves the perils and the bars
Not vacillated by indulging ambitions,
Feverishly compelled with wanderlust.
Her voyage leads on to you;
Every pathway, a sheer sensation
Of nothing, but you.

Ahead of me a sea of bliss

সমুখে শান্তিপারাবার
shomukhe shantiparabar 

Ahead of me a sea of bliss
Unmoor the raft, my Helmsman!
My eternal friend You will be
Take me, do take me into Your lap

The path into the boundless beyond
Is lit up by the lone pole star

You who deliver me from bondage
Your clemency, Your compassion
Will sustain me through my eternal voyage

Let my mortal attachments fall apart
Let the vast cosmos fold me in her embrace
Let the great unknown become the known
With an intimacy that knows no fear

To every soul who offered me joy

যে কেহ মোরে দিয়েছ সুখ
Je keho more diyechho shukh (with audio)

To every soul.. who.. offered me joy..
Comforting and cajoling..
To you.. I am grateful..
To every soul.. who taught me hurt..
Gifting me lessons.. of woe..
To you.. I am grateful. 

To every soul.. who loved me..
Your love.. is my beacon..
I have discovered you in that warmth..
I have beheld you.. in that luminance..
To you.. I am grateful.
 
To every soul.. who.. abandoned me..
You have nudged me on..
Nearer.. and surer.. to my grand source..
To you.. I am grateful.

Whether I may.. realize..
Whether I may.. trust..
I found.. the supreme radiance..
In this universe..
Just as simply as I opened my eyes..
To you.. I am grateful.

You haven't fathomed me

তুমি মোর পাও নাই পরিচয়
Tumi mor pao nai porichoy

You haven't fathomed me.
The soul you seem to know,
Is a mere picture, a fleeting shadow.
You have laced her with your wreathe
But the buds gradually  dwindle.
This is an image
That the sunshine is afraid to touch,
That the drift can not caress.

Let sorrow approach you with luminance
Let it offer it's blazing blessings.

Let death crouch in softly
And majestically reveal all.
Ending all defeat.

Do adorn me with flowers

দে লো, সখী, দে পরাইয়ে গলে
de lo shokhi de poraiye gole

Do adorn me with flowers, my friend 
A garland of my much loved Bakul
Pluck the yet to bloom buds of Juhi
Twine them together and bedeck me
Tresses full of blossoms.
Tie back the restless locks
That brush my cheeks time and again

In.. the dark hollows.. of my heart..

ছিল যে পরানের অন্ধকারে
chilo je poraner ondhokare 

In.. the dark hollows.. of my heart..
I held a hidden soul..
Revealed.. now to my eyes..
Through a shaft of sunshine..

Once fettered.. by my dreams..
He has splintered his shell..
And surged out.. in the open..
And how.. I behold him..
With my.. unbelieving gaze..

I had once welded my tears..
Into a string.. of aching desires..
Restraining him by my hurt..

Yet.. though I treasured him..
Guarded him with solitude..
A tearful silence.. I realize..
Through eternity.. he is the breath..
The passion.. the world.. lauds and loves..

What an unearthly splendour

এ কী সুধারস আনে
E ki shudharosh ane/ E kee shudharosho aane (Audio by Hemanta Mukherjee)

What an unearthly splendor
Ravishes my heart and soul!

He has always belonged with me
But I now behold him
With open eyes, rejuvenation.
The breeze encircles his face with love,
And breaks into a hum.

My stagnant lute regains her breath
As I play my old, forgotten missives 
Once again.

Feeling his love, as it seeps
Into the blue sky, the verdant earth,
Delving in them,
Is like listening to a fresh score of music
With an open mind, a beginner's heart.

You aren't close by

তুমি কাছে নাই ব’লে
tumi kaachhe naai bole

You aren't close by, my Friend
So they shout “I am great”, “I am great”
You stay beyond sight and reach
You who are the greatest of all
So they all proclaim their own greatness

Lord, do come once
Show your smiling face
Let them turn red with shame
They who try to distract me
They who try to screen you out
Let them turn red with shame

Where is your beloved face?
The smile that lights up the world
Distract me away from this world
Keep me riveted to you
Distract me with your love
With your pleasing form

The “I” in me puffs with pride
Crush, smash, trash its egoism
Smash this ego into smithereens
Crush this pride beneath your feet

Sing a song, clear and loud

 গানে গানে তব বন্ধন যাক টুটে (লিঙ্ক এখানে)
Gaane gaane tobo bondhono jak tute (audio link here)

a translation with English rendition by Anandamayee -- link here:

Sing a song clear and loud,
let your fetters free.
Aching muteness in the dark
crying to speak out.

