Satyabaddha Abhiman, Sunil Gangopadhyay

This hand has touched Nira's face
How can I do anything wrong with this hand?
In the verandah of that late afternoon
An amazing brave light fell on her face
Like a telegram, in a second her beauty unveiled
Was it a smile that lingered in her eyes and her brows, or were they tears?
I wanted to call that young woman a girl at that moment -
Raising my right hand I stare at my male fist
I will it,
be worthy, become worthy -
I touch Nira's chin
This hand, it has touched Nira's face
How can I ever do anything wrong again with this hand?
These lips, they have spoken of love with Nira -
Can I bring myself to lie with them?
As I come down the steps I remember
That most important thing that I have forgotten to say
An unknown wind will blow this gentle swan-like woman away
A sudden earthquake will destroy all the steps
I stand transfixed, my eyes on Nira
Love is like an intense pledge, an illusion
Promises that I must honour, my eyes burn
As I stand on the steps
These lips have spoken of love with Nira -
Can I bring myself to lie with them?

Sunil Gangopadhyay, Satyabaddha Abhimaan
(Translation, mine)

আমি বাংলায় গান গাই, প্রতুল মুখোপাধ্যায় /Ami Banglai Gaan Gai/I sing in Bangla

Ami Banglai Gaan Gai

Ami Banglar Gaan Gai

Ami Amar Ami Ke Chiro Din…Ei Banglai Khuje Pai …

Ami Banglai Dekhi Sopno

Ami Banglai Badhi Sur

Ami Ei Banglar Maya Vhora Pothe…Hetechi Etota Dur…

Bangla Amar Jibonanondo

Bangla Praner Sur

Ami Ekbar Dekhi…Bar Bar Dekhi…Dekhi Banglar Mukh…

Aaaaaaa Aa Aa …Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa….

Ami Banglai Kotha Koi

Ami Banglar Kotha Koi

Ami Banglai Hasi , Banglai Vashi , Banglai Jege Roi…

Ami Banglai kori Ullash

Kori Banglai Hahakar

Ami Sob Dekhe Sune…Khepe Giye Kori…Banglai Chitkar …

Bangla Amar Dripto Chetona..Khipto Tir Dhonuk

Ami Ekbar Dekhi…Bar Bar Dekhi…Dekhi Banglar Mukh…

Aaaaaaa Aa Aa …Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa….

Ami Banglai Vhalobasi

Ami Bangla Ke Vhalobasi

Ami Tari Haat dhore Sara Prithibir Manush Er Kache Asi …

Ami Ja Kichu Mohan…Boron Korechi…Binomro Srodhai

Mishe Tero Nodi Saat Sagorer Jol

Gongay Podmai

Bangla Amar Trishnar Jol

Tripto Sesh Chumuk

Ami Ekbar Dekhi…Bar Bar Dekhi…Dekhi Banglar Mukh

Aaaaaaa Aa Aa …Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa….

This One Again

Ami Banglai Gaan Gai

Ami Banglai Gaan Gai

Ami Amar Ami Ke Chiro Din…Ei Banglai Khuje Pai …

Ami Banglai Dekhi Sopno

Ami Banglai Badhi Sur

Ami Ei Banglar Maya Vora Pothe…Hetechi Etota Dur…

Bangla Amar Jibonanondo

Bangla Praner Sur

Ami Ekbar Dekhi…Bar Bar Dekhi…Dekhi Banglar Mukh…

**

I sing in Bangla
Bangla is what I sing of.
I have been finding myself, for ever in this Bengal
I dream in Bangla
I think of tunes in Bangla
I have walked along the dear paths of Bengal... to come all this way...
Bangla is the Jibonananda(happiness) in my life
Bangla, the sound of my soul
I look upon her once....then again and again... I look upon my beloved Bengal.

