Like fatal epidemics
The arrogance of power and selfish greed
Have infected the world.
From land to land
By their poisonous touch
They have ruined the villages
They have ruined their peace.
Once in the countryside of my land
They shone in simplicity and knowledge
They were full of love
They were peaceful and content.
Unburdened by material wealth
Their mind was free
They would meditate –
Let the whole creation,
Both living and non-living,
Be our kith and kin
Let all be happy and well.
Now all these are gone
A whole lot of material junks
Have uprooted the mind.
We were easily content
Now we hoard
Less for necessity more for show
We lived in peace
Now we are always engaged
In selfish fights.
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Transcreation of sonnet no.92 from the collection Naivedya (Offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore. The poems of this collection, mostly sonnets, may be broadly classified into two categories – devotional and patriotic. The present sonnet belongs to the 2nd category to which also belongs the famous ‘Where the mind is without fear’, included in the English Gitanjali.
