Whenever you could find some time
You would come and stand by me
Smiling I used to look at you and say,
'Oh it's you, come sit down.'
We would exchange a few words
Those usual pleasantries
Behind our jokes and light talks
Our hearts, our deep feelings
Would remain mute.
How deep they were
How full of love
So many things remained unsaid!
Today I know these
When you are gone forever.
In our day to day life
We visited each other
When we just took a fancy
That is lost today
How much has this loss been
I have no words to say.
In the mid-day wind of your life
You had sailed your boat
Loaded with merchandise -
They were your lifelong achievements
This I know
Whatever be their value
They were not rich enough
To make your memory undying
When I remember this it pains me much
Is there no place in this world
Where the real value of the least known
Will ever be duly recognized?
To drive home the pain of this denial
Where do I find some simple words
As sharp as a knife?
One is a poet, the other is a hero
While there is one who is known for his wealth -
Or one is very friendly with the poor
The other is related to the prince -
With your sweetness you moved your friends
Some of it may be lost today
Yet it is much much more
Than the fame of the famous
All those fragrant flowers
That fill these rainy days
With the glory of joy
Giving their fragrance to the last
As they shed on the dust
In the sky and the wind
They will go on spreading
Your memory's fragrance.
Translation of the poem Maulana Ziauddin from the collection Nabajatak by Rabindranath Tagore. Mr. Ziauddin was a teacher at Santiniketan. The original in Bengali script may be viewed at http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org/node/12653
