Distant Time by Rabindranath Tagore
thou art ever coming nearer to meet me. Thy sun and stars can never keep thee hidden from me for aye. In many a morning and eve thy footsteps have been heard and thy messenger has come within my heart and called me in secret. I know not only why today my life is all […]
Defamation by Rabindranath Tagore
How horrid of them to be always scolding you for nothing! You have stained your fingers and face with ink while writing- is that why they call you dirty? O, fie! Would they dare to call the full moon dirty because it has smudged its face with ink? For every little trifle they blame you, […]
Colored Toys by Rabindranath Tagore
I understand why there is such a play of colors on clouds, on water, and why flowers are painted in tints —when I give colored toys to you, my child. When I sing to make you dance I truly now why there is music in leaves, and why waves send their chorus of voices to […]
Closed Path by Rabindranath Tagore
at the last limit of my power,—that the path before me was closed, that provisions were exhausted and the time come to take shelter in a silent obscurity. But I find that thy will knows no end in me. And when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; […]
Chain Of Pearls by Rabindranath Tagore
with my tears of sorrow. The stars have wrought their anklets of light to deck thy feet, but mine will hang upon thy breast. Wealth and fame come from thee and it is for thee to give or to withhold them. But this my sorrow is absolutely mine own, and when I bring it to […]
Brink Of Eternity by Rabindranath Tagore
in all the corners of my room; I find her not. My house is small and what once has gone from it can never be regained. But infinite is thy mansion, my lord, and seeking her I have to come to thy door. I stand under the golden canopy of thine evening sky and I […]
Benediction by Rabindranath Tagore
heaven for our earth. He loves the light of the sun, he loves the sight of his mother’s face. He has not learned to despise the dust, and to hanker after gold. Clasp him to your heart and bless him. He has come into this land of an hundred cross-roads. I know not how he […]
Beggarly Heart by Rabindranath Tagore
come upon me with a shower of mercy. When grace is lost from life, come with a burst of song. When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides shutting me out from beyond, come to me, my lord of silence, with thy peace and rest. When my beggarly heart sits crouched, shut up in […]
Baby’s World by Rabindranath Tagore
own world. I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows. Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with trays […]
Baby’s Way by Rabindranath Tagore
It is not for nothing that he does not leave us. He loves to rest his head on mother’s bosom, and cannot ever bear to lose sight of her. Baby know all manner of wise words, though few on earth can understand their meaning. It is not for nothing that he never wants to speak. […]
Authorship by Rabindranath Tagore
understand. He was reading to you all the evening, but could you really make out what he meant? What nice stores, mother, you can tell us! Why can’t father write like that, I wonder? Did he never hear from his own mother stories of giants and fairies and princesses? Has he forgotten them all? Often […]
A Moments Indulgence by Rabindranath Tagore
that I have in hand I will finish afterwards. Away from the sight of thy face my heart knows no rest nor respite, and my work becomes an endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil. Today the summer has come at my window with its sighs and murmurs; and the bees are plying their […]
Who Is This? by Rabindranath Tagore
But who is this that follows me in the silent dark? I move aside to avoid his presence but I escape him not. He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger; he adds his loud voice to every word that I utter. He is my own little self, my lord, he knows […]
Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore
Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where […]
When The Two Sisters Go To Fetch Water by Rabindranath Tagore
They must be aware of somebody who stands behind the trees whenever they go to fetch water. The two sisters whisper to each other when they pass this spot. They must have guessed the secret of that somebody who stands behind the trees whenever they go to fetch water. Their pitchers lurch suddenly, and water […]
When I Go Alone At Night by Rabindranath Tagore
It is my own anklets that grow loud at every step and I am ashamed. When I sit on my balcony and listen for his footsteps, leaves do not rustle on the trees, and the water is still in the river like the sword on the knees of a sentry fallen asleep. It is my […]
When I Go Alone At Night by Rabindranath Tagore
It is my own anklets that grow loud at every step and I am ashamed. When I sit on my balcony and listen for his footsteps, leaves do not rustle on the trees, and the water is still in the river like the sword on the knees of a sentry fallen asleep. It is my […]
We Are To Play The Game Of Death by Rabindranath Tagore
The night is black, the clouds in the sky are capricious, and the waves are raving at sea. We have left our bed of dreams, flung open the door and come out, my bride and I. We sit upon a swing, and the storm winds give us a wild push from behind. My bride starts […]
We Are To Play The Game Of Death by Rabindranath Tagore
The night is black, the clouds in the sky are capricious, and the waves are raving at sea. We have left our bed of dreams, flung open the door and come out, my bride and I. We sit upon a swing, and the storm winds give us a wild push from behind. My bride starts […]
Waiting by Rabindranath Tagore
remains unsung to this day. I have spent my days in stringing and in unstringing my instrument. The time has not come true, the words have not been rightly set; only there is the agony of wishing in my heart….. I have not seen his face, nor have I listened to his voice; only I […]
Waiting For The Beloved — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
You have chosen this stormy night The sky is hopelessly crying I have no sleep in my eyes Opening my door Again and again I am looking outside I see nothing My mind is full of worries Where runs your way Is it along the bank of the river Or along the verge of the […]
Tumi Sandhyar Meghamala – You Are A Cluster Of Clouds – Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
