In my courtyard in the month of falgoon
In every branch of the shirish tree
There is a tireless revelry of flowering
In the evening
When the birds become silent
And all around is lonely
That shirish in blossoms
Again and again
Asks me this question -
‘Has he come?’
Last year, at the same time
In the month of falgoon
As if in a heavenly rhythm
In boundless joy
Those shirish branches had danced madly
And restlessly they had asked me,
‘Didn’t he come?’
Once more similarly
In the same month of falgoon
Those shirish branches will keep waiting
Pricking their ears
For the footfalls of someone unseen
Sighing in murmurs
They will ask me,
‘Is he coming?’
In this month of flowering falgoon
In my courtyard
Upsetting everything
In gusts the breeze is blowing
And I keep asking
‘How long am I to count my moments,
Has he come?’
Translation of the poem – Pratyasha – from the collection Mohua by Rabindranath Tagore. The poet also set this poem to tune and its best recording is by Hemanta Mukherji. The original in Bengali script is viewable at