I speak in Bangla
Bangla is what I speak of
I smile in Bangla....I float upon Bangla....I stay awake in her arms
I rejoice in Bangla
I weep in Bangla
When I see injustice..I am filled with anger.. to protest in Bangla
Bangla is the voice of my bold slogans, Bangla the weapon of my rage
I look upon her once....then again and again... I look upon my beloved Bengal.

I love in Bangla
Bangla is the object of my love
It is her hand that I hold as I greet the peoples of this wide world
I accept all that is great with humble respect
The waters of the thirteen rivers and seven seas mingle
In the Ganges and the Padma
Bangla is the honey that slakes my thirst
Bangla, the last thing to touch my lips
I look upon her once....then again and again... I look upon my beloved Bengal

To listen to the song: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5zkgaOuQ8A

ও নদীরে/ O Nodi re/ Oh eternal river

ও নদীরে, একটি কথা শুধাই শুধু তোমারে |
বলো কোথায় তোমার দেশ
তোমার নেই কি চলার শেষ! ও নদীরে...
তোমার কোনো বাঁধন নাই তুমি ঘর ছাড়া কি তাই,
এই আছো ভাটায় আবার এই তো দেখি জোয়ারে ||
এ কূল ভেঙে ও কূল তুমি গড়ো
যার একূল ওকূল দুকূল গেল তার লাগি কি করো?
আমায় ভাবছো মিছেই পর, তোমার নেই কি অবসর,
সুখ দুঃখের কথা কিছু কইলে না হয় আমারে ||

(ছায়াছবিঃ নীল আকাশের নিচে, সুর ও শিল্পীঃ হেমন্ত মুখোপাধ্যায়)

O nodire 
ekti kotha shudhai shudhu tomaare
bolo kothae tomar desh
tomar neiki cholaar shesh
O Nodire ||

tomar kono badhon naai
tumi ghor chara ki taai |
ei acho bhataae aar 
ei to dekhi jowaar e

bolo kothae tomar desh
tomar neiki cholaar shesh
O Nodire ||


ekul bhenge okul tumi goro
jaar ekul okul du kul gelo
taar laagi ki koro |

amae bhabcho michei por
tomar naai ki oboshor |
shukh dukkho kotha kichu 
koile na hoy amare

bolo kothae tomar desh
tomar neiki cholaar shesh
O Nodire ||

(Film: Neel Akasher Neeche)

To listen to the song: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJj_fa-MVxc

Oh eternal river

I just have one question to ask of you

Tell me where your home is

Will your travels ever come to an end

Oh river!

No one has managed to tame you

Is that why you wander the world?

Sometimes ebbing with the tide

Then surging forward again.

Tell me where you come from

Will you never stop and rest?

Oh river!

You destroy one bank to build upon another

But what of the one who burns all bridges

What do you do for them?

Why think of me as a stranger

Do you not have a moment to spare?

We could speak of happiness and sorrows

You could tell me a little of your story.

Tell me where you began

Will this journey ever end

Oh river!

আমি এক যাযাবর / I am a wanderer

I am a wanderer

A wanderer am I.

The world has gathered me to itself

And I have forgotten where I came from

I am a wanderer

A wanderer am I.

I have travelled from the Ganga to the Mississippi

And seen the beauty of the Volga

I have walked from Ottawa to Austria

And trod the dust of Paris

I have taken the colours of the paintings of Ellora

And spread them across Chicago

I have heard the poems of Ghalib

Sitting among the minarets of Tashkent

I have kept vigil at Mark Twain’s grave

As I spoke of Gorky’s magic

The road has called me again and again

To make it my home

That is why I am a wanderer

That is why I am a wanderer.

I have many an aimless plan

That I wish to fulfill one day

Wherever I saw colours

I made sure they coloured my mind

I have seen many a skyscraper

That nearly grazed the sky

In their shade I have seen

People who had nowhere to go

I have seen roses and mimosa

Blooming in gardens fit for kings

I have also seen buds that wilted before their time

And fell neglected upon the dust

Loveless attachments across the earth

Destroy homes that should have been happy

The people of the street became my own

When my own flesh and blood gave me up

That is why I am a wanderer

A wanderer am I.

