Exhibited artworks with Translations of poems and songs
Song- Akash bhara shurjo tara
The sky is filled with stars and the sun,
this earth with life vibrant.
Among it all I too have received a home
out of this wonder my song is born.
In the rhythm of ebb and tide of eternal time
the world floats,its pull enters the blood stream
that through my nerves flows.
Out of this wonder my song is born.
I have trodden on grass passing through the wood
my mind infused with the surprise that the smell of
flowers brings,
Spread around me is such delightful gifts.
I have lent my ears, opened my eyes,
On the bosom of this earth poured forth my life,
Looking for the unknown in all that I know.
This wonder brings forth my song.
Translated by Shuvakar mitra
Poetry- Chitta jetha bhay sunya
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Song-Gram chhara oi
Those roads of ruby earth
That leave from the village
They steal my very heart
Gaze at whom, with arms stretched
Sprawling on the red dust
Who lures me out of home
Tugging at my ankles
With every step
Who abducting takes me
Pulling me along where
To which damned place
What treasures at which turns
Unearth will he
What debts at which crossroads
Unleash will he
The end where does one find
Contemplate cannot this mind
Translated by Rumela Sengupta
Song-Amay kshama he kshama
In the pulsing life of dance,
To thee I raise
In wordless praise
My eager body’s rhythmed cry
This new birth’s eloquence
In music and in gesture shines
My worship, Lord
[Tagore, “Natir Puja”]
song-Aaj jyotsna raate shabai gechhe
Today in full moon all have gone
Gone have they to the woods
In spring’s delirious breeze
Go I will not, not go
Remain within my room
In solitude
Stay in my own corner
Go I will not
In spring’s delirious breeze
With tender care
I must tidy my room
I must remain awake
Who knows when He will come
If He does remember
In spring’s delirious breeze
Translated by Rumela Sengupta
Song-Dui haate kaaler mandira
Leaning to the left and right, progressing, while dancing,
The slumber is abolished, dancing-
rhythms are formed by ever renewed pulsation of conflicts.
The rhythm vibrates in flowers, vibrates in thorns
In light and shades, in crests and troughs,
It resonates in our lives, in our sorrows, joys and worries.
The rhythm ricochets in dawn and dusk,
Generates swings in the ethereal sea of beauty,
The conflict between black and white results in
Rhythms being formed with pulsating colors of life.
Tune your song in consonance with this rhythm,
Perform singing your songs of joys and sorrows,
Listen to the calls of life and death
In the blowing of trumpets on the dancing floor.
Translated by Shubhashis
Chitrangada
Song-Aami Chitrangada rajendranandini
I am Chitrangada, the princess
No deity, nor an ordinary woman
Not a goddess of worship
Not a commoner to be cast behind
But if you approve my rightful place
In peril and in plenty
In trusting companionship
Through the penance of suffering
By your side
You may then realize I for who I am
But for now
Merely I tender
I am Chitrangada, the princess
Translated by Anandamayee Majumdar
Chandalika-01
Song- Je manabo ami
Daughter- you are the same human as I am
That water which quenches thirst is holy water
That water which calms the tired traveller is sacred
Give me water....
My blessings are with you, merciful one.
Translated by Sangeeta Datta
Chandalika-02
Balmiki prativa
Song- Shyama ebar chere cholechi ma
I am leaving you Mother
Daughter of black stone- you are stone hearted
I called you Mother without knowing
All this time you beguiled me and turned my heart to stone
Today I have seen my real Mother and my heart drowns in compassionate tears
I will not look on black and be deluded
I have seen light and lost my heart
You have beguiled me- now I will leave you
I have escaped from illusion
and have found rest in my Mother's lap.
Translated by Sangeeta Datta
Song- Je manabo ami
Daughter- you are the same human
as I am
That water which quenches thirst is holy water
That water which calms the tired traveller is sacred
Give me water....
My blessings are with you, merciful one.
Translated by Sangeeta Datta
Song-Ja chhilo Kalo dholo
Whatever was dark and dusty has been dyed bright in your colours
Your feet are 'dorned bright red-
everything around looks crimson hued like them.
Coloured are my clothes and jewels, nights and dreams
And my heart, look at it, has turned into a floating, dancing red lotus.
Translated by Sangeeta Datta
Poem-Krishnakali ami tarei boli
In the village they call her the dark girl
but to me she is the flower Krishnakali
On a cloudy day in a field
I saw the dark girl's dark gazelle-eyes.
She had no covering on her head,
her loose hair had fallen on her back.
Dark? However dark she be,
I have seen her dark gazelleeyes.
Two black cows were lowing,
as it grew dark under the heavy clouds.
So with anxious, hurried steps,
the dark girl came from her hut.
Raising her eyebrows toward the sky,
she listened a moment to the clouds' rumble.
Dark? However dark she be,
I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.
A gust of the east wind
rippled the rice plants.
I was standing by a ridge,
alone in the field.
Whether or not she looked at me
Is known only to us two.
Dark? However dark she be,
I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.
This how the Kohldark cloud
rises in the northeast in Jaistha;
the soft dark shadow
descends on the Tamal grove in Asharh;
and sudden delight floods the heart
in the night of Sravan.
Dark? However dark she be,
I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.
To me she is the flower Krishnakali,
whatever she may be called by others.
In a field in Maynapara village
I saw the dark girl's dark gazelle-eyes.
She did not cover her head,
not having the time to feel embarrassed.
