Apr 26, 2012

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

Apr 23, 2012

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

Apr 20, 2012

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

Apr 19, 2012

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

I will seat you today on the royal throne

আজি রাজ-আসনে তোমারে বসাইব
aaji raj-ashone tomare boshaibo

I will seat you today on the royal throne in my heart
I will offer all my desires at your feet to anoint you as my King
O King of this world, I will keep you within me
As your devotee I can afford that pride
All of creation can roam outside
You will roam within my heart

O my heart, open your eyes and behold Him

হে মন, তাঁরে দেখো আঁখি খুলিয়ে
hey mon, taare dekho aankhi khuliye

O my heart, open your eyes and behold Him
He who ever remains within
Make Him your Lord, leaving everyone
Cede your body, mind, youth and riches to Him

Now I understand my friend

এবার বুঝেছি সখা
ebar bujhechhi shokha

Now I understand my friend
This play is just that, mere play
A sheer neglect of mortal life

Subside won’t lamentations
Till You don’t arrive
How will you pacify yourself?
How will you pass the hour?

Smile in vain the sun and moon
Come in vain the night and day
All at once cries out the heart
Perceiving a void in all directions

I came to look for You
But what am I left with
For what do I wander around
In this vast and great assemblage

Dark is the night overcast with illusions

ঘোরা রজনী, এ মোহঘনঘটা
ghora rojoni

Dark is the night
Overcast with illusions
Where O where is my home!

I sit on the road
Playing all day
The game ends
My heart begs to go home

I’ll tell you no more of my woes

দুখের কথা তোমায় বলিব না
dukher kotha tomay bolibo na

I’ll tell you no more of my woes
Blessed by your touch, I’ve forgotten all pain
I live in joyous content with what you have given

This pleasant world is an abode of happiness
That I am here is a sign of your affection
Your sun and moon emanate a sweet radiance
Each new dawn brings new smiles to the gardens
Each night shines in the glow of
   the planets and stars in your assembly

A mother’s love and the fond favour of friends
Shower sweet nectar in a thousand streaks
The sweetness of this world made sweeter by love
Fills me with the bliss of divine nectar

Puny we are, yet we know not death
In you we have a refuge of fearlessness
Diminishes all sorrow at the sight of your feet

May love keep expanding each day
May the spirit’s thirst be quenched each day
May I be infused with new life
May I be stirred with new hope
In each year ever anew

Apr 17, 2012

I sit at the door O Lord

দুয়ারে বসে আছি
duarey boshe aachhi

I sit at the door O Lord throughout the day
Tears roll down unabated

Nothing in this world satiates my heart
I wander from door to door
Carrying my heart’s desire in my heart

Leaving all, I have come here
Pray, do not turn away from this wretched soul
Whatever you do, I will stay put

Apr 16, 2012

An endless stream of messages

কোন্‌ সুদূর হতে আমার মনোমাঝে
Kon shudur hote (audio: Argho Sen)

An endless stream of messages
Penetrates my heart,
Breaks into my breath,
Bewildering me no end
Words I occasionally hear,
And sometimes fail to,
Words secretly whispered
With hushed eloquence

Melodies that blissfully buzz
Through my bustle and sleep,
Through my tears
Submerged in a well of songs
Concealed in my subterranean layers

Tunes that emerge and sink
Skirting untouched, shadowy coasts
Of lonely, deep seas within

Music that peaks and falls,
Like lapping waves
Woven by magical southern drifts.
Matchmakers of earth and stars
Crafting out my paradise on the soil

Pleasure molds with the deepest pain
And tearfully whispers,
'This is not what I desire,
Oh no, this is not my dream!'

Apr 15, 2012

Submerged who is in His love

তাঁহার প্রেমে কে ডুবে আছে
tahar preme ke dube aachhe

Submerged who is in His love
Yearns not for trifling joys, riches and honour
Feels no pain of separation nor pangs of grief
Never does that love wane

With countless lamps in hand

হাতে লয়ে দীপ অগণন
haatey loye deep

With countless lamps in hand
Whose royal throne is it?
That creation circumambulates

Millions of people all around
With their joys, woes and grief
Gaze upon His feet evermore

The sun keeps telling Him
“Look upon me once,
I’ll flood the earth with light”

The moon sings to Him
“Look upon me with a smile, O Lord,
I’ll spread the sweetness of the full moon night”

The cloud sings at His feet
“Bestow Your kindness, O Lord,
I’ll give shade and showers of rain”