Follow the link to listen to Dr Bhupen Hazarika: 

http://youtu.be/T8fvs6wa69I

নারী, সুনীল বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়/Nari, Sunil Gangopadhyay

Atheists do not believe in you, Woman
Your hair hanging down like a slash of ink,
You are an enemy of revolution.
In fact you are invisible to many eyes,
Some have not even heard of your name.
Just like watery light mixed with water.
They know lovers or sisters,
Mothers or wives,
The girl at the milk vendor or those
that sing and dance,
and sweat in the kitchen.
Interrupt with a skeletal hand in traffic, child on hip.
They go to schools in pain wearing frocks or a sari perhaps
Or mix tears with cement by the side of a mason.
Gathering donations in a tin,
Or taking lunch to a farmer under an angry sun.
Perhaps sleep in the afternoons
novels near their pillows.
These are the ones who are doing fine.
Everyone knows them in bed, their bodies
In sickness and in health,
as temporary companions.
But Woman? Where is she?
The one celebrated by degenerate poets
for forty centuries.
Where is she? Where is she?
Her hair hanging down like a slash of ink
where does she stand today?
How do you stay hidden in this crowd
Just like watery light mixed with water....

NARI
Sunil Gangopadyay

When You Call Me by Helal Hafiz/তুমি ডাক দিলে, হেলাল হাফিজ

WHEN YOU CALL ME

Call me once and see how depleted I am

What frantic need I have felt all my life.

When you call me

I will erase every trace of sadness and rot.

I will get there faster than the speed of sound

I will tap the source of the love that has been nurtured for so long.

I will not waste a minute on the way

When you call me

I will transform a desert without borders into a green oasis.

When you say yes,

I will make us a sanctuary with our twin happiness.

When I receive your invitation

I will leave behind everything

And fly towards you unrestrained.

If you agree to give me shelter

I will leave all these people behind

I will be a bird till I die – your silence all I need to live on.

                                                                 by Helal Hafiz

আষাঢ়, কবি শ্রীজাত/The Rains by Srijato

আষাঢ়

কবি শ্রীজাত

ভেসে গেল আষাঢ়স্য প্রথম

দিবসে---

ক্যাপচার করেছ মম হৃদয়

কী বশে

নাওয়া নাই খাওয়া নাই

হাওয়া নাই কোনও

কেবল জলের

তোড়ে দাওয়াটি নিকোনো।

বৃষ্টি আসে ঝেঁপে,

আমি কান্না চেপে আছি

ঠাণ্ডা বুকে ঠেসে ধরছি গরম

পেঁয়াজি

কেহ বলে পথ্য খাও, দেখাও

ডাক্তার

কেহ বলে শুনে দ্যাখো বেগম

আখতার---

কেহ বলে ও কিছু না। বর্ষার

বিলাস

টেনে হিঁচড়ে নিয়ে যাবে।

কী জ্যান্ত, কী লাশ।

গুটিয়ে নিয়েছি প্যান্ট, হাঁটু

অব্দি জল

জোয়ারের

স্রোতে একা ছিপছিপে হিজল

ডুবেছে প্রথম দিনে।

বোঝে বা ক’জনই

কী ভাবে সাঁতরাই বলো,

সহস্র রজনী

The Rains                                            Srijato

Everything washes away in the first rain of the season

How did you capture my heart?

Now I am unable to bathe, eat or breathe even

My courtyard washed clean by the force of the deluge

 It buckets down, I hold back my tears

Clutching to my cold chest a hot fried snack or two

Some say, eat something healthy, or go see a doctor

  Some say this is fixed by listening to some Begum Akhtar

Some even say, this is nothing! Just a touch of rain fever

This is going to be your end, living or dead forever!

 I roll up my trousers, in knee deep water I stand

 In the currents

A lone slender sapling that submitted on the first day

How many do you think will understand my plight?

How am I supposed to swim this Arabian night?