Settlement-2010, 03 JAN., & BojhaparaOriginal

SETTLEMENT Original in Bengali: Rabindranath Tagore (1900)

English Translation from Bengali:

Subhas Chandra Ganguly (2001)

1

ANNOTATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF

RABINDRANATH TAGORE’S BENGALI POEM ‘BOJHAAPADAA’((((‘‘‘‘��’’’’))))

BY SUBHAS CHANDRA GANGULY

SETTLEMENT

Rabindranath Tagore

*

Tell your mind to brace;

Good or evil come what may

Accept the truth with grace

Some are likely to love you

Some just cannot chime;

Some are totally sold to you

Some again don’t owe you a dime.

Partly it is their nature,

Partly yours too dear brother;

Partly world is so made

Where each is not made for the other.

Some deceptions you will suffer;

Some will be indulged by you.

Some of the goodies will come your way,

The rest will be others’ due

* Rabindranath Tagore – See on page 5 under the heading “Translator’s Notes”.




2

From the days of the yore

The world is so ordered.

Why should your fate be so fair

That all injuries you will be spared?

Tell your mind to brace;


Accept the truth with grace

After many a gales gone through

Harbour of happiness is in sight;

Rocks hidden under the waters

Hit your breast alright.

Ribs of the cage for a moment,

Quiver and break into a howl.

Have you to get into a rage for all that

And go into a quarrel or brawl?

If you can stay afloat

That, of course, is the best choice.

In case you cannot manage,

Just go under without much noise.

It is nothing like never seen,

And a non-event at the core.

For, ship-wrecks occur at the very places

Where none has a fear on that score.




3

So, tell your mind to brace;


Accept the truth with grace.

All are not up to your measure,

Nor do you measure up to all;

While you may choke under others’ pressure

You may press another into ball.

But come to think of it,

What is so wanting?

For, when you know how to get it,

A lot of happiness is a-waiting.

Nothing ever changes the azure sky,

Soft rays of dawn are as sweet as ever,

In a sudden encounter with death,

Not death but life that we prefer.

The wide world looks as wide

Even without the one,

Tears for whom from closed eyes

Created once an ocean.




If sitting under the setting sun,

You make your own shadow bigger,

And so, by your own doing

Darkness in your life you have to trigger,




4

You have to axe your own feet

By squabbling with your own fate,

Then for God’s sake,

Just go and do it, why wait?

Weep your heart’s fill,

Shed your barrels of tear,

And thus settle with your mind

This way or that, somehow or other.

Then light your earthen lamp

And illumine your dark room.

Forget brother how much differences

You have with whom.




_________

[English translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali poem “BOJHAAPADAA” (“��”),

from his book of poems “KSHANIKA” (��), (first published-1900). Translation by Subhas

Chandra Ganguly (June, 2001). Address for correspondence: B-22/8 Karunamoyee

Housing Estate, Salt Lake City, Kolkata -700091, INDIA. E-mail: subhas-

[email protected]

The original Bengali poem, “BOJHAAPADAA” (“��”), can be downloaded from the

opening page of the website, Writings of Subhas Chandra Ganguly

(http://sites.google.com/site/subhascganguly/writings), where this translation by Subhas

Chandra Ganguly is introduced (under the sub-section TRANSLATION FROM BENGALI TO

ENGLISH in the section UNPUBLISHED IN PRINT MEDIA), by clicking the link, “original in

Bengali”.]




5

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

Before putting this piece of writing on the website, Writings of Subhas Chandra Ganguly

(http://sites.google.com/site/subhascganguly/writings), the following notes were specially

prepared and added, at the suggestion of Sudipta Saraswati. Inclusion of Rabindranath’s

own translation (later discovery of which by me was merely mentioned in my note first)

below as an APPENDIX was also at his suggestion.

— TRANSLATOR, 26th February, 2010

Rabindranath Tagore (7 May, 1861 – 7 August, 1941): A Bengalee by language

and birth, he needs no introduction to any inhabitant of Indian subcontinent, who is able

to read this poem either in translation or in original (which also is being posted on this

website, for those who can read Bengali). And it is beyond self-perceived capacity of the

present translator to present, in such a short space, Tagore’s single-handed contribution to

a new phase of Bengali literature/language/culture, dating back roughly from middle of

the 19th century.

So, just to give an inkling of his place in Bengali literature, to those non-Indians, who

may not have heard of him, I am quoting from one very well known, widely regarded

critic/essayist/poet/novelist/scholar/teacher, Buddhadeva Bose (also spelt Buddhadeb

Bosu) (1908-1974), whose sparkling, deeply insightful essays, in both Bengali and

English, on language and literature has been of great help to me to enrich my own

understanding. A much junior contemporary of Tagore, he wrote with equal facility both

in English and Bengali. In one of his essays (1948) in English, this is how Bose presented

Rabindranath :

“Rabindranath Tagore is a phenomenon. … Rabindranath is our Chaucer and

Shakespeare, our Dryden, and our equivalent of the English translators of the

Bible. To describe him in terms of English literature one must name quite a

number of authors, for he compresses in one man’s lifetime the development of

several centuries. He has created language both prose and verse.”