A cosmic muse plays out her verse
in her heart through the universe.
Let life and song synchronize
pray and bow down.

Shattered rhythms let you down
what a disharmony.
Your heart and world do not blend
make a cacophony.

Discordant heart, what a limitation,
It's the haze, it's the maze.
Reclaim your song, unconscious heart,
end the aggravation.

Who shall free Beauty

সুন্দরের বন্ধন নিষ্ঠুরের হাতে
Shundorero bondhon

Who shall free Beauty,
Fettered at the hands of the heartless?
Who shall wipe the hapless tears
Of the crushed?
The earth aches with
The cries of the fearful,
Nailed, harrowed,
By venomous spears of injustice.
Who shall safeguard the weak
From the plague of the powerful?
Who has the tenderness to embrace
The smothered soul?

As it has always been

জীবন আমার চলছে যেমন তেমনি ভাবে
Jeebon amar cholchhe jemon (audio)

My life will be as it has always been
Demanding, or gliding free,
Dancing it's feet to uneven beats.

Here, I shall meet with fellow men
Whom I shall yearn to hold and hug,
As much as they will ache for me.

Out and on my life will flow
Tracing time with its skipping toes
Tinged by the glaze of gloom and glee.

And on my way, that special Soul
Who engages all in this splashy fest,
I shall yearn to hug Him close
As much as He will ache for me


-1914

O Lord of Life, O Unattainable

ওহে জীবনবল্লভ, ওহে সাধনদুর্লভ
ohe jibonbollobh

O Lord of Life, O Unattainable
I will not speak of my pain, my innermost angst
I will just yield my heart, my life at your feet
I leave all to your reckoning
What more can I say?

The way through life is full of thorns
Danger abounds in worldly affairs
I will walk in wordless silence
Holding your image in my heart
What more can I say?

I will not take to heart the joys and woes
I will make little of my likes and dislikes
I will embrace whatever you deign to give
What more can I say?

If I have erred along the way
If you choose not to forgive
Then O beloved of my heart
Inflict on me pain upon pain
Yet do not cast me away
Draw me to your feet at the end of day
Who else do I have in this world?
In my death-darkened existence
What more can I say?

Who knew you would summon me

কে জানিত তুমি ডাকিবে আমারে
ke janito tumi dakibe amare

Who knew you would summon me
I was wrapped in slumber
Worldly affairs in a phantasmic haze
Encircled me evermore

Who knew I would have such good fortune
That you would inflict pain yourself
That you would flood me in tears

I knew not when the sun of compassion rose
And lit up the sky of my heart with its rays

When did your sea of sweetness tide over?
Flooding forth and breaking all barricades
That constricted me within and outside

You herald a whiff of fresh air
You plant the seed of new hope
I'll moor the raft of my life at your feet

We shall surrender to Truth

মোরা সত্যের ’পরে মন 
Mora shottero pore mon / Mora shotyero pore mon (audio)

We shall surrender to authenticity,
Here is to Truth
We shall taste, feel  and touch 
Cherish, crave and worship
Unravel and seek it out,
Eternally, ever more
Here is to Truth

If parched with grief
We shall not fall for falsehood
If cursed with hardship
We shall not turn to deceit
If sorely punished
We shall not give in to lies
Eternally, ever more
Here is to Truth

We shall surrender to the wholesome
Here is to goodness
We shall host and be housed by health
Resonating to tunes that are hearty
Here is to goodness

If parched with grief
We shall not be tempted by sin
If cursed with hardship
We shall not turn to greed
If sorely punished,
We shall not give in to spite
Eternally, ever more
Here is to goodness

We shall voice a fearless name:
The Brahma, omen of all fear
Come what may, we shall not regret
We shall be grounded in His heart
Eternally, ever more
Here is to the Brahma

If parched with grief
We shall outlive fear
If cursed with hardship
We shall outlive fear
If sorely punished,
We shall outlive fear
Eternally, ever more
Here is to the Brahma

We shall surrender to bliss
Here is to the Blissful
Every picture, the sheer cosmos
Is embraced with bliss,
Here is to the Blissful

