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.
Discover more from Adi's Journal
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Rabindranath Tagore’s writing has such profound depth and layered meanings. When I read his creations, I doubt if i can ever fully grasp their essence, yet the emotions and truths he conveys touch you in ways that go beyond words.
I can feel your love for his work, and I truly applaud you for attempting to translate his timeless poetry.
Although I am not familiar with Marathi, I can sense the depth and beauty you’ve brought to it. After all, art speaks in emotions, isn’t it?
Thank you for this beautiful post.
It’s so true that Art speaks in emotions instead of language. And I think that’s why I feel the urge to capture that emotion into my own language. So that people who can’t connect with the language, will also feel them.!
Such a beautiful translation of a beautiful poem. Tagore is to every Indian what Shakespeare is to England, the bard!
Thank you so much for the love you showed! It boosts my morals. He indeed is one of the greats India has! And we are fortunate to read his work.
Translating his works into Marathi must have been a beautiful yet challenging experience, but I’m sure you’ve done justice to his emotions.
It’s always a challenging task to keep those emotions intact and try to put it into a poetic form at the same time. I still haven’t managed to capture the “meter”/छंद angle of it though. I will keep working on that.
This is such a challenging task of translating the poem ! Tagore, for sure was a mystical figure and I have always been intrigued by his aura.
Such a beautiful poem. Sometimes, I too feel translations don’t do justice to the original but we are left with no choice. I don’t read both the languages so I had to rely on the English version. Still, it struck a chord. I have heard his poetry made into songs and they are so deep and meaningful and everytime I listen to it, I get a different perspective. This happens only with the works of craftsmen like Tagore.
Being from Kolkata, we almost breathe Rabindranath Tagore everyday. Such was his influence in our lives. However, I too don’t know to read/write Bangla, I can only speak. So when I listen to his songs now (we were taught in school, but then it made no sense), the meaning is profound. Only aa genius could feel and write the way he did and I’m glad I have been able to sings some of his beautiful songs. The excerpt from Ananto Prem is beautiful too. Thanks for sharing.
Tagore was a mystic and the mystical sublimity is palpable in most of his poems, especially in Gitanjali.
Beautiful poem indeed. Tugs at the heart. I love Tagore’s “Where the mind is without fear…”
Definitely a piece that makes you pause and reflect on the power of love in all its forms! #BlogaberryDazzleWeek2
जेव्हा कानी पडतात प्रेमाच्या परिकथा जाणवतात त्यातील दुःख….. हा संपूर्ण Stanza खूपच छान आहे. साध्या, सरळ भाषेत पण मनाला भावून गेले.
Tagore work is outstanding even I don’t think I can understand the main essence of his work. But translating into Marathi is quite tough job. And Aditya you did it very well.
Although Tagore’s work has been translated into all regional languages, the more translations will bring out more interpretations of the depth of the words. It’s great to know you have started translating his poems in Marathi. It is a challenging task.
Ami Bangali ami Rabindranath Pore baro hoyechi (I am a Bengali and I Grew up reading multiple pieces of Tagore’s Work)… I event learned Rabindra Sangeet once upon a time but without Tagore’s presence you dont feel the real esence of being a Bengali. Thank you for penning this post as you already understood how close is Tagore in every Bengalee family.
I always feel bad that I can’t enjoy Tagore’s work in its original form as I have no clue of Bangla.
This is such a beautiful attempt at translating Tagore’s emotions into Marathi! The depth of “Unending Love” shines through your words, and I love how you’ve captured its timeless essence. Reading this makes me want to revisit Tagore’s poetry with a fresh perspective.
Tagore’s words still resonate with everyone. I believe the translations will not deliver the same aesthetics as it has been written. Yet it’s a good attempt and it gives me idea how the translation would be in Marathi.
This is such a beautiful effort! Rabindranath Tagore’s Unending Love is a profound poem, and it’s wonderful to see how you’ve worked to bring its essence into Marathi. Translating poetry, especially Tagore’s, is challenging, and I truly appreciate the dedication it must have taken. Thank you for sharing this!
When you translate poetry, and try to keep the translation as a poem, you have to keep in mind to capture essense. If we focus on form, essense will be lost. Poetic form of the original poem is the result of the original laguage, its structure and nuances. These nuances and structure are different for every language. That’s why my translation has taken a form of free verse in Marathi while Tagore’s original work has all the qualities of a song!
This post is a wonderful exploration of Tagore’s literature. I am a believer that translated work will not have the essence of the same, and if I may, I would learn the language to read. Kudos to your attempt, and it’s an insightful one.
Translation in itself is difficult and translating poetry while retaining the essence is quite a challenge. That too if it is by Tagore himself. Kudos to you and looking forward to reading more of your translations.
Translation I hardly understand as I am unaware of marathi language. But the poems of Rabindranath ji is awesome. Your try is worth praise. Loved the verses of love and farewell.
its so wonderful to read how you found tagore in your childhood and unknowingly it became a part of your life