365 Writing Prompts: As seen on T.V.

Write a script for a late night infomercial— where the product is your blog. How do you market yourself? What qualities do you embody that other “Products” don’t? What are the benefits of reading your blog?

I started blogging a little over two years ago, at first it was something new I was not so sure how I could keep writing. Then one day I got a suggestion from a friend, “why don’t you translate Tagore’s work,”he  said.

What a great idea I thought, I leafed through the pages of Tagore’s collection of poems book. He wrote about nature, humans, animals, love and many more, then I found his song lyrics which were out of this world.

I thought surely the bloggers have heard about Tagore and also know he was a “Nobel” prize winner in literature. Who wouldn’t be interested to read the translations of his work.

If you think it’s a good idea to pick up a few words of Tagore’s language, visit my blog I have translated many of the great one’s work.

It’s not only Tagore’s work, I have also written mouth watering recipes , I’m certain you’d be delighted to try.

For your pleasure I have written some interesting facts about some of the cities in the Indian sub-continent.

You’ll also find some poems I have written, they cannot compare with any of the great poets, they will encourage you to write your own. Won’t that be impressive?

Take a walk to ‘Sabethville,’ where you’ll find all that and more!

Permalink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/365-writing-pr…as-seen-on-t-v

Daily Post: Pride

English: WORD URDU, WRITTEN IN URDU SCRIPT IN NASTALEEQ FONTS (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have to think way back.  I was getting ready for my degree exam. I was known by everyone including my mother,I was one of those students who would do anything but study for an exam. When I give that kind of impression to my dear and near ones,it is hard to energize myself to study. I wasn’t too confident of passing the exam myself either.I went about quietly trying to remember the things I had studied. I was good in History and knew it well.Unlucky for me the question  I was sure will be in the exam,was missing. I answered all the questions.The next was English literature.I found it okay.Economics, however was tricky,but I knew the answers. The one I was most worried about was Urdu literature.I did not have a good back ground,amazingly enough I was able to answer the questions.My Mom was sure I will fail the course. When she heard I passed,she could not stop crying. Now she can tell all the doubters I was successful.She held me in her arms and said,”I have no words to tell you how proud I am,God bless you.”

Weekly Writing Challenge All About Me

I chose this because I thought,it would be fun writing about me. I am the main character.I did not have the privilege of doing this before.I told myself I don’t know much about me.Maybe the readers and I will know  me from this piece of writing.

I am the seventh child of my parents.I went to school at an early age.My Dad thought I was too talkative.School will be the only place where it can be fixed. So I started school,if my home work was not done,I played sick or too cold.My dad did not have any issues. Who knows what he thought.My big sister did not leave me alone. After passing the hurdle of school, I was faced with a new animal called college. I zipped through it and reached the grown up stage. I started university,suddenly I realized I have to be serious,this is no joke.Now that I am here I should make the non-believers take me as a serious student.I am not just going to squeak by,but make some noise while passing through. I did make some noise,it was not loud enough for my friends or folks to take notice.I completed my university degrees comfortably.

With not much to do I decided to apply for a scholarship to do B.Ed.Fortunately I was successful.It took a year to complete it.I took a job in a local school,taught for eleven months.I was advised to look for a job in the big city. I got the job.I was told I should stay single for seven years.Well I gave up the job after two years.Once again I tried my luck to go to England ,I applied for a scholarship and God was kind once more. I completed the hurdle of school.

A real change came into my life when I got married.I moved to Montreal,Canada. Within a year My husband and I moved to Gander,Newfoundland. I taught in an elementary school.I taught some amazing kids.

Gander is a place where the winter is long and cold.We had a lot of snow.Sometimes the snow would change into rain,melt some of the snow and the ground would freeze. I used to be scared of the ice and dreaded going to school.I had a very considerate young child in my class,he waited for me everyday to help me walk on the ice.He was always there,in fact he came early.His name was Ross Piercy.I don’t know where he is now,I hope I could tell him now, what a great kid he was!

Unattainable Birth

Rabindranath Tagore,has written a lot of poems,songs,prose, we Bengalis are fortunate to have a person like him. He has left us many years ago,we still remember him and adore him. The poem I am about to translate is my favourite.

“Unattainable Birth”

One day this meeting will come to an end,

My eyes will close for the last time.

The night will end and daylight will begin,

The awakened world will be followed by morning.

The business of the world will continue,

mankind will be spending their time with mirth and sorrow.

I remember all this while I look at the sky

I am watching all this eagerly.

Whatever I see nothing seems worthless,

Today I think everything that I see is unattainable.

Even the worst place on this earth seems hard to get,

The world’s most unsuccessful life is unattainable.

What I didn’t get can remain what I did get that too,

still give  me what I thought was worthless.

Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize for literature. It is the first Nobel prize won by Asia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rabindranath Tagore

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)

English: Rabindranath Tagore Русский: Рабиндранат Тагор (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Rabindranath Tagore Русский: Тагор, Рабиндранат (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In his lifetime Tagore wrote in all sorts of literary forms. Despite that, the name of poet stuck to him. He was called viswa-kabi(the universal poet) by his own people. He was certainly one who wrote variety of poems.When one surveys his poems, one could exclaim as Dryden did about Chaucer,’Here is God’s plenty.’He began writing poems at a tender age. It is said that when he lay dying,poems kept coming to him. Although he was incapable of writing himself,he dictated the poems,he checked them to be sure they were formed perfectly.

I have read many poems of Tagore.I never thought of translating them.To me they were there to read and enjoy.The feeling that I should translate them to show the beauty of his work,came to me only lately.In English there are limited words one can use to translate Bengali prose,poetry or songs. I am aware,my translation will fail to catch the depth of Tagore’s poetry. I have finally found a poem,Tagore wrote,The title is “To Remember”.

“To Remember”

I do not have any recollection of my mother.

Only when I go out to play suddenly without any reason

A kind of tune keeps ringing in my ears,

as if the sound mixes with my mother’s words in the middle of my game.

Did my mother sing while rocking my swing–.

My mother has gone but, as she was going she left the song.

I do not have any recollection of my mother;

Only in September, early in the morning in the garden of the white flowers,

the wind spreads the smell of the flowers wet with dew;

Why then does my mothers words,echo in my mind;

perhaps when my mother carried the decorated basket of flowers—-

The smell of Pooja transformed into my mother’s smell and came to me.

I do not have any recollection of my mother;

Only when I sit in the corner of my bedroom;

I look far-away at the blue sky from my window—

All of a sudden I feel my mother is looking at me very intently;

She used to have me in her lap and look at me,

that is the look she left all over the sky as a reminder for me.

I have tried to translate the Bengali poem written by Tagore into English. I hope it is okay!

Ranu

An example of handwritten Bengali script. Part of a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1926 in Hungary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize for literature. It is the first Nobel prize won by Asia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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