Hide & Seek by Tagore

First published in Shishu (Children) in 1909, Lucko Churi (Hide and Seek) is also a part of Tagore’s collection called Sanchayita. It captures the endearing, playful relationship between a mother and her son as well as the innocence of the child.

Champa flowers on a tree: Courtesy: Creative Commons

          HIDE AND SEEK
In a playful mood, if I were to 
      Bloom as a champa flower on a tree,
At dawn, O mother, I would frolic 
       Amidst the branches of young leaves.
I would win in this game of hide-and-seek.
         Would you have recognised me? 
You would call out, “Khoka, where are you? “
       I would only laugh silently. 

When you do your household chores
         I would watch from high above. 
After a bath, with your wet hair spread on your shoulder,
          When you would walk under the tree
To go to the prayer room
         While inhaling the perfume of the blooms —
You would wonder how
          Your Khoka’s scent mingles with the breeze! 

In the afternoon, after everyone has lunched 
            When you relax with a Mahabharat,
The shade of the tree by the windowsill 
            Would fall on your back and lap.
My tiny shadow would sway
           On the words of your book. 
But you would not know the shadow
      Of your darling wafts before your eyes. 

In the evening, after lighting a lamp,
       When you go to the cowshed,
I would finish my game 
       And drop down from the tree. 
Again, I would be your Khoka. 
        I would say,”Tell me a story.”
And you would ask,”Naughty! Where were you?”
      I would reply, “I will not tell you my secret.”