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The sky is full of sun and starlight.
The entire cosmos is pulsating with life.
Within this glorious vast expanse, I found
my place,
Making me burst forth into song in
wonder and amazement of this
marvelous sight!
This world swings in the lap of time, with
its eternal ebb and flow.
And I feel in my veins its pulsation and
beating rhythm,
As in wonder and praise my words begin
to flow!
I have walked barefoot on the grass,
While traveling through the forest path.
Startled by the fragrance of flowers,
Which gladdened my beating heart!
The song of happiness pervades all around,
And with merriment it me surrounds!
With eagerness to hear, and with eyes opened wide,
I have poured myself in the flowing river of Life.
As I sought to seek the unknown, which lies hidden
within the known*
And which has so far eluded my sight!
This outpouring of my song in wonder and
admiration I have put to verse.
For having found my habitat and abode,
Amidst the sun and the glittering stars of this
Universe!
Notes:
This is a simple translation of Tagore’s Rabindra Sangeet : ‘’Akash bhora, surjo tara,’’ from his ‘Gitobitan’ – ‘Book of Songs’. Translating Tagore word by word though possible, is not advisable, because it breaks the poetic rhythm & melody of his verse! Therefore, the basic essence & meaning of his song I tried to capture along with its philosophical & inner content. Tagore, our universal poet & Noble Laureate, belonged to the reformist ‘Brahmo Samaj’, which believed in the worship of an eternal and a single formless Divine spirit which pervades the entire Universe! English poet William Wordsworth had also shared this view in many of his poems.
* Here we find Tagore’s mysticism which takes us on a Spiritual quest to seek the infinite in the midst of the finite; unity at the heart of all diversity; and the Divine in all beings and things of the universe! This theme recurs in Tagore’s other poems also. |
