Rabindranath Tagore

Who is the one playing such a plaintive tune on a flute

While sailing away on a boat from another land?

The note playing seems to caress my whole body!

It's a tune wafting from some far away world

The pain of a heart strained by long separation

And unaccustomed pain drifting with the restive breeze

Towards a seashore shaded by forest trees. In exile

And a forlorn heart silently sounds the Bhairavi raga's tune.

The music and light in this unpeopled riverside path

Evoke in me the image of a dear one treading lazily

And heading for the river bank amidst forest shades.

Fakrul Alam is Supernumerary Professor, Department of English, University of Dhaka.