This jewelled necklace doesn’t fit me
It abrades me when I wear it
It hurts me when I want to tear it off
It chokes my throat
And I cannot sing
I cannot do my work
It diverts my mind.
How anxiously I want
To adorn you with this necklace
And thus save my soul.
You better reward me with a flower garland
For this jewelled necklace I feel ashamed
And I cannot show you my face.
Translation of the song E monihar amay nahi saje from the collection Gitimalya by Rabindranath Tagore. Composed on 24th August, 1913 at Cheyne Walk, London. The award of the Nobel Prize was announced three months later in November, 1913.
This jewelled necklace doesn’t fit me