Category: ललित

  • Tagore’s Unending Love – I tried translating into Marathi

    Tagore’s Unending Love – I tried translating into Marathi

    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.

  • Hello, 2025! I am sure you will be good.

    Hello, 2025! I am sure you will be good.

    It’s already the 20th day of the first month when I am writing this one. The days are zooming fast with a lot of things happening around and with me. Before we started 2025, in one of the twitter threads during ’24 wrap up, I mentioned a few of my goals in it. Some of them are personal. Some are professional stuff. I think when I start the blogging journey of 2025, it will be good to expand on them a bit here.

    When I look back at 2024, it has been a mixed bag of joy and sadness, achievements and failures. Some things worked out well, some failed miserably. I know this is what life is, and yet, all of us feel those strong emotions of happiness, sorrow and anger when things go either way! This is what #BeingHuman is, I guess!

    Hey 2025, Let’s do this!

    Coming back to 2025, and what I want to get done in this year. I guess now I have moved on from the resolution phase. Resolutions put too much pressure on me. I feel goals are more accessible, achievable and manageable. You can take a review of your progress, alter your course, and reach the goal. However, in resolution, if it breaks, there’s no turning back.

    So, there are some goals I set for 2025.

    Top post on Blogchatter

    Personally, I want…

    1. Thankfully 2024 didn’t throw any tantrums regarding health issues neither physical nor mental. I expect the same from ’25. In this year, I would like to be more mindful about my health, both mental and physical. So, I will try to build healthy habits.

    2025 year of self care

    2. All of you who have been supporting and showering me with your love support for this blog are aware about my love for the books. I am a bibliophile through and through. Books are one thing which gives me a lot of joy and peace. I read or listened to 50 books in 2024.

    For this year, I am making one book per week. So, 52 for the ’25.

    3. Blogchatter retreats were highlights for the past couple of years. Varanasi and Kolkata have given me a lot in terms of creativity. I would like to travel more in the coming year. I would like to have some more short trips to get more vitamin sea other than the upcoming #BlogchatterRetreat!

    Seeing more sea in 2025

    Professionally, I want…

    1. I am a professional mapmaker. So when I think about my professional goals, in 2025, I would like to be more creative when I make those maps. I want to make them easier to understand, attractive and interactive using new technologies.

    learning new mapping tech in 2025

    2. 2020 was also the youtube year for many creators including me. I could gain more than 100 followers by uploading videos consistently for 4 months and then momentum just crashed. I wish to take it up again in 2025, with renewed light and may be renewed content.

    Maybe, I will bring in some bookish content to Adi’s Journal YT.

    3. I have been writing poetry for more than a decade. I have my first poetry collection published in 2021. Now, I want to put my first paperback book out for the world to read. Not sure if it’s going to be published by a publisher or by myself. But I want it to take shape this year!

    First paperback?

    Have you guys set any such goals for you? Share them in the comments. Let’s keep motivating each other.


    To read more of my writing, feel free to browse other pages of Adi’s Journal.

  • Sorrow – One Very Powerful Emotion

    Sorrow – One Very Powerful Emotion

    दुःख, भावना तशी अतिशय प्रभावशाली.
    कधी स्वतः अनुभवलेली, कधी सभोवताली बघितलेली.
    क्वचित पूर्ण गुरफटून टाकणारी, तर केव्हा अगदी नमुन्याला गोळा केलेली.
    अनेक दुःखे हाताशी घेऊन आम्ही कवी,
    गुंफतो कधी शब्द काही.
    ते कागदावर उतरतात तेव्हा लेखणीतून उतरत नाही शाई,
    उतरतात ते अश्रू, ओढून दुःखाची चादर काळी.
    आजही, कढ अगदी दाटून आलाय,
    बहुदा दुःख उतू जाणार थोडी.
    कदाचित, आज कविता घडेल थोडी…

    आदित्य साठे

    No, not all poets are sad

    I have a very very strong objection when poets are labeled as “दुखी आत्मा”. No, not all poets are sad, at least not always when poetry happens. Sorrow is a strong emotion which impacts our mind. There’s no doubt about it. However, poetry is written, it’s not always from personal experience.

    Poets have a gift of living someone else’s life through empathy, shared emotions and understanding, which are not limited to sorrow. We also feel the happiness of other people with equal connection. We can feel what others are going through. I wrote this piece when almost everyone in a group was saying good poetry can never happen without being heartbroken or being sad.

