A Selection of Rabindranath Tagore’s Poems
Description:
Pages: 56
Year of Publication: 2011
Price: HB Rs 100
ISBN:
978-93-5045-008-6 (9789350450086)
About the Translator:
Born in 1930, Bipul Bardhan-Roy was educated in Presidency College, Calcutta, and then at the Bengal Engineering College, Sibpur. He moved to England in 1960, where he completed a post-graduate diploma course and proceeded to join Messrs Jan Brobowski and Partners, a firm of structural engineers. He became a partner of the firm in 1965 and remained in that position till he retired in 1995.
He co-authored, with Dr. P. W. Abeles, the book, Pre-stressed Concrete Designers’ Handbook and has published numerous papers on various aspects of structural engineering.
Alongside his work in engineering, Roy has always had an interest in Bengali and English literature. Retirement gave him the opportunity to take this interest further and this was when he began translating Tagore’s verses.
Teaser:
Poem 16
It isn’t my prayer
That you save me from danger,
I’d rather I conquer the built-in fear.
If mind is beset with angst and grief,
Comforting words give little relief
I’d rather I steer all sufferings clear.
When help is not around,
Own strength needs to be sound;
As losses pile up at every place
And Deception stares in the face.
Let us not plunge into defeatism ever.
It isn’t my thought
You rescue me as often as not,
On my own I feel strong to cross the barrier.
By lightening my burden
Troubles will not lessen
I’d rather I carry the onus without fear.
From happy days with respectful feeling
We will remember you by looks and bearing;
If in the wide world in a night of gloom,
Hoax, tricks and bluffs begin to bloom,
Let’s not cast aspersions on you ever.
[Translation of Bipode more raksha koro from Gitanjali]
Contents:
Acknowledgments / 8
Introduction / 9
Poems from
Gitanjali / 11
Katha / 31
Gitali / 37
Chaitali / 38
Naibedya / 39
Parisesh / 40
Sesh Lekha / 41
Kanika / 42
Kshanika / 44
Kari O Komal / 45
Punascha / 46
Miscellaneous / 54