The name of Tagore has been with me ever since I began learning the alphabet. I owe this to my kindergarten school, Gurudev Rabindranath Vidyalaya in Nashik. My parents chose this one not for its name but for its proximity to our home. As I grew older, however, Rabindranath Tagore became an intriguing figure who captivated my imagination.
Last year, during the Blogchatter retreat, I had the opportunity to delve deeper into Tagore’s life and times. Kolkata and the timeless figure of the sage from Thakurbari have remained in my thoughts ever since my brief visit to the City of Joy. His poetry evokes a wealth of emotions. A few years ago, I attempted to translate one of his gems, “Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo,” into Marathi. While many others have translated it into Marathi and various languages, the pull to convey the feelings it stirs within me was irresistible.
Tagore’s Unending Love
Another of Tagore’s works that haunts me is অনন্ত প্রেম/Anonto Prem (Unending Love). First published in 1890 as part of the collection Manasi, this poem’s profound emotional depth is breathtaking. Tagore was only 29 when this collection was released. e must have been even younger when he wrote it. Like many of his other poems, it has been translated into numerous languages.
William Radice, an English poet stayed with Taagore and dedicated decades to understanding him and his literature. He has translated this particular piece into English. With each masterpiece I encounter, the urge to learn Bengali grows stronger. Reading them in translation simply doesn’t do justice to the original beauty. And yet, I’ve used Radice’s English translation as a reference to try capturing the emotions of Anonto Prem in Marathi. I hope I’ve done this beautiful work some measure of justice.
अनंत प्रेम – आदित्य साठे
मी प्रेम केलं तुझ्यावर,
अनंत वेळा आणि अनंत रूपात.
जीवनभर आणि त्यानंतरही, युगानुयुगे, कायमच.
पुनःपुन्हा गुंफल्या कवितांच्या माळा,
माझ्या संमोहित मनाने तुझ्यासाठी,
ज्या शोभून दिसल्या विविध रूपात,
जेव्हा माळल्यास त्या तुझ्या गळ्यात.
जीवनभर आणि त्यानंतरही, युगानुयुगे, कायमच.
जेव्हाही कानी पडतात प्रेमाच्या परिकथा,
जाणवतात त्यातील चिरपरिचित जुनी दुःख,
त्याच युगानुयुगांच्या विराहाच्या कहाण्या.
एकदा असंच बघत होतो टक लावून,
भूतकाळाच्या अनंतात,
अन् सामोरी आलीस तू
ध्रुवताऱ्याचा प्रकाश ल्यालेली, चिरत काळाचा अंधार,
तुझी हीच छबी राहणार स्मरणात, कायमच.
आलोत आज आपण इथवर,
अशा निर्मळ प्रवाहातून वाहत.
ज्याच्या उगमशी आहे आपले प्रेम,
काळाच्याही हृदयातून उमलणारे.
अनुभवला आहे आपण एकच भाव,
करोडो प्रेमी जीवांसोबतच्या या प्रवासात.
भेटीतील आरक्त लज्जा, विराहतील तेच कातर अश्रु,
प्रेम जुनेच, पण नवनव्या रूपात, कायमच.
आणि आज, आज तेच अनंत प्रेम तुझ्या चरणी लीन आहे,
शेवटच्या मुक्कामी येऊन.
प्रेम, पूर्वजांचे आणि येणाऱ्या जीवांचेही.
वैश्विक सुख, वैश्विक दुःख आणि वैश्विक जीवन.
विश्वातील सारे प्रेम येऊन मिळते आपल्या प्रेमात.
आणि उमलते प्रत्येक कवीची कविता, कायमच…
Unending Love – William Radice
I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times…
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, its age-old pain,
Its ancient tale of being apart or together.
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge,
Clad in the light of a pole-star piercing the darkness of time:
You become an image of what is remembered forever.
You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount.
At the heart of time, love of one for another.
We have played alongside millions of lovers, shared in the same
Shy sweetness of meeting, the same distressful tears of farewell-
Old love but in shapes that renew and renew forever.
Today it is heaped at your feet, it has found its end in you
The love of all man’s days both past and forever:
Universal joy, universal sorrow, universal life.
The memories of all loves merging with this one love of ours –
And the songs of every poet past and forever.
This post is a part of ‘Embrace the Native Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters.
Along with that, this blog post is also a part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