    Hindi Translation

    दुख, वैसे तो बहोत प्रभावशाली भावना।
    कभी खुद का अनुभव, तो फिर कभी कही देखा हुवा।
    शायद पूरी तरह से गिरफ्त में लेती हुई, या कई बार, बस छू कर जाने वाली।
    वैसे हम कवि लोग, अनगिनत दुख अपने बस्ते में लेके घूमते है,
    कही किसी दिन लिख देते है कुछ शब्द।
    जब वो कागज पे उतरते है तो स्याही नही,
    आसू उतरते है, दुख की काली चादर लपेटे हुए।
    आज भी, कूछ ज्यादा ही गहरा हो गया है,
    शायद दुख उबल कर बह जाएगा।
    शायद, आज थोड़ी कविता होगी…


    आदित्य साठे

    This is as good as accusing every poet of being in multiple relationships at same time, being famous for leaving a long trail of broken hearts behind him/her. Being heartbroken might trigger something and lead to the creation of a poem, but you have to be a poet to keep writing poems. Heartbreak and sorrow can’t keep your creative juices flowing. One has to keep empathetically observing. 

    So, how do you keep your creative juices flowing?


    This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
    hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla 
    in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

    To read more of my writing, feel free to browse other pages of Adi’s Journal.

  • Solace when it’s chaos all around

    Solace when it’s chaos all around

    It’s all chaos out there when life keeps throwing all kinds of stuff at me. It’s a relentless continuous process, like a constant bombardment of events, emotions, incidents. One after the other. If not personal, it’s something happening around me. Even though it has no bearing on my life, it still affects me. Joyous laughter of kids, hardships of people I see around, a couple holding hands while walking or a mob demonstrating against the establishment for their demands… It all just keeps hitting my brain with signals of all sorts. Some of this angers me, others makes me happy. Something even makes me envious and something makes me content. It’s like a giant roller coaster ride with high peaks, steep slides and sudden turns. Yet there is one thing which brings me solace when it’s chaos all around.

    No doubt it’s magical

    When I open the book and turn those pages, it kind of casts a spell around me. It keeps all those noises out as I take a plunge into the world created by the author. I don’t mean it’s always a fantastic realm which casts this spell. It’s equally effective even if the book is set in the real world, referencing the places I visited or the events we all knew about. The journey of these characters fascinates me. Their emotions touch my heart. I cry if one goes through a heartbreak and if they find happiness, my heart swells with them.

    Sometimes, people taunt me about being a delusional fool who finds comfort by escaping reality. But, it’s not their fault, they don’t understand it at all. The stories which are told and the words written by masters, they bring me joy. It allows me to keep my problems aside for a moment. These words give me much needed time to unwind, relax and free some bandwidth to process my own experiences and emotions.

    And I am a bit selfish too…

    These authors are Dronacharya to my Eklavya. Every book I read brings me some insight about storytelling, nuances of writing and improves my vocabulary. These are the books which gave me the confidence to write my thoughts and put them out for you all to read. Your feedback is another thing which boosts my confidence manifold. I will definitely write about that some other time.

    Today, I would like to thank all my favourite and not so favourite authors who gave me this solace when everything around me is going haywire. You all have pulled me out from very dark places in my life as well as shared my happiness. Your works have been a constant companion in my journey in this world and I hope and pray that this companion will never leave my side even if others have strayed off to walk their own path.


    This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

    To read more of my writing, feel free to browse other pages of Adi’s Journal

  • That Old Sage of Thakurbadi – ठाकुरबाडि के वृद्ध तपस्वी

    That Old Sage of Thakurbadi – ठाकुरबाडि के वृद्ध तपस्वी

    वैसे तो उस दिन रास्ते में बड़ी भीड़ थी,
    दुकानों में ग्राहकों की होड़ सी लगी थी।
    चार पहिया वाहनों की बीच में,
    दोपहिया चालक खटमल बने घुस रहे थे।
    मैं भी चला जा रहा था बगल के फुटपाथ से,
    के अचानक दाई तरफ देखा,
    तो समय मानो थम सा गया।

    एक बड़े से दरवाजे के पीछे,
    कुछ संकरी गली सी बनी थी।
    उसके अंत से आ रही थी धुंधली रौशनी।
    मानो, कोई दरवाजा खुला हो
    और अतीत में जल उठे दिए टिमटिमा रहे हो।

    अपने आप चल दिए मेरे पैर उस गली में।
    जैसे ही आखरी कदम गली से गुजरा,
    और मुड़ते ही अद्भुत नजारा था मेरे सामने!

