BINODINI
GANTAYET
Translated
from Oriya by BRAJAKISHORE DAS
The
night is so lonely and quiet
And
a chill of fear runs through my veins
But
I feel I am in search of something.
I
wish I could weep, yet I can’t;
When
I start singing my old familiar tune
My
voice gets choked;
You
may not believe me, but this is the truth!
I
thought I would play on my lute
All
those melodies I know,
And
would go round this land
With your company.
But
I was not able to reminisce my dreams.
I
wonder whether the dreams of my past
Have
been really shattered...I can’t decide:
I
only wanted to twinkle like a star
And
glance around me
Singing some enlivening song.
Can
you raise from the dust of memory
The
past that was so sweet?
If
you cannot, let me only play
On
the broken strings of my lute
Or
shed tears in silence
And
go on dreaming, only dreaming.
While
you keep receding from me
I
shall go gliding over the infinite void
Forgetting my past, present and future.
There’ll
be no sense of dejection in me:
I
can colour my thoughts
With
a variety of hues
And
burn like the flame of a wick
Gathering
the fragrant songs of my dream
From some unknown paradise.