AAMAR JANMABHUMI - A BENGALI POEM

   Blogchatter's Half-Marathon is back with a bang in this year 2023 too. As usual bloggers enthusiastically participating and presenting classy blogposts. I'm joining from today for the next ten days writing under the theme 10 GREAT WORKS FROM INDIAN LANGUAGES. 

"Such a country on search, you will not get anywhere; the land of my birth is the queen of all countries. It is my motherland, the land of my birth". 

These were the words of pride written by Dwijendralal Ray in his Bengali poem- AAMAR JANMABHUMI. His patriotic songs are rich in emotion and grandeur. The song "Aamar Janmabhumi" with others were recorded in Gramophone in those days. It inspires every citizen of India to have love and pride for their motherland even today.

Listen to the song here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-JNG7-I4ws

English version below translated by Arkadev Chatterjea.

Brimming with wealth, grains, and flowers,

This earth of ours,

In which there is a land,

The finest of all.

Created in dreams,

Wrapped in memories.

Nowhere will you find a nation so grand,

Queen of all, my motherland.

Stars, planets, moon, and sun aglow

Where else with such a vibrant flow?

Where does lightning dance

In such deep, dark clouds?

Her birdsong lulls me to sleep,

And, birdcall wakes me up.

Nowhere will you find a nation so grand,

Queen of all, my motherland.

Who has such cool rivers?

Where are such misty mountains?

Where do such lush green fields

Rest under the sky?

Where does the wind make such waves

On ricefields and blow by?

Nowhere will you find a nation so grand,

Queen of all, my motherland.

The trees are decked with flowers

Singing birds teeming bowers.

Murmuring honeybees

Come in swarms

Drink the nectar

And sleep on the blossoms.

Nowhere will you find a nation so grand,

Queen of all, my motherland.

Such love from brother and mother,

Where else will you discover?

O Mother, I will clutch

Your two feet to my heart.

In this land I was born,

From here let me "Depart."

Nowhere will you find a nation so grand,

Queen of all, my motherland.

Poet, Patriot, Playwright Dwijendra Lal Roy (1863-1913) contemporary to Rabindranath Nath Tagore. Known popularly as Dee-El-Ray in his time, became famous for the plays he wrote: mythological, Historical and social. His plays were passion for actors and actresses and favourite for Bengalis.

To the core of his heart Dwijendra Lal was very affectionate and sentimental but at the same time disciplined and restrained. In his lyrics (Poems for songs)  the words were unambiguous and arranged in prose like straightforwardness and with subtle dramatic fervour, where as speeches from characters in plays bear poetic eloquence. It can be said , his plays were poetic in nature and prose dramatic in character.

Well versed in both Indian and Western music, he could masterly blended the two types, for which Rabindranath had commented that Dwijendra Lal had added a golden string to the veena of Saraswathi, the Goddess of arts and music.

He also composed a few many songs on various contemporary topics.  Two of his most famous compositions are 'Dhana Dhanya Pushpa Bhara' and 'Banga Amar Janani Amar'. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in early modern Bengali literature.

(This blogpost is a part of BLOGCHATTER'S HALF MARATHON 2023)