By: Binoy Mazumdar 
Translated by:  Kousik Adhikari

Like walking
With an invaluable jewel near
A tension makes me pained always,
I hear different flowers are there,
But bathing in ocean of a person
Having cuts, fear shadows my mind,
Thinking where you are,
When wind vanishes
From the breast of earth suddenly,
All lives, flowers, all creation,
Famed creation, ruined it may be-
Like those paintings
Impossible for society,
Left, rejected,
Or like champak flower
Withers at the end being violet,
Forbidden ocean bath,
Can you come eternally
In the garland any day?
A tension makes me pained
Always like walking
With an invaluable jewel near.

******

[Binoy Mazumdar, noted Bengali poet, Sahitya Academy awarded. One of the most influential poets in the post-Rabindranath era, Sri Mazumdar remains a distinct voice in Bengali poetry. The present poem ‘With an Invaluable Jewel Near’ is translated from his original poem ‘Nikate Amulya Moni Mukta Nie Chalar Moto’, taken from ‘Binoy Mazumdarer Shrestha Kabita’ published by Dey’s Publishing, Kolkata (1981)]