    एक लंबे से बरामदे में,
    बड़े तेजस्वी दादा जी थे,
    एक लकड़ी की कुर्सी पे बैठे।
    चेहरा जाना पहचाना लगता था,
    मानो हजार बार कई पोझेस में इनकी तस्वीरें देख चुका हु।

    उनसे नजरे तो नहीं हट रही थी,
    लेकिन उस मकान की दीवारों का लाल रंग,
    और वो हरे दरवाजे, कही उस दृश्य को एक गहराई दे रहे थे।

    तभी अचानक से, वो तपस्वी उठ खड़े हुए,
    और आसमान के तरफ देखते हुए बोल पड़े,

    जदि तोर डाक शुने केउ ना आसे तबे एकला चलो रे….

    ©आदित्य साठे


    Introduction with the Old Sage of Thakurbadi

    With hindsight, I feel sorry for myself. Before my visit to Kolkata for our Blogchatter retreat, I knew him only as the author of our national anthem, a Nobel laureate and the founder of Shantiniketan. But one of the sessions at our retreat opened my eyes. Dr. Somadatta Mandal, a former faculty at Shantineketan expanded on the whole fabric of life of Gurudev. Subsequent visit to Thakurbadi – Tagore house and museum managed by Rabindra Bharati University proved to be enchanting.

    It would be foolish even to think that I know who Rabindranath was and what is his contribution to the world after this one visit. That’s why I will just say, I was introduced to the old sage in the City of Joy and we had a very brief encounter. Yet it had intrigued me so much to know more about him and his times. I am looking forward to learning more about him. Maybe, I will visit him again in his abode at Thakurbadi.

    Thanks to Blogchatter for this opportunity!


    Here’s my refelction on Banaras from our earlier retreat!

    This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
    hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla 
    in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

  • Can I ask you to be…, October?

    Can I ask you to be…, October?

    Can I ask you to be..., October?

    I reached my office this morning and turned the calendar. Today’s October 1st, and I was particularly looking for a good start to the day. Lines on the new page were,

    हा कोलाहल
    केवढी खदखद,
    आतल्या आत..

    This chaos
    simmering unrest,
    contained within….

    I was just staring at those lines for some time. Yes, I have written this haiku, back in 2023, when I was writing for the desk calendar of 2024. I had designed this calendar pairing these lines to the months, and yet this particular haiku struck a chord as I turned the page.

    It’s a contrast…

    I kept thinking why would I put these lines for the month of October while designing. I am in exactly the opposite state of mind today. Calm, happy and energised with the nice short trip to Kolkata for Blogchatter Retreat. It was an exhilarating experience. I will write more about that in some other post. Emotions in this haiku are exactly opposite to what I am feeling right now.

    October is the month of celebrations, we usually celebrate Navratri and Durga Pooja during this month with a chance of celebrating some of the Diwali days too. Kolkata was bustling with the preparations of Pujo and every corner now hosts a bamboo skeleton for Pandals. I am sure Gujrat must have already started humming the garba tunes and preparations are in full swing. Even in Pune, there are some preparations going on to welcome Mata ji. Even if October comes with a blazing rise in heat after monsoon showers, these festivities make it bearable.

    October, I have some expectations from you.

    If you may, please be calm and quiet when you are free for these celebrations, I have got 4 new books from Kolkata. I am very excited to immerse myself into Ritwik Ghatak’s writing and show my love to my fellow bloggers who have written stories for “Blogchatter Book of Love” anthology. So, if you please, don’t throw any curve balls onto me and let me read peacefully.

    What? About Tagore’s Gitanjali?

    Yes, I agree, Gitanjali poems are not to be read cover to cover. So, I intent to read them leisurely, one at a time! Thanks for suggesting anyway.

    Books I got from Kolkata, 2024 (One more is in transit)

    Top post on Blogchatter

    So if I may request, can I ask you to be a bit calmer, October?


    This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop. Checkout more of my writings here, and to listen to my poetry audiobook, checkout this.