Another Mom by Tagore , Translation by Ranu

English: Sarada Devi, mother of Rabindranath Tagore Русский: Шарода Деби (Шарада Деви), мать Рабиндраната Тагора Українська: Шарода Дебі (Шарада Деві), мати Рабіндраната Тагора (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If you were someone else’s Mom and not mine__
Do you think I would not have known you, and would not have gone to sit in your lap?
It would be so much fun__
We would have two homes ,
I would live in this village and you would live in the far off village.
This is where during the day
I would do everything and play,
at the end of the day I would go to you on the boat.
suddenly I would come from behind
I would ask ,’can you tell who it is.’
You would think, sounds familiar still I don’t know who.
Then I would jump into your lap
I would hug you and say,
‘You have to recognize me, I am your Obu.’
When you would go to the other side to get water
I would be on this side wondering if you can guess who it is.
I would take my paper boat
I would float it towards you,
If it would reach to your side would you know who it belongs to?
I did not learn to swim,
or else I would have gone myself___
I would swim from my side Mother, to your side.
Mother’s side Obu’s side
that would be the difference, none of us
would be able to catch each other, we would not stay together.
We would be roaming around all day
we would see each other far away,
in the early evening Obu and Mother will be reunited.
But suddenly one day if Bipin the boatman
could not take you back to the other side, would you Ma,agree to stay?
I would light the earthen lamp
I would put the mat on the floor of the rooftop
You would sit on the mat and the old maid would sit near your feet___
the stars of the seven brothers would be seen in the sky,
the fox would be making its loud call from the paddy field,
Like flying shadows the bats would be flying into the unknown.
Then Mother realizing it is late,
would you not be afraid at intervals thinking about Obu,
You would have to cross over to the place where Obu is.
Then would you be free,
would I let you go back____
Mother would be caught from her side and brought back to Obu’s side.
Dear Ranu,
What a lovely poem about a mother, expressing the subtlety and nuances of parent and child.
Thank you for this!
All good wishes,
robert
Thank you ,I just finished typing it.You are quick,I loved the poem.I am happy to know
you like it too.
Dear Ranu,
Yes, I find it very nice that we can connect quite rapidly because of technology. You and there, and I am here. We are geographically far away from one another. Yet our connection, because of the blessing of technology and the internet, is that we can be in almost instantaneous connection. I see this connection as contingent upon a greater connection, already existing.
All good wishes,
robert
I agree with you one hundred percent.Thank you.
I loved this one, the feelings and the thoughts are fused to well that both of them flow in a single stream of emotional alcove. The subtlety and the delicacy of the ideas produce a profound impact that is as touching and beautiful as is the relationship. Thank you for the this and I know to bring this lovely piece to look what it looks, lot of effort was put in and it really shows up in the outcome.
Thank you,actually I was bored.I did not have much to do.I opened the one and only
book I have.I started looking for a poem.When I read it I felt the mother and son
relationship sounded so sweet.I thought this might be a good one to translate.
So far the most difficult one was,’Insult’.This one comparatively was easier and
this one as a poem felt much calmer. Once in a while poems like this,soothes the mind.
I let my daughter Selina read it.I wanted to know what she thought of it,she said she likes it.
I was surprised when she told me to read the poem in Bengali.She seems to understand more
than I thought she would.I was pleasantly surprised.
Many thanks for your comment.
Regards,
Chaman
This is so nice. Thanks for sharing this. And I also agree with Robert’s and Akhtar Sahib’s comments 🙂
Hi,Bhaiyya,I thought you were still immersed in 007.The movie is going
to be released on the sixth or seventh November in Canada .Selina wanted me to watch it.
I declined I really don’t find all the noise and other things good for my
system.
Thank you for taking the time to read the translation.I guess you’re
trying to find out if the Iqbal studies or the facilitator of the course has been
successful in improving my comprehension. Just kidding,Mr. Shafique.
This is just perfectly beautiful~
Thanks,Cindy.