On a day like this...(emono dine tare...)

I could say it on a day like this...

Baba's melodious voice would lead people to think he had formal training in music. One of the things I remember ma and baba doing is ma reciting a few lines of Tagore's poetry, and asking baba to sing it. As a young adult in India, where even indirect demonstrations of affection are rare in middle-class Bengali families, I cringed at their corny behavior.

Emono dine tare: The song-poem

এমন দিনে তারে বলা যায়,
এমন ঘনঘোর বরিষায়।
এমন দিনে মন খোলা যায়--
এমন মেঘস্বরে বাদল-ঝরোঝরে
তপনহীন ঘন তমসায়॥

সে কথা শুনিবে না কেহ আর,
নিভৃত নির্জন চারি ধার।
দুজনে মুখোমুখি গভীর দুখে দুখি,
আকাশে জল ঝরে অনিবার--
জগতে কেহ যেন নাহি আর॥

সমাজ সংসার মিছে সব,
মিছে এ জীবনের কলরব।
কেবল আঁখি দিয়ে আঁখির সুধা পিয়ে
হৃদয় দিয়ে হৃদি অনুভব--
আঁধারে মিশে গেছে আর সব ॥

তাহাতে এ জগতে ক্ষতি কার
নামাতে পারি যদি মনোভার।
শ্রাবণবরিষনে একদা গৃহকোণে
দু কথা বলি যদি কাছে তার
তাহাতে আসে যাবে কিবা কার॥

ব্যাকুল বেগে আজি বহে যায়,
বিজুলি থেকে থেকে চমকায়।
যে কথা এ জীবনে রহিয়া গেল মনে
সে কথা আজি যেন বলা যায়--
এমন ঘনঘোর বরিষায়॥

(Translation by Santanu)

I could say it on a day like this,
on a stormy day such as today.
I could let the words slip out ...
amidst thundering clouds, ceaseless rain
and lightless dense shadows.

No one else need hear those words,
in this  lonely secluded space.
The two of us, face to face, plunged in each other’s anguish,
the skies weep relentlessly ...
as if the living have left the earth.

Meaningless, the world and its ways,
meaningless, the clamor of the world.
Save our eyes locked in ecstasy
our hearts joined in feeling ...
in darkness lost, everything else.

Should it bother anyone
if the heart unburdens itself
in this season of storms, in one corner of my house
if I did speak a few words, then
should it matter again?

Today flows by swiftly, desperately,
sudden light flashes, shockingly.
What has always remained unsaid
I can, perhaps, speak this day ...
on a stormy day such as today.

On a day like this... another lovely rendering

The song starts at 30 seconds into the clip. Sounak Chattopadhyay begins with a well-known classical song, "Mora saiyyan bulayey adhi raat..." and slips into "Emono dine tare...", another 'des' rag based Robindro-songeet.

Ma's love of Tagore and poetry

Ma's oldest brother, Sudhiranjan Chatterjee, got his Masters in Bengali Literature from Calcutta University. Shut out from continuing her schooling after class 6 or 7, ma started reading her oldest brothers' books, taking care to not let him know about it.

Tagore's writings and his poetry became her favorites over time. Ma used to say that although she could not hold a tune she knew most of Tagore's poems (set to music) from Geetobitan.

Mymensingh, Bangladesh

This is where dadu was posted, working as Manager for the Maharaja of Mymensingh. Ma's childhood stories often featured the mighty Brahmaputra river that flowed through this town. This is where ma's schooling came to a halt because there were no girls' schools close by. She continued to read at home, helping herself to her oldest brother's books, who was studying for his Master's degree in Bengali Literature at Calcutta University. Tagore's writings and his poetry became her favorites over time. Ma said that although she could not hold a tune she knew most of his poems (set to music) from Geetobitan.