25 Baishakh
In anticipation of 25 Baishakh, here is an excerpt from Tagore's poem Destination Unknown (the Bengali version):
How much farther will you lead me on, Lady beautiful?
Tell me where will you land your golden boat?
Whenever I ask you, Ogo Bideshini,
you only flash at me your dulcet smile.
I do not know what thoughts stir in your mind.
Silently you lift your finger
and point to the infinite sea which heaves.
In the far west the sun hides behind the sky.
What lies there? What is it we go to seek?
10 Comments:
Why is Tagore more poetic in English than original Bengali? Do you ever have this feeling?
hahah!! tasneem, i assume u dont understand the bengali version well. thats why u r saying this. It depends on who understand which in what way!
*no offence. Smile!!
Yeah! May be I have somewhat circumcised knowledge of the language. Sigh!
Big deal....pohela baishask aint what it used top be...there's either fear of a nitroglycerin blast or spread of useless lust and lunacy.People doesn't go the fair/flamboyant parades these days to enjoy the sheer delectation of bangladeshi cultures..but rather to check out gals/guys....who may serve their purpose(as Sigmund Fraued THE PURPOSE is the onl thing that drives us)...there's widespread reporting by extreme fundamentalist media that the youth who attended the fair have gone to the dogs...which by some extent is true..and about tagore...How would a man's poem favour us when his own daughters were subjected to the cruelity of Dowry and other stuff like that? So his love songs seem ironic and futile from my perspective....then again what the heck..i'm just some 'college reading-bengali medium presiding-going to fairs in BD to check out members of opposite sex kinda' guy ....my perceptions wont morph the relity that resided deep within bangladesh..
adiue(from the depth OF BD)
Hmm . . . I think it might be too much to expect poets to live upto their poetry.
As for English vs. Bengali, I think that this poem has a better feel in Bengali, which somehow gets lost in translation. However, there are some Tagore poems to gain from translation. The first example that comes to mind is the "Where the Mind is w/o Fear" . . .
Damn! Blogger won't let me edit my last comment.
Time for an upgrade?
tasneeem.. sorry! if u were offended.
*cheers
So, we have to wait for Kaji Nazrul's birthday, that you can throw another post. oki. and yes upgrade... move to wordpress... :-)
I just checked Nazrul's bday is coming up soon (May 24) . . .
soo very soon we will see another post? :p
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