Spring sings in each moment
“Give me Your assurance,
I’ll fill the bare branches with fruit and flower”

Men and women say with folded hands
“Deluge our hearts with Your love,
We’ll spread affection throughout the world”

“Fulfil, O fulfil our longings”
Relentlessly to whom calls out
The wordless voice of this world

Apr 14, 2012

If this is all you will ever fulfill

নাহয় তোমার যা হয়েছে তাই হল
Nahoy tomar ja hoyechhe tai holo (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

If this is all you will ever fulfill,
If nothing more happens
So let it be
The little things nobody
Can ever deny
Will still be yours to treasure.
Let the path be yours,

Let the journey flow on

Travel square on your trail
Resonate to an instant music
Do not peer hungrily on either side
Let the past slip from the clutches 
Of unforgiving memory, 
Gather gifts that the future lavishes,
Why should regret dilute whatever happens?

Apr 13, 2012

Time tinkles its cymbals

দুই হাতে কালের মন্দিরা যে সদাই বাজে
Dui haate kaaler mondira (audio)

Time tinkles its cymbals
To the heartbeat of an eternal music
And so the wave dissolves all stupor
Waking up a whirl of dance within

It knells out from discord
Lilting from buds and thorns
Quivering in the sun and in shade
Heaving in tide and in ebb
Pounding in the heart, and in life
With each smile, every tear, every anguish

The same quake keeps the sea of images
Alive and dancing, from dawn to dusk.
Inspired by the never-ending combat
Of black and white, contrasting
Measures rise, break and transform
Into a rainbow of tones.

Learn this melody by heart
And resonate,
Resonate with your smiles and hurt
Listen to life and death call out to you
Together, in voices of the thunder-drum

What do I give you

কী দিব তোমায়
ki dibo tomay

What do I give you
Tears stream down my eyes
My heart is beside itself with grief
I will give at your feet
My heaviness of heart

Darkness casts a shroud on this worldly life

সংসারেতে চারি ধার করিয়াছে অন্ধকার
shongsharetey chari dhar

Darkness casts a shroud on this worldly life
Thus Your eyes glow with more radiance
A gloom of depression engulfs me on all sides
I see Your joyous visage in my heart

Death stalks my footsteps casting a shadow of grief
It snatches away my prized possessions
Yet a form immortal reigns amidst death
I cast off mourning and look at that face
I have heard Your comforting voice O Lord
I won’t give in to false fears and woes
I will express my heartache
And seek Your sweet nectar
I have found fearless refuge in Your lap

On this auspicious day

আজি শুভদিনে পিতার ভবনে
aaji shubhodine

On this auspicious day
Let us go to our Father’s abode
A sanctuary of sweetness
Come O come O come my friend

We know not what joys await us
In that home of happiness
Come O come O come my friend

The three worlds rejoice in festivities
What a surge of happiness
Come O come O come my friend

The heavens resonate with triumphant song
Let us all sing in unison
Let us all sing in ovation

What has temptation led you to?

কী করিলি মোহের ছলনে
ki korili moher chhalane

What has temptation led you to?
You left your home to wander in foreign lands
You lost your way in remoteness
The hours go by
Darkness creeps in
Clouds loom in the sky

This weary body can walk no more
Thorns prick at the sole
The heart cries out to go home
How do I return?

“Tell me the way”, “Tell me the way”
I know not to whom I call in the dense darkness
The friends I had, have all gone
Who’d want to linger in these woods?
Go to the universal Friend!
Why waste your time wailing in vain?

Back home awaits your Mother
She calls out from the door
Let me go to her, and fall at her feet
My eyes are blinded by the dust of the road
They look out yet cannot see
Where are you Mother? Where are you?
From where do you call out to me?
Taking my hand in yours, lead me to your sweet abode

Reveal your madness with sass

পাগল যে তুই, কন্ঠ ভরে
Pagol je tui (audio: Debabrata Biswas)

Reveal your madness with sass
There may be a madding crowd
At your doorstep,
As they bash your gates,
Let your serenity persist.

Perhaps, they will profess
You are bizarre,
Perhaps they will declare,
'What help could you be!'
Just answer, 'I am a nobody,
I am nothing, whatever I may be.'

Hearing your repartee,
Trees will roll with laughter,
The space, light up with music,
The breeze, come embracing you,
The sky will claim you in invisible arms.