Bliss breathes in every soul,
Bliss seeps into every action
Bliss happens at every moment,
Be it in agony, peril and pain
Bliss lives on at every cycle,
Be it in death, longing or grief
Eternally, ever more
Here is to the Blissful

Crush the floodgates

ভাঙো বাঁধ ভেঙে দাও 
Bandh bhenge daao (audio)

Crush the floodgates,
Let your suppressed soul fly,
Fly away, lost to the far

Let the parched bay flood
With life, rebellious and buoyant
Sing your tribute aloud,
Hum the applaud of wreckage 

Let the old and withered quit,
Flushed away with the tide

We hear the loud and clear voice
In our hearts that sings, 'Do not fear!'
It is the soul of endless youth

We are not afraid of the new
Even as the gates are sealed,
Let us fiercely proceed to free our entree

I put my heart to worldly matters

আমি সংসারে মন দিয়েছিনু
ami shongshare mon diyechhinu

I put my heart to worldly matters
You took away my heart yourself
In asking for joy I sought woe
You called it woe but gave me joy
It is your mercy that you gave me woe

The heart that scattered itself in a thousand places
Striving after a thousand selfish aims
You gathered it all up and bound it with devotion
You gathered it from a thousand places
You gathered it up from the dirt

You made me roam from pillar to post
In search of happiness
Now you make me understand
How very much you are my very own
You make me understand
You came into my heart to make me understand
Who you are to me, you make me understand

You compassion leads whom down which path to where
All at once I opened my eyes and saw you’d brought me to your door
I knew not, down which path you brought me, I knew not

Where do you hunt for the grand finale

কোথায় ফিরিস পরম শেষের অন্বেষণে
Kothay phirish porom shesher onneshone (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

Where do you hunt for the grand finale,
Sheer fulfillment?
It abounds the earth
In the tiny message of a baby's arms
Reaching out at your heart,
In babbles of that first speech,
In the blossoming arbor.

Where do you look for people
Near to your heart ?
They belong outside all gates,
Their home reaches beyond every wall,
Their luminance shines upon each trail,
Their aura is masked 
In the many faces of the multitude

Do bestow life unto me

আমারে করো জীবনদান
amare koro jibonodaan
(audio)

Do bestow life unto me
Instill in my heart your own bidding

So much has come, so much has gone
Tons I get tons I lose
Let my heart be stoic at your feet

Let me embrace propitious penance
Let my selfish interests be swept far away
Put an end to my futile quest
Awaken true knowledge in my heart

In loss and gain
In pleasure and pain
In light and darkness
Let me be fearless
Let me be steady
Let my heart accept your will

A tranquil evening alights

আইল শান্ত সন্ধ্যা
aailo shanto sandhya

A tranquil evening alights
The weary sun has set
I bow to you, loving mother
I bow to you, benefactor of restful slumber
I bow to the profound peace that remains ever wakeful and vigilant

In the vastness of the universe

মহাবিশ্বে মহাকাশে মহাকাল-মাঝে
mohabishwe mohakaashe

In the vastness of the universe
In the vastness of the skies
In the vastness of time
Why do I, a solitary mortal
Roam around in bewildered wonder

O Lord of the universe
You remain veiled in fathomless mystery
In the silent solitude of your august abode

Transcending all space and time
In each one of the countless universes
You gaze down at me and I look up to you

All tumult is stunned into silence
All of creation is immersed in peace
You are the One
In you I am alone
Fearless I am in You

In the vastness of the universe

মহাবিশ্বে মহাকাশে মহাকালমাঝে
mohabishwe mohakaashe

In the vastness of the universe
In the vastness of the skies
In the vastness of time
Why do I, a solitary mortal
Roam around in bewildered wonder

O Lord of the universe
O Master of melody
You remain veiled in fathomless mystery
In the silent solitude of your abode

I look up to you
Your steadfast eyes look down at me evermore

You who are the deep blue boundless ocean

হে অনাদি অসীম সুনীল অকূল সিন্ধু
hey onadi osheem sunil okul sindhu

You who are the deep blue boundless ocean
That has no beginning
That has no end
I am but a mere teardrop
Swallow me into your cool depths
And then will there be a profound peace
And then just oblivion and forgiveness
Then I will ask no more
When will it be the dark night of new moon
When will the sky light up with the full moon