Best Bengali Poems
This is a translation of the famous Bengali Poem " Banalata Sen". The author is
the renowned surrealist poet of India - Jibanananda Das (1899 - 1954). This poem is considered as his best and one of the all-time greatest poems of Bengali Literature.
I wandered for thousands of years on the paths of the world,
from the seas of Ceylon to the oceans of Malaya, through the darkness of nights,
I have travelled so much; in the distant grey world of Bimbisar and Ashoka -
I was there; still farther in the darkness of the city of Bidarva;
I am a weary soul, amid the wild foamy seas of life;
Banalata Sen of Natore bestowed me some peace for a few moments.
her hair reminds the dark nights of the long-lost Bidisha,
her face the fine carvings of Srabasti; in the farthest corner of the sea,
the sailor whose sail is broken, and who has lost directions,
when he spots a green, grassy island with cinnamon,
I sighted her the same way; she said, "Where have you been for so long? "
raising her eyes, like a bird's nest, Banalata Sen of Natore.
evening dawns like the sound of dews, the eagle wipes out the smell of sun from its wings,
all the colours of the world fade, I write the manuscript
of the story, the scintillating fireflies shine bright,
all birds return to their nests ~ all rivers meet their ends ~
all borrowings and lendings of life are complete,
nothing remains but the darkness, and Banalata Sen sitting across me face to face.
Translated by : Malabika Ray Choudhury
"Rabbir hamhuma kama Rabbayani Sagheera."
("My Lord, have mercy upon my parents as they brought me up when I was small.")
.
In every tongue of every land, in every syllable ever uttered
resides one pure word: Mother.
A face adorned like a flower in full bloom,
a grace radiant as the full moon’s glow, balanced in magical light.
Mother, the name of love that stretches across the cosmos,
the glory of earthly immortality.
She is a realm within my bones,
When I was lost in the depths of a storm-dark night,
She was the light that showed me the way.
Mother. Mother, and mother again.
Every word, every verse, every breath is mother.
I found Allah in her eyes.
I discovered the universe in her love.
She nourished me, nurtured me,
like a gem too sacred to be bought or sold.
She taught me how to live
to cherish joy, to treasure kinship.
She taught me to resist the pull of vengeance,
to confront arrogance with friendship.
She even taught me to love those who hated me.
Such splendid strength, such mystic power lives within her.
It gave me the will to carry on,
to cross the ocean of sorrow by the force of her love.
When I bow in prayer, I still hear you whisper,
"Well done, my son, live with the fear of Allah."
Mother, a word full of miracles, beyond definition.
You taught me to rise to the sky,
yet keep my eyes on the earth.
I miss you most when night falls,
In the silence, your light still brightens my thoughts.
Mother, a star in the sky of my compassion.
Her radiant eyes kept watch over me.
I never believed in eternity without her.
But she left me…
Now I am alone!
A lifeless stone among the living.
Mother, that glorious, exalted name,
I have lost that name today.
I am left with only the ache of her absence.
No connection remains,
except the haunting presence of mortality,
whispering that I may only meet her soul beyond this world.
And so today,
I lift my hands to the Creator
and pray for her peace
just as she once raised hers
to protect me in her arms.
Bengali women squatting
Pitchers, bangles,gossips
The river Barak indifferent
X-A-Pacx
Smell power of aid
We dance through a complex enough circle, winning and losing.
Acid smell, magnesium burnin' rubber, i-see
Livin' rock n'roll, livin' dance puppet
BMW force and lineage, Merc all-around maker.
Holiday-Inn. Drive?
Bengali tiger on the loose, strap on that rope.
Sure I can, yes that's right I can.
War for the language
Red in green flag on the sky
Born there a nation
© Mahtab Bangalee
09 February, 2022
Chattogram
My sizzling heart failing around the clock
No light colliding with the dark to spark
But essence dying passively through the dim
Dream's wall burning by the fire of terror
In a second, a sharp arrow infiltrates the soul
And silently overflowing blood around its artery.
Nothing emerged than an insane time,
Everything not set as materialised
There are volatile inheritance bloodstreams
Follows to end up with a quiet destination.
What a life ushers for nought...
No, no satiety to purify the lure in life.
Look at the moon shaded by a cloud
A hard rocky cloud
Cosmos horizon...
Never has it appeared over the sky
Even ancient times have yet to happen.
A silent mourning overthrows the time
A path continues to the graveyard
And I found a frosted body lying
cuddled with dreams.
A scamp life left behind the snag...
A presence of fervent destiny, a final milestone!