Poetry: Dokkhiney Hawa Prabhatkiran Bose Translated by Amitabh Mitra

Very lyrical poem. A pleasure to read an English translation which retains the lyricism of the original Bengali. And thank you for reviving the poetry of Prabhatkiron Bose for the world.

Regards,

Rumjhum

Sir
A remarkable poem and a perfect translation maintaining beauty. I would love read the entire book

Shaleen

Thanks Rumjhum, Many thanks Shaleen. There has been an article on the Poetry of Prabhatkiran Bose published recently in Dainik Aajkal from Kolkata. It is only then I knew that people have not forgotten the great poet, Prabhatkiran Bose.

Dear Amitabh bhai, Your translation is so touching that I can just imagine how lyrical and evocative the original Bengali song is. The colourful imagery of your translation stays for ever, like the roar of the river, like the running of a stream, like the bloom of a lotus, like the bird who flew away at the dawn of a new light, like the magic of a new music, like the draw of a new voice.

A beautiful poem... thank you for the translation. Yet again I wish I could understand Bengali beyond the rudimentary skills of an outsider The lyricsm and sweetness of the Bengali language is rivalled by none.

A small question though, wouldn't 'Dokhino Hawa' be the Southerly wind instead of westerly? I am sure Dakhino is derived from Dakkhin or Dakshin in Hindi meaning the south.

Cheers
Ritu

amitabh:

kudos for bringing this here

I would still say my love, Say something sweet
If only on hearing you I might get fulfilled...

Thanks Temporal, Many thanks Ritu, Iam indebted Kerala. The Poetry of Prabhatkiran Bose has finally reached to people and poets. Kakababu lives on.

A beautiful poem and an equally beautiful translation.

Nice turn of the phrase amitabh. Line 2 is awkward. The poem appears like part of a broader canvas - like part of a lyric or an ode to beauty. It's a fine thing to reach into a remembered past and give the poetry of the old masters a new lease of life.

Dear Amitabh,
Thank you for sharing these beautiful Poems by P. Bose.
P. Bose is an extraordinary individual with such a rare gift to bring words of love to life in his beautiful prose's. His Poetry has that simplicity that potrays feelings, beauty, and remorse, all the things that Love encompasses.
One does not have to delve and try to unravel the deep menanings of his prose's because they are not lost in a maze of drab cryptic Ambiguity.
The meaning and message in hisPoetry is open and visible in a very subtle and soft and gentle way, and reaches out and touches the heart of the reader.
To translate any works of Literature or poetry from its original language is no easy task, and to do justice in the translation requires a lot of dedication. One has to kind of reincarnate oneself in both mind and soul and become the original Poet and the person he was during his life time. This is no easy journey because you have to capture the essence of the original poets life in the translation.
There is no doubt that you have applied your mind and all your being in the translation of the Poetry of P.Bose and you have brought his Poetry from the Beautiful bengali Vernacular into the medium of the English language and given it a whole new dimension.
Wish you all the best and my fervent prayer and hope is that with your wealth on knowledge of Indian Literature and Poetry that you will in the future endeavour to bring about other translations from the rich Vernacular to modern English for the enjoyment of a larger readership.

Amitabh, could I ask you a favour. Could you also post the original bangla of this poem? I want to see if I can capture the beauty of the poem after your translation.

Incidentally, whenever I ask my Bengali friends to translate a song or poetry for me, I always ask them to do it in Hindi(much to their discomfort) because I always feel that some of the bangla style can flow into the Hindi translation.

These are transcreation / translation from the original Bangla. Obviously the original works are far more beautiful. Pritish Nandy translated the works of Kaifi Azmi, Sunil Gangopadhayay, Samar Sen and the last poems of Rabindranath Tagore. His translated poems were a mere whiff of an aroma. Yet it was necessary to translate those poets. I am fortunate to bring the poetry of Prabhatkiran Bose in the world wide web and as the printed word in English for the first time.

for a great translation of tagore's last poems into english (by one of tagore's descendants I believe) you may want to check out:

Rabindranath Tagore: Final Poems (Hardcover)
by Rabindranath Tagore (Author), Wendy Barker (Translator), Saranindranath Tagore (Author)

Thanks, I would check

published by george braziller, NY

(tagore's _final poems_) great introduction and preface by wendy barker and s. tagore....