Sri Chinmoy spontaneously sets to music 200 Bengali songs from his 4-volume poetry series Pole-Star Promise-Light, part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 in 4 hours, taking only a 10-minute intermission after each group of 50 songs, at Thomas Edison High School in Jamaica, Queens, New York.
Uthe Jakhan Pub Gagane Savita
Lyrics:
Uthe jakhan pub gagane savita *
Takhan ami likhte basi kabita
Nil sagare rakta thala bhasichhe
Swarna jaba phulti jena hasichhe
Tomar hasi sabai chai dharate
Nami tomai bhakti bhare prabhate
Translation:
When the sun appears in the East,
I make friends with my poetry.
I see a golden disc
Right above the blue sea
A red hibiscus is smiling at me.
Is there anybody on earth, O Sun,
Who does not long for your smile?
No, nobody.
Everybody wants your smile.
I, too, want your smile
And something more:
I want to bow to you
With my heart’s adoration.
Note:
* Sri Chinmoy’s first Bengali poem, composed at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicheery, India. In 1975, Sri Chinmoy sets the poem to muisc and renders the English translation.
Published in Pole-Star Promise-Light, part 3