Sunday, January 22, 2023

প্রিয় গান এবং…



কৈশোরের প্রিয় প্রেমের গানের সুর,

বিষাদে ভেজা বালিশের স্মৃতি

আর আবছা হয়ে আসা মুখেদের ভীড় ঠেলে,

হঠাৎ আঁকড়ে ধরে 

এই পড়ন্ত শীতের রাতে 


এক যুগনাকি দুই দশক পেড়িয়ে

একে একে উঁকি দেয় রাত-জাগা তারারা।

জেগে আছো আজওএকা

কল্পনার আকিবুকিসেই নকশি কাঁথার মাঠ

পেরিয়ে বুঝি যাওনি কোথাও?


বন্ধুভাল আছ তো


মুঠোয় বন্দি সময় নিয়েসেই যে 

বলেছিলে চলে যাবে সব বেঁড়াজাল ছিঁড়ে 

অজানা কক্ষপথে উড়ে যাবে শুধু

কেনো এক নাম-না-জানা নভ্শচরের মত

নিজের ভিতরের ছায়াপথ খুঁজে


তবে কি যাওনি কোথাও তুমি


নাকি অচেনা গ্রহপথনদী নালা 

পড়ন্ত বিকেলের সবুজ মাঠের ঘাসে,

সোনালি আলোয় ভাসছে তোমার মহাকাশযান 

বসন্তের নিষ্পাপ ভোরের মত 

নতুন এক দিনের অপেক্ষায়?  

Thursday, April 29, 2021

The Disrupted Gaggle (Sangbighno Pakhhikul - Mohiner Ghoraguli)

The runway stretches ahead in loneliness 

While the clouds hang stupefied in the sky

In the pain-ridden stupor of the lazy radar

A gaggle of chirping birds fly by


It’s been years since a soaring airplane 

Touched down in this vacuous aerodrome 

Strewn with litter and garbage, while the winds

Howl past the absent wings spread wide 

A little girl with her hair caught in the wind

Sobs with her face hidden in her frock


The poet has seen this picture, that’s why 

Floating clouds line his empty heart 

The picture imprinted on his mind 

Fills the poet with worry and care


Potent with the signs of an impending storm

The clouds lie stupefied on the sky  



(Translated by Samarpan Dutta)

Monday, February 22, 2021

Samson (Anjan Dutt)

Neon signs flicker their wares

The rains have drenched the streets

A damp heart still beats 


Like clockwork the last tram brings

Them home—Samson and his saxophone 

A rickety flight of stairs in a dank back alley

Leads to his dilapidated attic room 

A bed stained with cheap liquor

That has washed away their youth 

Samson and his saxophone 


So many Samsons die every day

Killed in a quiet corner of a shiny hotel

This busy metropolis puts an end

To so many songs even before they’re sung


There had been a Delilah too 

A bliss that was over too soon  

Someone stole her away

From Samson and his saxophone


His crucified savior stuck on a torn calendar

Samson too finds himself sentenced 

To a lifetime of churning out 

The same old film songs


So many Samsons die every day

Killed in a quiet corner of a shiny hotel

This busy metropolis puts an end

To so many songs even before they’re sung


Delilah isn’t coming back 

To save him from this hell

They’ll rot in the corners of 

This shiny five-star hotel

Samson and his friend, the saxophone 


Countless melodies trapped in those old lungs

That none will ever hear

But the weary moon waking up from its

Slumber to that old saxophone

Baring it’s heart out in pain


So many Samsons die every day

Killed in a quiet corner of a shiny hotel

This busy metropolis puts an end

To so many songs even before they’re sung


Original Song by the artist:




Friday, December 18, 2020

Cycling

Pushing the pedals forward

To stream past the houses, trees, and

The memories that lay hidden

In every corner of my little town

I fell in love with cycling.

My face glistening with sweat and

Eyes shining with the joy

Of suburban independence 

I set out charting my small world

A  little explorer.


Maps were formed by the sightings of 

Friends, foes, or abandoned 

Houses with promises of treasure 

Or some murky past that

Lay waiting for me to uncover.

I charted my rides through lonely 

Streets that lay inviting--

Avenues measured in dim streetlamps

And littered with flowers

All pointing me towards home.


For home wasn't a just single place

The lines on the map of my world

Traced a home wherever

It found joy, wonder, or the warmth

Of a familiar 

Place that helped me grow up a little

With every discovery



Thursday, December 10, 2020

Someday, on a rainy evening (Ek Din Brishti Te by Anjan Dutt)


Someday, on a rainy evening 
We’d both forget our umbrellas 
And bump into each other 
Drenched from head to toe
While the traffic vanishes around us
Storefronts down their shutters
Lingering in our heart of hearts
The sweet smell of petrichor

Someday, on a rainy evening 
It’ll all certainly come back to us in a jiffy
Broken promises and forgotten blemishes
Pain that’s sweet and dear
While somewhere a lonely radio
Chimes an old love song
Raindrops slowly turn blue 
Against a greying sky
Someday, someday… 
Someday, on a rainy evening…

A fading poster proudly announces
An old sold-out matinee
And the raindrops will hide
Our tears
Pittar patter…pittar patter…
raindrops…tears

Someday, on a rainy evening 
We’ll finally get caught, you’ll see
Fears, tears, and unspoken despair
Finally washed clean
The moment frozen in time
We won’t be able to run and hide
The roads will all be the same
Just the two of us around…

Someday, on a rainy evening 
We’d both forget our umbrellas 
And bump into each other 
Drenched from head to toe
While the traffic vanishes around us
Storefronts down their shutters
Lingering in our heart of hearts
The sweet smell of petrichor

Someday…someday…
Someday…on a rainy evening…

(Translated by Samarpan Dutta)


Ecalyptus (Debdaru by Kabir Suman)

Even though he’s gone, the touch of his hand on mine 
Will persist like the memories that surrender
Where the lone Eucalyptus 
Bows down its head

Even though he’s gone, a sudden whiff of night jasmine
Turns the morning entirely his own
Remembrances transform 
A moment into eternity

Even though he’s gone, the touch of his hand on mine 
Will persist like the memories that that surrender
Where the lone Eucalyptus 
Bows down its head

Even though he’s gone, the eternal play of ebb and tide
Will not cease to caress the waters of the river
Down a familiar lane I will walk
At one with his memories

Even though he’s gone, he really hasn’t has he?
Like so many who never really leave us
The steamer sets off for the horizon
Sending waves galore to the shore

Even though he’s gone, the touch of his hand on mine 
Will persist like the memories that that surrender
Where the lone Eucalyptus 
Bows down its head

(Translated by Samarpan Dutta)


Sunday, February 11, 2018

Wedding Wishes to An Old Friend

Congratulations, dear friend 
On finding love 
That multiplies 
And shines on 
This beautiful day
Of your togetherness

I wish that you fall in love
Again and again
With each other 
And discover 
The tiny little things
That make you, you

History is full of love stories
But may yours be unique 
In metre, rhyme, and chronology
Etched in love and laughter
Yours to live and yours to keep

For ever and ever