Dedication

ojaantrik · Apr 7, 2010

[FONT=&quot]This is a translation (transcreation?) of a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. I am aware that there is a poem forum and that's where I am supposed to post poems. Nonetheless, to Cheeniya's embarrassment I am sure, I am posting it here. There are two reasons that motivated my decision. First, I know from experience that it will be pushed out of the front page of the Snippets Forum pretty soon. Few will read it, fewer will comment. So, logically at least, it should matter little where it is posted. Secondly, this poem has a special relevance for my desperate attempts to write for this forum (or, IL in general).

However, Cheeniya dear, do remove it if IL Laws award it an instant death sentence!! [/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Dedication -- Rabindranath Tagore [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ask me not, when, nor whichever song,[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]To whom I had gifted, that'd all be wrong,[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]On the wayside it gathers dust[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Waiting humbly since it must [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]For the one who approves it -- to come along. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Did my message make your senses alert, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Could you haul it deep inside your heart? [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I know not your name, dear mate,[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Yet to you alone I dedicate, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]The jewels for which my musings thirst. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

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[FONT=&quot](From the Poem Collection -- Mahua.)[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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A Young Tagore

sundarusha · Apr 7, 2010

Dear Oj da

thanks for the translation and the photo of Tagore in his younger days. This is the first time I am seeing the picture of a younger, handsome Tagore.
This inspires me to read his other poems to grasp his message. Unfortunately, I don't have any of his books and even then, I would need a prose translation for poems to understand them better.

Tubelight · Apr 7, 2010

Hi Oj-Da

The transcreation/translation flows nicely in the genteel, "Meloncholic" mould favoured by classical writers.

Perhaps it was structured by Tagore to be abstruse on purpose ? Was it perhaps aimed at his Muse, Victoria Ocampo , who never returned to India to meet him after their idyllic break in Argentina ?

knot2share · Apr 8, 2010

Dear OJ da
We hear you loud and clear through the transcreation! I read it as your voice and not Tagore's voice. I do not know exactly under what circumstances this came about from Tagore's pen but I certainly can understand what you have tried to convey through the transcreation. Its painful and beautiful. Loved the attempt.

Mindian · Apr 8, 2010

dear Oj da,

thanks for the transcreation.
It is beautiful,but very soulfully sad.I am quite a fan of Tagore's (but would not have been able to recognize him in this picture) stories.Incidentally, only yesterday i was discussing with my mother his novel "The wreck" which was later filmed in Tamil and Hindi too.i used to find it fascinating as a schoolgirl and of course his cabuliwallah is immortal.
by the way, does mahua have a special meaning in Bengali? I had a Bengali friend in school by that name.

Cheer up,Oj da !

Kamla · Apr 8, 2010

Always doubting yourself and your fans!

Oj-da, when will you write just for the fun of writing and forget about how many read you and give feedbacks?

I am sure that you have a dedicated fan following here. May not be great in numbers, but is it not the quality one should count and not the quantity?

Also, even if this post is moved to poetry forum, the forum will only be blessed and get richer for the post. Why should Only the Snippets enjoy all the popularity, let the other forums share some glory!!

Besides, if you had not mentioned it, I would have thought that these precious words from the great Tagore were your's! How it suits your musings...!

L, Kamla

ShailRaghuvansh · Apr 8, 2010

Dear Oj Da,

Greetings! Long time?

It was a beautiful translation of Tagore's poem. I have always loved his work.

Will post one write-up on Tagore soon.

Please keep writing. We are there to read and share, here and there, everywhere.

Regards,
Shail

kelly1966 · Apr 8, 2010

Dear Oj-Kaku
What lovely translation (transcreation).. of a sensitive verse... every time you read Tagore one gets inspired.
Thanks for posting his photo.. always saw him as an elderly man with long flowing beard...

I don't know why you keep lamenting about the fb here... Very often your write -ups are so powerful that it overwhelms the reader and hence maybe the reader doesn't have any words in which they can convey their fb to you... you have created a sort of ":bowdown aura" around you!!
So please don't worry about the fbs keep writing and entertaining us...your writings whether they are humorous or serious are superlative and your command on english lang is commendable...
K

Cheeniya · Apr 8, 2010

My dear, dear OJ
Whenever you make a reference to me in your posts, I start wondering if I am the Tormentor or the Tormented! If I am the Speed Breaker in your Creative Highway, I do express my deep regrets but you ought to know that Speed Breakers are indeed necessary to make our travel safe for us as well as for others. All these classifications in IL are there to help the readers to find what they want to read without much hassles. Incidentally, what makes a Thread keep its place in the front page is the regular flow of FBs. A single FB can bring a Thread from the last page to the front page as it happens when someone revives an old thread of mine by writing a FB. The same thing holds good for the Poetry Forum too. Right now, the poetry Forum is ruled by the poems in the Regional Language.

Coming to your second point, you must by now be aware that WE are more desperate that you should continue to write in Snippets than you! When it comes to saving a life through your wonderful writings, does it matter how many lives you save through your writings? The Baywatch girls and guys do not wait for a hundred swimmers in the process of drowning before they plunge into action. Even a solitary drowning soul is enough to drive them into action! Take this current post of yours for example. It has already been responded by the Who’s Who of IL! The most awesome ILites have rushed in with their appreciative FBs and I too have rushed for my bottle of Digene to quell the burning sensation in my stomach! Cheeniya too can feel jealous you know!

Taking the cue from the Poet Laureate, you must dedicate your writings to those whose names you may not know for they just read you without commenting. Tell me for my information, among the millions of the diehard readers of Tagore’s Poems, how many would have commented on them in a public forum? Not all readers comment OJ. This is a fact of life. This applies not only for Literature but for all forms of fine arts. I have seen that in a crowd of about 2000 assembled to hear an eminent musician, hardly a handful would be able to identify the Ragas he is essaying. Even among that handful, only a fraction can write a review in the Newspapers!

Next time when you feel tormented, remember the lines of Saint Thyagaraja. “Entharo mahaanubhavulu, anthiriki vandhanamu” Music and for that matter all forms of Art thrive in the hearts of fans and not in the comments some may venture to write. Sometimes the impact of the Art can be far too soul-filling that makes them speechless or in your case, FBless!

Sri

Vysan · Apr 8, 2010

Dear OJ,

That is a great translation... But somewhere down it leaves a sad note.... Though, I dont want to... my mind links that to your first paragraph....

You are one of the respected greats in IL... so....:thumbsup...

Veda