Bitasta Ghoshal ( Bangla) 

Translated by Spandan Bhattachariya

The unknown you

Known you like my palm,
Face,.your finger, the naked mole,
favorite color, food, books , likes-dislikes,
everything.
Elusive perfume, ushering of the distant paradise that maddens you,
all were known.
Could not recognize the you hidden in your mind.

2.

Fear

Now I know you were frightened,
Your coward mind reminded you of
the society, job, even your security.

I know how you were threatened
and stranded in the dark street
by that husky voice with a dagger.

I am sure before deserting me you wiped your tears
and prayed many times to God for pardon.

I saw everything-
Your painful eyes, shivering breasts, dried up lips,
tired steps.
You knew all
except, that I also knew all.

3.

Pursuit

Desired to be river, desired to be waves,
desired stormy winds touch my eyes.
Nothing wrong to be a pedestrian. Let there be no address,
would have found the path-breaking song in the road itself.

No harm in being a cloud-mariner also !! Dense dark cloud lashes with lightening-
Tearing apart all the unhappiness,then I played like a fountain….
Heavy rains outside, I’m in search of an umbrella.

4.

After a long silence

We talked after a long silence;

The shimmering lamp hides in it’s own shadow,
Covered in dense darkness-
the exhausted face of night.

This is the time;
Now we can discuss
the brighter sides of
art and music.
The knowledge of getting old
‘Age-disease-death are inevitable’

But one day
we have loved each other
ignoring death.

5.

Philosophy

Met as per schedule
Separation got simultaneously scheduled.

Everyone goes away
We all have to go
You me….

Why still we woke up in the middle of the night
Your feelings in every corner of the mind
As if I get drenched
with raindrops.

Though surely I know
all these are as elusive as
the moonlight.

6.

Dawn

Shameless nights
make our broken relationships naked.
All efforts to hide them failed.
As I hit the pillow those efforts
make faces at me.

I pretend to sleep
shut my ears with the pillow
try to erase all those insults.

And then struck the shameless anger.

I start walking in pursuit of dawn.

Poets intro-
Bitasta Ghoshal is a distinguished author, poet, reviewer, and translator with a remarkable career in literature. After earning her Master’s degree in History and Library Science, she excelled as a lecturer at a college. She then stepped into the spotlight as the head of Bhasha Samsad, a prestigious publishing house in Kolkata. In her role as Editor-in-Chief of Anubad Patrika, she oversees India’s only magazine dedicated exclusively to translation for the past 50 years.
Ghoshal has garnered numerous prestigious awards for her unwavering commitment to literature,like the Bangla Academy Saraswat Samman and the Vivekananda Yuva Samman,Boi Bondhu best writer award, Bijaya Sarbajaya Samman, Ekantar Kotha Sahityik samman etc.
She has 45 books. Her poems and stories are translated into diverse languages, such as Hindi, Odiya, Assamese, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and English.
Recently, her acclaimed poetry collection ‘Hiranmoy Purush Tomake’ and her captivating short story compilation ‘Roopkathar Rajkanyara’ were successfully translated and published in Odiya, further solidifying her impact on the literary landscape.
Her books Rupkothar Rajkonnya and Hironmay purush are translated into Odiya, and her English novel is A Stranger Exile.
Email- bitasta.ghoshal@gmail.com
contact-9830329558

Translater :

Spandan Bhattacharyya, an Electrical engineer from Jadavpur University . He worked with various companies ,and his last stint was with a German multinational for almost 16 years. Currently he is a freelancer . He also have a passion for translation from English to Bengali and vice-versa.
Contact no. : 9903352554
E-mail : spandan68@yahoo.co.in