365 days Writing Prompt: Say your Name

Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

My first name is CHAMAN,  I am not named after someone but am named after something, the thing is a Garden.I presume my father was delighted to have a second daughter after double the number of sons, he I think consulted his dear friend, who was an artist and loved reading about names,my father went to him at the most opportune time, he was reading about names for girls and how they affect their personality. 

“Eureka I have found a name for your daughter, he said, name her Chaman, it sounds beautiful and it means a garden, how can you go wrong with this name.”

My father rushed home, told my mother he’s found the best name, “it is Chaman, don’t you hear the rhythm of this name, it’s settled we’ll name her Chaman?” Then this excitement brought on other stories of the name, Urdu poets have written volumes of poetry centred around this exquisite name.

Chaman grew up to be a very inquisitive little girl, you could not tell her anything without answering her ‘Why’ questions that followed, her eldest brother tried to stop her by saying, “You know curiosity killed a cat, ‘how’ was her query. Elder brother gave up and felt with time this habit will no longer persist.

I love my name I’ll never think of changing it even if I had a choice. Would you change yours if there were so many magical stories attached to it?

 https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/365-days-writing-prompt/

Fire of Music by Tagore Sung by Pratima Mukhopadhay Translated by Ranu

You have attached the fire of

Music in my heart

This fire has spread everywhere

Everywhere everywhere

On all  the branches of dead trees

This fire is dancing

At the beat of this music

To whom in the sky

Is it extending its hands

You have attached the fire of

Music in my heart

The stars in the dark sky

Are struck with wonder

What kind of crazy wind is blowing

On a clear midnight sky

What suddenly blossomed

The golden lotus has blossomed

Who knows what kind of

Charm the fire has

You have attached the fire of

Music in my heart!

 

 

 

Nazrulgeeti by Rafi Post and Bangla translation by Ranu

Mohammed Rafi

Mohammed Rafi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Untie your hair my dear,

this is where my heart is captured.

Your charming hair with

its metallic ribbon

has made my blind love helpless.

When the scent of your hair

enticed humans to come secretly

you fainted and collapsed on the hand

and locked up on the arm.

You kept the heart,

attached to those earrings,

turned away your eyes,

and let me steal.

You  came for a stroll,

in the confines of the body,

and never went back.

Untie your hair,

this is where my heart is captured.

This is a song written by Kazi Nazrul Islam. He used Bengali and Urdu in the lyrics. I didn’t know he could be so funny. I tried my best to translate this . It may not sound funny in English,but I laughed a lot while I was translating it.