Projapoti or Butterfly by Nazrul, translated by Professor Fakrul Alam
Projapoti! Projapoti!
Butterfly, dear butterfly,
From where did you get such colourful wings?
Wings flaming red and blue,
Such sparkling, wavy wings!
I see you getting drunk sipping the honey of wildflowers.
Be my friend; share some of the liquor with me.
Lend me your pollen-tinted golden-silvery wings as well.
My mind doesn’t like the idea of going to school anymore.
Butterfly, dear butterfly—please, please take me along
As your companion. You dance in the wind as you go…
This day, why not share your delight with me too?
I don’t want to wear the dress I have on anymore.
Let me wear your flaming, sparkling dress from now on!
Born in united Bengal, long before the Partition, Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) was known as the Bidrohi Kobi, or “rebel poet”. Nazrul is now regarded as the national poet of Bangladesh though he continues a revered name in the Indian subcontinent. In addition to his prose and poetry, Nazrul wrote about 4000 songs.
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Fakrul Alam is an academic, translator and writer from Bangladesh. He has translated works of Jibonananda 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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