Camellia - Part 1 Translation From Tagore
This is a translation from the poem "Camellia", by Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate Poet from India (1861 -1941) Understandably the story took place in late nineteenth century - early twentieth century Bengal.
Her name is Kamala. saw it –
on the cover of her notebook –
She was travelling in a tram,
with her brother. on the way to college,
I was sitting on the bench behind her.
I could see the fine curve on one side of her face,
and the silky hair in a bun on her shoulder,
There were a book and a notebook on her lap,
I didn’t get off where I was supposed to.
From now I calculate the time before going out,
That time might not have matched with my working hours,
But, matched with the time when they travelled,
We met quite often. I reasoned in my head –
it might not be related, but she was my co-traveller.
Her appearance projected high intelligence,
brilliant as brilliant could be,
The hair was brushed away from her forehead,
The bright eyesight had no bashfulness.
I wished – there could arise a distress,
I rescued her and felt blessed –
Some kind of strife on our route,
some arrogance shown by a trouble-maker,
these things happened all the time
But, my fate was like a waterhole with muddy water,
Nothing significant happened there.
The humble days croaked in a monotonous tone, like a frog's
Not the sharks or crocodiles were invited, nor the swans!
It was a heavily crowded day,
A half-British gentleman was sitting beside Kamala,
wanted to – sweep the hat away from his head,
shove him off to the street,
There was no reason, my hands looked for some excuse.
At this time he lighted a fat cigar,
and started smoking it.
I went close to him, ” Leave the cigar”,
He pretended not to hear me,
Kept smoking, creating circles of smoke,
I pulled out the cigar from his mouth,
and threw it in the street,
He clasped his hand, gave me a smouldering stare,
But didn’t say anything, jumped out of the vehicle.
Perhaps he recognized me. I was quite renowned as a soccer-player,
My name was well-known,
The girl’s face reddened,
Lowering her face, she pretended to open a book and read it.
Her hands were shaking,
Did not even glance at the brave hero.
The office-going passengers said, ”well done, sir!”
After a short while, the girl got off at an unfamiliar spot,
called a cab, and left.
Didn’t find her the next day, even the next day after,
On the third day, I found her
Going to the college in a rickshaw!
Realized, I, like a pig-headed individual, had done a blunder,
That girl was capable of taking her own responsibility, I was not needed at all.
Again said to myself - my fate is like a pond with muddy water,
The memory of bravery was mocking me in my heart, like a joke,
Decided – I was going to fix the mistake.
I had the information – they went to Darjeeling in summer vacation,
That year I drastically needed to change the weather.
They had a small house, they named it – Motia –off from the road, in a corner, hidden behind the trees,There were mountains in front of me.
heard, they were not coming that year.
I was almost returning, then met a follower of mine,Mohanlal,
Skinny man, tall, wearing specs,weak digestive system improved with climate in Darjeeling.
He said, “Tanuka is my sister,She will not let me go without me introducing her to you”,
That girl was like a shadow, her body was just enough for sustenance,
Her focus was on academics, not on food,
That’s why she had so much respect for a soccer-player,
She thought, my compassion was the reason that I was meeting her,
Alas! What a game of fate!
Two days before I was about to leave, Tanuka said,
“I will present you something, so you will remember us – a flowery plant!
That’s a trouble - I thought, but stayed quiet.
Tanuka said ”it’s an expensive, rare type, it needs a lot of care to survive in our country”.
I asked ” What’s the name?”
She said, ” Camellia”.
I was shocked –Another name appeared shining in the darkness of my heart.
I smiled, and said, ”Camellia? perhaps it’s not easy to win her heart!"
I didn’t know what Tanuka thought – all of a sudden, she blushed, and looked delighted at the same time.
Translated by : Malabika Ray Choudhury
PART 2 of the poem has been posted.
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