Dark? However dark she be,
I have seen her dark gazelle-eyes.
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
Poem-'Sagarika'
Bathing in the deep blue sea,
On the pebbled beach sat thee;
Thy garments loose
Left scribbles on the shore profuse.
The affectionate Sun on thy body un-ornate
Left its golden paint.
With crown on my head,
In right hand archery held,Stood in my royal attire –
Said, "I've come, O foreigner!"
Startled, from thy seat of rock,
Thou stood up with a shock –
Asked, "Why did you come?"
Said I, "Let thy mind calm,
Only I want to pluck flower
For God's worship, in thy bower."
Thou attended me with indulgent smile;
We plucked Juthi, Jati and Champa to pile.
To sort those in the basket sat together,
Worshipped Nataraj with our earnest prayer.
The mist was over, light flooded the sky,
Facing Shiva Parbati's smile did lie.
As rose the evening star
On the mountain top there,
Thou alone at home
On thy waist shone
Bright blue sapphire,
Round thy head, garland of flower.
Bangles in thy hands both –
On my way playing flute I quoth –
"Guest I'm at thy door."
Scared, stretched thy lamp my face to explore;
Asked, "Why did you come?"
Said I, "Let thy mind calm,
Thy charming person I'll adorn
With the decors I've borne."
Flashed a beaming smile
On thy face, its beauty sparked awhile.
The gold necklace on thy chest
I suspended, the crown on thy head set at rest.
Lit up lights thy mates, their frolic sublime
Flooded the entire clime.
Thy ornate person did flitter
The charm of the night's lunar glitter.
With my rhyme matched thy jingle,
Smiles at the sky the full moon single;
Light and shade to and fro
As the sea waves go.
Unwittingly, the day was over;
So, my ship raised its anchor.
Sudden was the wind adverse on my voyage,
Unleashed havoc, put the sea in rage;
Drowned my ship in the salt water
In the dark night with all my treasure.
With shattered fate, I'm again at thy door
Attired as destitute, my royal robes no more;
Saw at the temple of Nataraj
As before, was the decor of flowers;
While at night, the festive sea
Rhymes moonlight dance in wavy glee;
With thy silent face down in that fest
I stole a look at my garland round thy chest,
At my paints, listened rhythms of my song
Sway thee in ecstasy, all to me belong.
I implore thee; O bonny,
Once more hold thy lamp to me;
Now I'm no more crowned,
My archery no more to be found;
In the southern wind brought neither
My basket to fill in thy bower;
Only I've brought my lute;
Try please to make me out thou astute.
Translated by- Rajat Dasgupta
song-Proloy Nachon
When you dance the dance of destruction
and forget yourself- O Nataraj
Your bound tresses flow open
The river flows unabated
Like a madwoman adrift
Her waves rise with celestial music.
The sunlight responds from across the skies
With words of courage for the wanderer
Tossing in your own currents
Embracing only yourself
The destitute loses and finds everything scattered on the river banks.
Translated by Sangeeta Datta
Song-Achenake bhaye ki amar ore
What fear have I
From the unknown?
My life will forever
Edge on the unknown
To fathom her limits
And fulfill herself.
And the quests will be unending
As newer paths call me
Into unforeseen depths of love.
Unknown was my mother to me,
When she cradled me in her lap;
Each new love is a surprise-wave
To which the heart rocks in delight.
Amid an unknown world
The soul plays its boundless tunes
And in the delirious passions
Of my strange life
Forever do I wander on her pathways.
Translated by Rumela Sengupta
Song-Shedin dujone dulechhinu bone
It was but a while ago
That we met in the woods
And swayed on a swing
Adorned with flowers
Let us hold on to that memory
That seems to surface
Over and again in my heart
The wind had muttered
The same crazy words as my own
And in the sky the moonbeams spread
Assuming a strange likeness to your smile
A full moon overhead
Lit our paths
And there we met
In that auspicious moment
Now with those memories past
I bear our painful separation
Within my silent solitude
If I were to entrust my heart to you
Would you secure it forever?
Translated by Anandamayee Majumdar
Song- Maranare tuhu mama
Oh Death, you are my true love
You have the color of dark clouds
Your matted hair flows from the dark heavens
Your palm - a blood-red lotus flower
Ruby-red are your sensuous lips
Your eyes gentle, will deliver me from pain
You will embrace me and make me your own
Today my heart aches - beats anxiously
Ceaseless is the flow of my tears today
Oh Death you are my mate, my Madhava
Please take away my suffering
Please close my eyes gently Oh Death Come, Oh come to me
Translated by Haider.A.Khan
Song- Aguner parashmoni
Bless my life
Bless my life with thy warmth
With thy holy hand uplift my body
Make thy me the flame of thy holy alter
The incessant flame would brighten, the day and night
Light my soul with thy holy flame.
Thy holy hand touch the dark hour
Twinkling stars beget in your holy bower
The eternal darkness fade thy from the blinking eye
And see thy light in the darkest alcove where thy light might lie
My pain, my darkness my sadness would burn in thy holy flame.
Light my life with thy holy flame.
Translated by Mrs. Barnali Saha
Song-Raatri eshe jethai meshe
I have met thee where the night touches the edge of the day;
Where the light startles the darkness into dawn,
And the waves carry the kiss of the one shore to the other.
From the heart of the fathomless blue comes one golden call,
And across the dusk of tears I try to gaze at thy face
And know not for certain if thou art seen
Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
