Rabindranath’s Oikotan (Harmonising) was first published in 1941. It has been translated by Professor Fakrul Alam specially to commemorate Tagore’s Birth Anniversary.

HARMONISING How little I know of this immense world, Of its countless countries, cities, capitals, And the never-ending deeds of its peoples As well as its rivers, hills, deserts and seas And innumerable animals and strange trees— So many things fated to be forever unknown Such a vast assemblage And yet my mind has to be content with only a corner! Frustrated, I read as many books and travel tales as I can With boundless enthusiasm. I pick up too vividly written accounts I come across With never-diminishing eagerness, Satiating my knowledge deficit With treasures I’ll gather by scavenging for them! I am the world’s poet. Whatever of its sounds I hear I try to reverberate in my flute later But though this may be my intent Many of earth’s notes still elude me For despite my efforts, gaps remain! I intuit earth’s amazing harmonies Through leaps of my imagination On many an occasion intense silence fills my soul Notes sounding across remote snowy mountains And the azure stillness of the sky too Invite me to commune with them again and again! The unknown star at the apex of the south pole Reigning illustriously through long nights Illuminates my sleepless eyes on midnights. Distant waterfalls cascading down With immense force, flooding everything in sight, Transmit their harmonies to the innermost me. I connect intuitively as well with poets everywhere Contributing to nature’s harmonies All keep me company and give me immense delight I receive offerings of lyric notes from the muse of songs As well as intimations of the music of the spheres. The outside world can’t fathom fully The most inaccessible of being residing in us For He is in our innermost part And only when one enters it One gets to know the Being who is truly Him But I can’t find the door with which to enter there Since I’ve erected fences in pathways everywhere! Farmer who keep tilling the soil Weavers threading yarn and fishermen casting nets— Varied professions having far-reaching impact On them all depend whole families and lifestyles. But the honour due to them is confined To people of the top tiers of the society I live in We can only peep at them from narrow openings! At times I’d take paths fronting their neighbourhoods But never ever was resolute enough to enter inside! If one can’t connect one’s life with another’s though The songs one composes can become cumbersome And so, I concede to charges levelled against me And admit my own songs’ limitations. I know my verses may have traversed varied paths But they haven’t reached everywhere! The one who can share a peasant’s life And whose words and deeds are kins Is the one who is truly close to the soil And I’m all ears to listen to that kind of poet. I may not have created a feast of literary delights Yet, what I couldn’t attain I keep questing for Let what I discover ring true And let me not mislead others’ eyes with fakery It’s not right to earn fame without paying its true price It isn’t right at all to indulge in any kind of foppery! Come poet, retrieve as many as you can Of those voiceless ones whose minds are unheard And relieve those nurturing deep hurt inside In this land lacking spirit Bereft of songs being sung on any side, A land which has become an arid desert For want of joy and the strain created by neglect Fill with the essence of everything beautiful And untie the spirit residing in one’s innermost being In literary festivals and musical concerts organised, Let those playing the one-stringed ektara be duly feted. And the muted ones who can’t express either joy or sorrow And those whose heads are bowed and voices silent While facing the world— Oh gifted one, Let me hear them all—near or far Let them partake of your fame As for me— Again and again, I’ll pay homage to you
Fakrul Alam is an academic, translator and writer from Bangladesh. He has translated works of Jibanananda Das and Rabindranath Tagore into English and is the recipient of Bangla Academy Literary Award (2012) for translation and SAARC Literary Award (2012).
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