6

[“Rabindranath” in An Acre of Green Grass: A Review of Modern Bengali

Literature, by Buddhadeb Bosu: Papyrus, Kolkata, first published by Orient

Longmans in 1948.]

For a brief sketch on Rabindranath and Buddhadeb, one may visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore

and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhadeb_Bosu, respectively. Search on Internet will yield considerable amount of

materials on both of them.

A personal note from the translator: I am far from a habitual translator of

poem(s), though in my lifetime, so far, I happened to have done a lot of translation work,

but all from prose to prose. Back in June 2001, i.e., about 9 years before, this translation

emerged, in a way, quite accidentally, while I had been helping for sometimes back, on

professional basis, a very likeable young Englishman, Andrew Preston (sent to me by my

friend Sanjay Mitra), while he was in Kolkata, to learn Bengali. He needed to learn

Bengali to do his professional job, which required him to interact with Bengalee

inhabitants in Kolkata and its suburbs, who were not conversant with English language.

To add some spice to this process of his learning a foreign language, one day suddenly I

was struck by the thought of translating one such poem of Tagore (my acquaintance with

composition of other Bengali poets — their number is quite large — being much more

limited), the original Bengali of which would appear simpler to follow by a foreigner, but

at the same time content will be appealing enough to an adult. So, that dictated the choice

of the present poem in its original, which, perhaps is more in the nature of verse than

poem. While original was metred in structure, I thought of translating the original in

simple prose. But while making such attempt, somehow, with some gradual alteration,

translated version, for better or for worse (readers, naturally, would be the best judge),

also turned out be metred.

Much later, I discovered that the poet himself, in a letter (in English) to another

Englishman of his time, Charles Freer Andrews (1871-1940), ten years his junior and

very close associate of him in many ways of his social endeavours, sent his own English

translation of the same verse, which however was in prose, and not metred. For interested

readers, this translation of the poet is added at the end as an APPENDIX.




7

Anyone, able to follow both the original and the translation, is unlikely to miss that in

places, his translation deviates from his original in terms of both alteration and deletion.

And deviations are such that perhaps these are not easily explainable by compulsions,

usually associated with any work of translation (particularly in case of poem/verse) when

the two languages in question are as dissimilar, in their structure, vocabulary and idioms,

as Bengali and English are. So, the poet must have had his own reason(s), which we do

not know. As to whether the deviations can be termed ‘small’ or ‘considerable’, there

need not be any general consensus on such matters. It goes without saying that a mere

translator cannot take such liberty, open to the original composer. So, in my own

translation above, I have tried, within my capacity, to remain as close as possible to the

original.

Copyright of Subhas Chandra Ganguly’s Translation and Notes (c) 2010 by Subhas Chandra

Ganguly. This is an open access publication distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative License (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-

nc-nd/3.0/us/), which permits anyone (if he/she so wishes) to share this publication, provided (1)

the distribution is only for noncommercial purposes, (2) the original author and the source are attributed, and (3) no derivative works including any alterations are made. For any distribution,

this copyright statement should also accompany this publication without any alteration and in its

entirety.

PUBLICATION HISTORY:

The translation was made in 2001 and the translator’s notes as well as the accompanying

APPENDIX were prepared in 2010. These writings were not published in print media. These are

now being published for the first time online as open access publication in the website,

Writings of Subhas Chandra Ganguly (http://sites.google.com/site/subhascganguly/writings):

August 11, 2010.




8

APPENDIX

Poet’s (Rabindranath Tagore) Own Translation (in English)

of His Own Verse/Poem (in Bengali) ‘BOJHAAPADAA’((((‘‘‘‘��’’’’))))

TAKING TRUTH SIMPLY

Whatever may come, my heart, take truth simply,

Though there be some who can love you, there must be others who never

can, and if you must know the cause, it is as much in you as in them,

and in all things around.

Some doors are closed against your knocks, while your doors are not

open always and to all comers.

Such has been and shall be for evermore; and yet if you must have peace,

my heart, take truth simply.

There is no need to be abusive if your boat founders by the shore, though

it sailed through the storm.

Keep yourself afloat by all means; but it is impossible to do so, then be

good enough to sink without noise.

It is a commonplace fact that things may or may not fit you and events

happen without asking for your leave.

Yet if you must have peace, my heart, take truth simply.

You press and are pressed hard in the crowd, but space there is enough

and to spare in this world.

When you have counted your losses to the last farthing, your sky remains

as blue as ever.

You find, when suddenly tested, that to live is sweeter than to die.

You may miss this and that and the other thing, but if you must have

peace, my heart, take truth simply.

Must you stand with your back to the rising sun and watch your shadow

lengthened before you?




9

Must you take pleasure in finding fault with your destiny and thus tease

your soul to death ?

Then for mercy’s sake be quick and have done with it; for if, with the

evening stars, you must light your lamp, my heart, take truth simply.

[Contained in a letter (from Rabindranath to C. F. Andrews), dated February 5th, 1916,

SHILEIDA — ‘LETTERS TO A FRIEND’ (first published in 1928 under the editorship of C. F.