Apr 12, 2012

Through night and day with utmost care

দিবানিশি করিয়া যতন
dibanishi koriya joton

Through night and day with utmost care
I’ve carved a seat for you in my heart
O Lord of the world,
Be so kind to come this way

This seat is very secluded
Far from all cacophony
I’ve cleaned with great care
This secret abode of my heart

Neither lamps nor the sun and moon
Illuminate it with their rays
Only you, my Lord, will flood it with light

Far away is flighty desire
Far away is raucous merriment
Pride and egoistic sentiment have fled afar

It is only happiness who sits sans words
To offer worship as your priest
He’ll sit in silence and wash your feet with his tears
He’ll stay awake at the door alone with his eyes awash

You sit on your royal throne and listen

মহাসিংহাসনে বসি শুনিছ
mohashinghashone boshi shunichho

You sit on your royal throne and listen
O Father of the world
The song of the universe set to your own tune

I too have arrived at your door
With my trifling of a voice
In my so very mortal frame

I do not want anything, Lord
I only wish to catch a glimpse of you
I have come to sing you my song

I will sit in the august assembly
Where sing the sun and moon
And this heart of a devotee
Will sing in quiet seclusion

None can fathom another’s heart

কেহ কারো মন বুঝে না
keho karo mon bujhe na

None can fathom another’s heart
They come close and step away
Why does the loving smile get washed away in tears?

The blossom does not open its heart
When the breeze sweeps by with moaning pleas
Alone at dusk, why does it wither away

Look up and gaze into each other’s eyes
Do not shield the endearments of the heart

This night will pass
The chance to say will be gone
At dawn will remain only the lament of the heart

My heart refuses to withdraw

আমার যেতে সরে না মন
amar jete sore na mon

My heart refuses to withdraw
As I step away from your door
I fall into an abyss of angst
At this separation from you

All seems false and futile as I walk on
The whole world begs me to return in each moment

My heart reverberates with the pain
That I could not give you anything

When I go away
My feet fumble and falter at every step
I return for no rhyme or reason

Apr 10, 2012

Little glow-worm

ও জোনাকি কী সুখে
O jonaki kee shukhe (audio: Srikanta Acharya)
                                                                                
Little glow worm,
What loving thrill
Spreads into your little wings
In the darkness, in twilight
As you pour your life out with glee

You are neither sun nor moon,
But your life brims with joy
You are so sure of what you have got,
You need not beg of others
The divine fire within
Commands you to be just the way you are

You easily survive the cuff of the dark
And in spite any littleness
It makes you tremendous,
It makes you one with all the light
The divine radiance
That exists in the world

Apr 9, 2012

I was crafted in clay, Mother Earth

আমি তোমারি মাটির কন্যা
Ami tomari matir konya (audio)

I was crafted of clay, Mother Earth
Why then, should my human life
Suffer so much deprivation?
I know how holy You are,
How sacred every grain of Your dust is,
I am grateful to have been blessed with life;
Sacrosanct life, as Your daughter.

Those that thrive on You
Yet renounce you, my Mother,
To what flighty heaven
Do they wish to belong?

I have found my place
Very close to Your heart.
There I shall remain, in Your arms, forever.
Empower me
With Your delightful strength,
Penetrate my heart and soul.

Apr 4, 2012

My heart cries “I want, I want"

আমার মন বলে
amar mon bole

My heart cries “I want, I want – that which I get not”
Amidst all that I have, a pain rings out
“I have it not, I have it not”

I have to lose myself to regain
The evening star departs
To come anew as the morning star
She hastens “I have to go, I have to go, I have to go”

Apr 3, 2012

Speak your last as you leave

যাবার বেলা শেষ কথাটি যাও বলে
Jabar belay shesh kawthati (audio: Hemanta Mukherjee)

Speak your last as you leave
Reveal, show your heart to me
Feign a sparkle to hide your hurt
Let out your muted message

You have mocked me abundantly
With a piercing laughter
Now steep your last spoken words
With your tears

O dear girl, in your wounded love
You weigh down our rift even more
When you seek to withdraw
All gifts you have ever offered

My dawn had been steeped in tears

প্রভাত-আলোরে মোর 
Probhato alore mor / Probhat alore mor (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

My dawn had been steeped in tears
When you left, when you turned down
Our treasured garland of togetherness.

All remnant shards
Lost their significance.

Now, I can only gaze,
And splay my heart, and wait.
Yet I die to heap and embrace the buds
You shed on your path.

I never thought we would lose
Every sliver of our memory.
What fever, what play
Had beset us in spring?

