Bonolota Sen

Bonolota Sen

Hajar bachhor dhore ami poth hantitechhi prithibir pothe.
Singhal somudra theke nishither andhakare maloy sagore
anek ghurechhi ami; bimbisar ashoker dhusar jagote
sekhane chhilam ami; aro dur andhakare bidarbha nagore
ami klanto pran ek, charidike jiboner somudro saphen
amare du- dando shanti diyechhilo natorer banolata sen

chul tar kobekar andhakar bidishar nisha,
mukh tar srabostir karukarja; ati dure somudrer por
hal bhenge je nabik harayechhe disha
sobuj ghaser desh jakhon se chokhe dekhe daruchini dwiper bhitor.
Temni dekhechhi take andhakare; bolechhe se,"etodin kothay chhilen"?
Pakhir nirer mato chokh tule natorer banolata sen

samasto diner seshe sisirer shabder maton
sandhya ase; danar roudrer gandho muchhe fele chil;
prithibir sob rong nibhe gele pandulipi kore ayojan
Tokhon golper tore jonakir ronge jhilmil;
Shob pakhi ghore aashe – shob nodi phuray e jiboner sob len den
thake sudhu andhakar, mukhomukhi bosibar banolata sen.

Jibananda Das

For a thousand years I have been walking this earth,
From the seas of Sinhala to the Malayas in the darkness of night.
Much have I travelled; in the misted worlds of Bimbisar and Ashoka
I was there; even longer ago in the city of Bidarbha,
I am exhausted, surrounded by life’s turbulent seas
I only knew peace, when I was with, Bonolota Sen.

Her hair was like the long lost nights in Bidisha,
Her face reflected sculptures in Shravasti.
When a sailor lost at sea, at last
Sees the green grass of a cinnamon scented island,
I knew what he feels when I saw her, in the darkness
She said, “Where were you all this time?”
Her eyes held the sweet promise of a bird winging its way home
Bonolota Sen.

At the end of each day, night approaches like the sound of dewfall
The eagle sheds the smell of the sun from its wings
The earth drains of all color and writes a new script
For a new story glittering with fireflies alit.
All the birds come home, all the rivers too, all the business of life done,
There remains only the dark, to sit with me

Bonolota Sen

Follow the link to listen to the poem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8J1Q9t2aiw