I have sought only you all my life It is you who fills my empty sky I have made you with the sweet fancies of my mind You are mine, you are mine O you wanderer of my boundless sky. With the blood of my heart I have beautified your feet My evening dreams are […]
This Dog by Rabindranath Tagore
প্রত্যহ প্রভাতকালে ভক্ত এ কুকুর স্তব্ধ হয়ে বসে থাকে আসনের কাছে যতক্ষণে সঙ্গ তার না করি স্বীকার করস্পর্শ দিয়ে । এটুকু স্বীকৃতি লাভ করি সর্বাঙ্গে তরঙ্গি উঠে আনন্দপ্রবাহ । বাক্যহীন প্রাণীলোক-মাঝে এই জীব শুধু ভালো মন্দ সব ভেদ করি দেখেছে সম্পূর্ণ মানুষেরে ; দেখেছে আনন্দে যারে প্রাণ দেওয়া যায় যারে ঢেলে দেওয়া যায় অহেতুক প্রেম […]
The Tame Bird Was In A Cage by Rabindranath Tagore
They met when the time came, it was a decree of fate. The free bird cries, “O my love, let us fly to the wood.” The cage bird whispers, “Come hither, let us both live in the cage.” Says the free bird, “Among bars, where is there room to spread one’s wings?” “Alas,” cries the […]
The Sun Of The First Day by Rabindranath Tagore
Put the question To the new manifestation of life- Who are you? There was no answer. Years passed by. The last sun of the last day Uttered the question on the shore of the western sea In the hush of evening- Who are you? No answer came again. ————— The End And that’s the End […]
The Portrait — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
Drawn on a canvas? Those distant galaxies Which crowd the skies And travel day and night Through darkness with their candles The planets, the sun and the stars Aren’t you real like them O you portrait Are you a mere portrait? Here everything moves In its midst Why do you stand still? Join those who […]
The Music Of The Rains – English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
When it rains in pattering sounds I cannot tell how I feel So bewildered is my mind. It seems as if someone has left After calling and calling And knocking at my door at night When in rainy days It rains in pattering sounds. Be kind to me, my love and light up my heart […]
The Merchant by Rabindranath Tagore
into strange lands. Imagine that my boat is ready at the landing fully laden. Now think well, mother, before you say what I shall bring for you when I come back. Mother, do you want heaps and heaps of gold? There, by the banks of golden streams, fields are full of golden harvest. And in […]
The Lost Star — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
In the vast blue sky All the stars began to shine. In the milky way With this new world in their front All the gods sat in rows and began to sing, ‘O what joy! What perfection! A great piece of music, in perfect rhythm – These planets, this moon and this sun!’ But someone […]
The Last Bargain by Rabindranath Tagore
Sword in hand, the King came in his chariot. He held my hand and said, “I will hire you with my power.” But his power counted for nought, and he went away in his chariot. In the heat of the midday the houses stood with shut doors. I wandered along the crooked lane. An old […]
The Kiss by Rabindranath Tagore
Two drinking each other’s heart, it seems. Two roving loves who have left home, pilgrims to the confluence of lips. Two waves rise by the law of love to break and die on two sets of lips. Two wild desires craving each other meet at last at the body’s limits. Love’s writing a song in […]
The Kiss — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
Seem to whisper into each other’s ears They seem to suck each other’s heart Two loves Leaving their homes For an unknown land Seem to have met At the confluence of their lips Two waves Rising in the tides of love Break and meet At the beach of lips Two passions Asking each other Have […]
The Home by Rabindranath Tagore
hiding its last gold like a miser. The daylight sank deeper and deeper into the darkness, and the widowed land, whose harvest had been reaped, lay silent. Suddenly a boy’s shrill voice rose into the sky. He traversed the dark unseen, leaving the track of his song across the hush of the evening. His village […]
The Hero — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
I was travelling with my mother In a foreign land And going to a far away place. Mother, you were in a palanquin With its doors slightly ajar And I was cantering along On a chestnut horse Raising clouds of dust. When in the west the sun set And it was evening It seemed we […]
The Golden Boat by Rabindranath Tagore
I sit on the river bank, sad and alone. The sheaves lie gathered, harvest has ended, The river is swollen and fierce in its flow. As we cut the paddy it started to rain. One small paddy-field, no one but me – Flood-waters twisting and swirling everywhere. Trees on the far bank; smear shadows like […]
The Gardener XXVII: Trust Love by Rabindranath Tagore
Do not close up your heart.” “Ah no, my friend, your words are dark, I cannot understand them.” “Pleasure is frail like a dewdrop, while it laughs it dies. But sorrow is strong and abiding. Let sorrowful love wake in your eyes.” “Ah no, my friend, your words are dark, I cannot understand them.” “The […]
The Gardener XXVI: What Comes From Your Willing Hands by Rabindranath Tagore
hands I take. I beg for nothing more.” “Yes, yes, I know you, modest mendicant, you ask for all that one has.” “If there be a stray flower for me I will wear it in my heart.” “But if there be thorns?” “I will endure them.” “Yes, yes, I know you, modest mendicant, you ask […]
The Gardener XXIX: Speak To Me My Love by Rabindranath Tagore
words what you sang. The night is dark. The stars are lost in clouds. The wind is sighing through the leaves. I will let loose my hair. My blue cloak will cling round me like night. I will clasp your head to my bosom; and there in the sweet loneliness murmur on your heart. I […]
The Gardener XI: Come As You Are by Rabindranath Tagore
your toilet. If your braided hair has loosened if the parting of your hair be not straight, if the ribbons of your bodice be not fastened, do not mind. Come as you are; do not loiter over your toilet. Come, with quick steps over the grass. If the raddle come from your feet because of […]
The Gardener LXXIX: I Often Wonder by Rabindranath Tagore
the boundaries of recognition between man and the beast whose heart knows no spoken language. Through what primal paradise in a remote morning of creation ran the simple path by which their hearts visited each other. Those marks of their constant tread have not been effaced though their kinship has been long forgotten. Yet suddenly […]