Prem / Romance and Vichitra / Intrigue
The next two Tagore songs have a very special place in this author's teenage memory. After my brother and I had relocated to Kolkata (1968) from Allahabad following a crushing family tragedy, the Ultra radio set found a new place on a wall shelf in my Father's room inside my grandparents' house. I recall sleeping every so often on a twin bed next to the farthest wall from the overhanging veranda, and directly across from the shelf with the radio. I will never forget the ethereal mornings I would be awakened before 7 am by a variety of early morning programs on All India radio (AIR), Calcutta. Those culturally deep and vibrant programs have become permanently etched in my memory, and I will write more on them in a different forum. But let me point out that the two Tagore numbers which follow were among several sung by HM which brought out the glorious radiance of dawn via Tagore's immortal words- creating an almost other-worldly joy, marveling at the joy permeating the human soul every time a brand new day is gifted to us via sunrise, birdcalls and myriad sights and sounds of the living world. I feel eternally grateful that dousing my spirit in these songs each morning was my very own special treat in the growing years, and that the treat was offered by Tagore via the divine voice of HM. Eons from now, in any other incarnation, I would forever wish to be awakened by these songs, performed by none other than Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. With Rabindranath Tagore, he made me feel irretrievably proud to have inherited even a small part of this renaissance.
Sweet and Somber
the Beckoning (Dhwanilo Aobhano Modhuro Gombhiro)
Translation  © Monish R Chatterjee 2020
When
your melody awakens me from slumber
My slumber feels touched by the
deepest love.
That
slumber is on the obverse of my wakefulness, may she ever
Receive your
dream-like touch.
Unfathomably
deep its hunger, secret its hankering for sweet daylight
Dwells upon the expanse of my night,
and yet beloved it is
Of your
morn.
For
her the sky turns scarlet in the darkness-dispelling blush of dawn
It is for her the songbirds carry alaap tunes of hope
Then
your quiet, inaudible footsteps play for her the tunes of agamani
She is the bud of eventide, pluck
her at daybreak.
alaap - a
segment near the beginning a classical Indian vocal or instrumental rendition which sets the tone for
the ensuing raga or melodic theme.
agamani - a genre of Bengali devotional songs
based on folk traditions which re-tells the story of the goddess
Durga arriving home from her celestial abode to be with her human family.
YouTube URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02gBRlW8xLk
And along with several others, here was another morning song which filled my entire day with gladness.
Awaken Amid
Renewed Bliss (Naba Anonde Jago Aji)
Translation  © Monish R Chatterjee 2020
Awaken, today, amid renewed bliss, awaken to the
radiant sunbeams
Awaken to pure beauty, grace and goodwill, awaken
to an immaculate life.
May a new wellspring gush out of life, and songs of
ecstatic hope fill the air
May the gentle breeze carry this day the ambrosial
fragrance of heavenly blossoms.
YouTube URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJfLMEzVPow
The two songs which follow are also from my early years in Kolkata. These ethereal creations penetrate deep into the very core of our conscience- the uplifting quality and the sheer ecstatic humanity of these cannot be expressed in words, much less in the hugely approximate English renditions of the divine originals. The first of these has a personal anecdotal history which appeared in my collection, Seasons of Life. Here briefly is that anecdote. This translator recalls singing this song once before an audience at the Indian Institute of Technology; a while later, one of his batchmates from outside Bengal spoke to him and confessed how much the words and emotions expressed by Tagore in this song had moved him deeply.
My Friend,
Beloved of My Heart (Shudhu Tomar Bani)
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