Banalata Sen -Jibanananda Das
For a thousand
years I am walking the same roads as the Earth,
From the
seas of Ceylon to Malayan waters, dark as the night
Much I have
roamed about; in the grey worlds of Bimbisara, Ashoka
There I
stayed; in the city of Vidarbha which was more afar in the dark;
A tired
soul, amidst the frothy ocean of life I am again,
Gave me
peace for moments, the one from Natore1, the only Banalata Sen.
Her hair was
as the dark nights in Vidisha of the era bygone;
Her face was
the workmanship of Shravasti; after crossing the seas
Like the
sailor with a broken helm, who is lost for long
When sees
the green scape in the cinnamon islands, comes at ease
So I have
seen her in the dark, she said, ‘Where were you so long?’ at the door
Looking up
with the eyes like the nest of bird, Banalata Sen, of Natore.
At the end
of all that the day was, like the sound of dew
The evening
sets in; the kite rubs off the smell of sun from its wing;
When all
colours of earth blow out, gathering parchments a few
Glowworms
start gleaming with colours, for stories awaiting;
Every bird
goes home-and each river- ends all exchanges of life, then;
Remains only
the dark, and to sit opposite she, Banalata Sen.
1. Natore is a district of Rajshahi Division located in
northern Bangladesh.
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