Two Birds - Translation From Tagore

This is a translation from the original poem "Dui Pakhi" (Two Birds) in Bengali by India's Nobel-laureate Poet, Rabindranath Tagore. The caged bird was in a golden cage, The bird from the woods in the forest, No one knew, how one day they got together, Was it designed by the heaven! The Bird from the Woods said, “Hello Bird in the Cage, Let’s go to the forest together”, The Bird in the Cage answered, ” Come here, Bird from the Woods, live snug in the cage here”. The Bird from the Woods said, “No, I don’t want to be chained”, The Bird in the Cage replied, ” Alas! How can I fly to the forest?’ The Bird from the Woods crooned, settling outside, All the songs from the forest, The Bird in the Cage voiced everything he was taught – The two birds sang two different ways. The Bird from the Woods beseeched, ” Hello my friend from the cage, Please sing a song of the forest, The Bird in the Cage answered, ” Hello my friend from the woods, Please learn the songs of the cage”. The Bird from the Woods refused, “No, I don’t want to master the songs which are taught”, The Bird of the Cage said, ” Alas! How do I sing the song of the woods?” The Bird from the Woods said, “The sky is so blue, It is majestically limitless !" The Bird of the Cage replied, ” How comfortable is the cage, All four sides are covered”. The Bird from the Woods said, ” let yourself free In the midst of the clouds”, The Bird in the Cage answered, ” live in a pleasant, tranquil space, Keep yourself secure”. The Bird in the Woods said, ” No, Where do I fly?” The Bird in the cage asked, ” Alas! Where do you perch in the sky?” Two birds like this loved each other, But never came very close, Through the bars of the cage touched each other’s beaks And gazed at each other’s eyes. Two of them neither realized, Nor could explain to each other, Two of them were lonely flapped their wings, appealed to each other “come closer”. The Bird from the Woods said, “No, They may fasten the door”, The Bird in the Cage responded, “Alas! I don’t have the strength to soar”. Translated By: Malabika Ray Choudhury