Andrews himself). My own source: THE ENGLISH WRITINGS OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE,

VOLUME THREE (1996), Sahitya Akademi, Kolkata, p. 251-252.]

−h¡T¡fs¡ lh£¾cÊe¡b W¡L¥l

- 1 -

[THE ORIGINAL IN BENGALI (BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE) OF THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION 'SETTLEMENT' ]

−h¡T¡fs¡−h¡T¡fs¡−h¡T¡fs¡−h¡T¡fs¡

lh£¾cÊe¡b W¡L¥l

j−e−l BS L−q¡ −k, i¡−m¡ j¾c k¡q¡C Bp¤¤L

p−aÉ−l mJ pq−S z

−LE h¡ −a¡j¡u i¡−m¡h¡−p −LE h¡ h¡p−a f¡−l e¡ −k,

−LE ¢h¢L−u B−R, −LE h¡ ¢p¢L fup¡ d¡−l e¡ −k z

LaLV¡ −k üi¡h a¡−cl LaLV¡ −k −a¡j¡−l¡ i¡C,

LaLV¡ H i−hl N¢aL - ph¡l a−l e−q ph¡C z

−a¡j¡u LaL gy¡¢L −c−h a¥¢jJ LaL −c−h gy¡¢L, −a¡j¡l −i¡−N LaL fs−h,

f−ll −i¡−N b¡L−h h¡L£ z j¡å¡a¡lC Bjm −b−L

Q−m Bp−R Hj¢e lLj −a¡j¡¢l ¢L Hje i¡NÉ

hy¡¢Q−u k¡−h pLm SMj ?


- 2 -

j−e−l BS L−q¡ −k,

i¡−m¡ j¾c k¡q¡C Bp¤¤L p−aÉ−l mJ pq−S z

A−eL T•¡ L¡¢V−u h¤¢T

H−m p¤¤−Ml h¾c−l−a, S−ml a−m f¡q¡s ¢Rm

m¡Nm h¤−Ll A¾c−l−a, j¤q−̈aÑ−L fy¡Sl…−m¡

EWm −Ly−c BaÑl−h - a¡C h−m ¢L ph¡l p−‰

TNs¡ L−l jl−a q−h ? −i−p b¡L−a f¡l k¢c

−pC−V ph¡l −Q−u −nËu, e¡ f¡l −a¡ ¢he¡ h¡−LÉ

V¥f L¢lu¡ X¥−h −k−u¡ z HV¡ ¢LR¥ Af§hÑ eu,

OVe¡ p¡j¡eÉ M¤hC nˆ¡ −kb¡u L−l e¡ −LE

−pCM¡−e qu S¡q¡S-X¥¢h z

j−e−l a¡C L−q¡ −k, i¡−m¡ j¾c k¡q¡C Bp¤¤L



- 3 -

−a¡j¡l j¡−f qu ¢e ph¡C,

a¥¢jJ qJ ¢e ph¡l j¡−f, a¥¢j jl L¡−l¡ −Wm¡u

−LE h¡ j−l −a¡j¡l Q¡−f z ah¤ −i−h −cM−a −N−m

Hj¢e ¢L−pl V¡e¡V¡¢e ? −aje L−l q¡a h¡s¡−m p¤¤M f¡Ju¡ k¡u A−eLM¡¢e z BL¡n ah¤ p¤¤e£m b¡−L

jd¤l −W−L −i¡−ll B−m¡ jlZ H−m qW¡v −c¢M

jl¡l −Q−u hy¡Q¡C i¡−m¡ z k¡q¡l m¡¢N Qr¥ h¤−S

h¢q−u ¢cm¡j AnË¥ p¡Nl a¡q¡−l h¡c ¢c−uJ −c¢M

¢hnÄ i¥he jÙ¹ X¡Nl z




- 4 -

¢e−Sl R¡u¡ jÙ¹ L−l AÙ¹¡Q−m h−p h−p Byd¡l L−l −a¡m k¢c

S£he M¡e¡ ¢e−Sl −c¡−o, ¢h¢dl p−‰ ¢hh¡c L−l

¢e−Sl f¡−u L¥s¥m j¡l, −c¡q¡C a−h H L¡kÑV¡

ka n£OË f¡l p¡−l¡ z M¤h M¡¢eLV¡ −Ly−c −L−V

AnË¥ −Y−m Os¡ Os¡ - j−el p−‰ HL lL−j

L−l −e i¡C −h¡T¡fs¡, a¡l f−l−a Byd¡l O−l

fËc£fM¡¢e SÆ¡¢m−u −a¡m i¥−m k¡ i¡C L¡q¡l p−‰

LaV¥L¥e ag¡v qm z


p−aÉ−l mJ pq−S z ---------

[r¢ZL¡(1900), lh£¾cÊ lQe¡hm£, fËbj Mä, S¥m¡C,1980, fª : 873 fËL¡nL : f: h‰ plL¡l ]

Settlement-2010, 03 JAN., & BojhaparaOriginal

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