Translated from Bengali by Fakrul Alam
Nur Jahan, Nur Jahan,
Floating down a river you came
To a land full of clouds
A land of gardens—Iran!
You had your plate filled
With Nargis flowers, poppies and roses
And had brought them all along.
You brought as well legends
Of Shirin and Farhad and Shiraz.
With your graceful and slim self came
Bulbuli, Dilruba and Rabab’s songs.
Your love healed even Emperor Salim’s lunacy!
You daubed sandalwood paste on yourself
And bore the stigma in front of everyone --
A stigma the moon bears in the blue sky
Smilingly. It’s what is written in lovers’ tales.
I’ll ensure that it ambles along pathways
Forever, questing for love’s pleasures,
Despite any infamy linked to the affair.
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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