Let me be with my own thoughts

আমায় থাকতে দে-না আপন-মনে
amay thakte de na

Let me be with my own thoughts
I recall and relive his touch each moment

Who can distract me much longer
In a spin of words and a spiral of work
I sit in a secret corner and wreathe
A welcome garland in his memory

This jewel like pain that he bequeathed
I hold it close and set out at day end
On a solitary journey to seek him

I stand before him with tearful eyes
I bedeck him with his own riches

Apr 2, 2012

My songs, like unabated algae

গানগুলি মোর শৈবালেরই দল
Gaanguli mor shoibaleri dol (audio)

My songs, like unabated algae
Ride on deluge
Emerge with flowing streams
Getting lost on their way

I never know why
They suddenly rise, or disappear
Dangling loose, on winds of uncertainty
Leaving no impression,
Asking for no return

They have nothing to buy,
To bring about
No anchor to fetter their freedom

Their vagrancy
Induces a strange wanderlust
Resonating tunes of the road,
Of getting lost

They gleam like drops of dew
Caught in the chalice of forgetfulness


Apr 1, 2012

A hum posseses me

 যায় নিয়ে যায়
Jay niye jay (audio: Subinoy Roy)

A hum possesses me
Tearing me away from home,
Forcing me on strange roads...
The secret song, the wordless longing
Of the life that beats within the universe,
The cosmic soul.
It exudes all the music I can play
From my flute.


I sense my heart bloom,
I feel my soul heave and billow,
Like a wave in the sea.
My being, free to fly,
To swim with the stars.
I hear the heavens speak to me
With an ineffable eloquence.

The black-and-whites in me

যা ছিল কালো ধলো          
 Ja chhilo kaalo dholo

The black-and-whites in me blushed

When you touched them with your hue
Acquiring a semblance
With your rose-red feet

My garb, my embellishments flushed
My sleep, my dreams blossomed
My heart became one red lotus
Swimming in bliss

My world is dispossessed today

আমার ভুবন তো আজ হল কাঙাল
amar bhubon to aaj holo kangal

My world is dispossessed today
Nothing more is left
O ruthless One! Do you see?

All is withered, all is dead
She stands covered in worn out rags
Drape her naked shame with the gift of your love

The song in her garden has drifted away
Play your flute now in her barren heart

Who put out the light in her lamp?
Light it, do light it!
My own darkness eludes my sight

Disquiet strikes today

অশান্তি আজ হানল
ashanti aaj hanlo

Disquiet strikes today, a scorching blaze
Savage arrows pierce my heart, a slashing pain

A fire is kindled in my heart
A mirage shimmers in my eye
Who wreathes a welcome garland for me with the strands of death?

The world I knew is lost in shadowy dreams
In a colourful illusion
Tinted with the Palash red of springtime

My journey has no destination
Am crazed with a desire to lose my bearings
Time to set off for unknown lands

Why this darkness from near to afar

কাছে থেকে দূর রচিল কেন গো আঁধারে
kachhe theke door

Why this darkness from near to afar?
Imprisoned in pain even in togetherness

Ahead is an ocean of nectar
Yet the eye cannot perceive
How do I dispel this mist?
This cumbrance of my sight

From behind the veil I only hear his voice
I know him yet I know him not

I sense him within only in my grief
And then lose him to the outside
Will my world remain so?
Just one half of the whole

Roam about and call out with all your heart

ফিরে ফিরে ডাক্‌ দেখি রে পরান খুলে
phire phire daak (audio: Suchitra Mitra)

Roam about and call out with all your heart
Beseech and beckon as you roam about
Let’s see how he can remain aloof

Let that plea waft in the woods
Let that plea entreat one and all
Let that plea sway in your heart
Amidst your joys and your pain

From dawn to dusk to nightfall in each moment
Call out with your heart in quiet solitude

Entreat with your eyes
Listen at your door
Let your plea find a place
Among the flowers on your bosom




Another version by Anandamayee Majumdar:

Invoke him endlessly,
Desire him completely,
Let your soul breath and burn for him.
With all that passion calling,
How will he stay away?

Let your call hover in the woodlands,
Let it seep into the crowd,
Let it rap with your heart,
Let it breath with your smile
And flow with your tear.

In radiance, in darkness
Bid him from dawn to dusk
Culling out your plea
In quiet contemplation.

Implore him with your eyes,
Listen for him on the pathway.
Let your prayer lace your heart
Like a bud in a fragrant wreath.