Translations of Suman's lyrics

[agang]

I wonder if anyone is aware of translations of Suman's lyrics in English or other languages.

I know that Dr Sudipto Chatterjee had done some excellent translations many years back and put them up on the net..

For example,
Many a window I have seen ablaze
On many a window the likeness of her face
On many a window monsoon's untimely rage

Do friends know of other translations? Or can we try some ourselves??

anirban

[aloke]

There are few floating on web, all done by sudiptoda. Havent seen any other one .

[babonbd]

Originally Posted by agang

I wonder if anyone is aware of translations of Suman's lyrics in English or other languages.

I know that Dr Sudipto Chatterjee had done some excellent translations many years back and put them up on the net..

For example,
Many a window I have seen ablaze
On many a window the likeness of her face
On many a window monsoon's untimely rage

Do friends know of other translations? Or can we try some ourselves??

anirban

Dear friends,

I’ve 43 songs of Suman translated by Sudipto Chatterjee in my personal collection. You may download them from the following link:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register...]

Regards,

[agang]

thanks arif....

but these were done almost 10 years back...so does not include the newer ones..

i suggest...

can we select a few more songs, and then try out some english translations ourselves...this way, people who dont know bangla can also be given a flavour of suman da's lyrics...

anirban

[sreyashi]

anirban

khub bhalo prostab. emon kichhu jodi kora jay khub bhalo hobe.

[SimplyRoy]

I Want You ....


First of all - I want you.
Second of all - I want you.
Third of all - I want you.
Till the very end - I want you.
In the quiet of the dark, I want you.
At the turn of dawn, I want you.
In youth of morn, I want you.
In the leisurely eve, I want you.
In April storms, I want you.
In July clouds, I want you.
In August deluges, I want you.
In October festivities, I want you.

To the time-worn Calcutta streets,
To old 'n' new faces, in houses 'n' retreats,
To the innumerable people in a tired procession,
It's you who brought a touch of unknown vacation.
In the fatigue of city-life, I want you.
In a droplet of calm, I want you.
At the end of a long walk, I want you.
In my love for life, I want you.

At crossings of streets, in parks and stores,
In cities and villages, here and there evermore;
In stations, terminals, ports and outdoors;
In strange living rooms, familiar indoors;
On pillows, mattresses, quilts and sheets age-old;
In cuddling comforters on a wintry night's cold;
On ceiling bars and thresholds, door mats and spreads;
In laughter, anger, hurt, quarrels and truces bred--
I want you, want you, want you!

In a cup of tea, I want you.
On left and right, I want you.
Seen or unseen, I want you.
In unspoken words, I want you.
In Shirshendu's latest book,
In Aabol Taabol, at a flippant look;
In obtuse poems, in a thumri or khayal;
In slogans painted on wall after wall;
In songs that Salil Choudhury left behind;
In the life that Chaurasia's flute defined;
In the music of Himangshu Datta we don't remember,
The old radio show that played my favorite number--
I want you, want you, want you.

In requests and entreatings, I want you.
In cries of pain, I want you.
In wants and demands, I want you.
In shame and hesitation, I want you.
In cutting demands, their right recognized;
In posters of struggle painted overnight;
In polished poetry, its rhetoric cadence;
In the logic of prose, the hope of existence;
In an endless longing for a society without class,

A hunger for changing the times, en masse;
In the dream of doubts and strife dispelling;
In sleep and waking, when Equality's calling;
In agitation and revolution--I want you.
In the impossible of impossibles, I want you.
In war and peace, I want you.
In this confusion, I want you.
First of all - I want you.
Second of all - I want you.
Third of all - I want you.
Till the very end - I want you.

# courtesy: Rusha & Sudipto Chatterjee.

[agang]

Originally Posted by SimplyRoy

I Want You ....


First of all - I want you.
Second of all - I want you.
Third of all - I want you.
Till the very end - I want you.
In the quiet of the dark, I want you.
At the turn of dawn, I want you.
In youth of morn, I want you.
In the leisurely eve, I want you.
In April storms, I want you.
In July clouds, I want you.
In August deluges, I want you.
In October festivities, I want you.

To the time-worn Calcutta streets,
To old 'n' new faces, in houses 'n' retreats,
To the innumerable people in a tired procession,
It's you who brought a touch of unknown vacation.
In the fatigue of city-life, I want you.
In a droplet of calm, I want you.
At the end of a long walk, I want you.
In my love for life, I want you.

At crossings of streets, in parks and stores,
In cities and villages, here and there evermore;
In stations, terminals, ports and outdoors;
In strange living rooms, familiar indoors;
On pillows, mattresses, quilts and sheets age-old;
In cuddling comforters on a wintry night's cold;
On ceiling bars and thresholds, door mats and spreads;
In laughter, anger, hurt, quarrels and truces bred--
I want you, want you, want you!

In a cup of tea, I want you.
On left and right, I want you.
Seen or unseen, I want you.
In unspoken words, I want you.
In Shirshendu's latest book,
In Aabol Taabol, at a flippant look;
In obtuse poems, in a thumri or khayal;
In slogans painted on wall after wall;
In songs that Salil Choudhury left behind;
In the life that Chaurasia's flute defined;
In the music of Himangshu Datta we don't remember,
The old radio show that played my favorite number--
I want you, want you, want you.

In requests and entreatings, I want you.
In cries of pain, I want you.
In wants and demands, I want you.
In shame and hesitation, I want you.
In cutting demands, their right recognized;
In posters of struggle painted overnight;
In polished poetry, its rhetoric cadence;
In the logic of prose, the hope of existence;
In an endless longing for a society without class,

A hunger for changing the times, en masse;
In the dream of doubts and strife dispelling;
In sleep and waking, when Equality's calling;
In agitation and revolution--I want you.
In the impossible of impossibles, I want you.
In war and peace, I want you.
In this confusion, I want you.
First of all - I want you.
Second of all - I want you.
Third of all - I want you.
Till the very end - I want you.

# courtesy: Rusha & Sudipto Chatterjee.

i find this one a bit too literal....

and also, how does the non-bangla speaker understand the context of abol tabol, or himangshu datta...even if one provides annotations, as sudipto chatterjee actually did

somehow i think translations of suman da's lyrics will need a different approach...but cannot think what it should be...

anirban

[bnayak]

onubad to sudhu translation noi...jemonti amader shcool e sekhano hoto ! Onubad howa uchit bhabanubad....seta ek matro Sumon i parbe....ei onubad jara korechen tader choto korar kono obhipray nei...kintu tao chitkar kore bolchi

Tomar kobita ami porina kohono
...onubad kora kono onno bhasahi

[agang]

Originally Posted by bnayak

onubad to sudhu translation noi...jemonti amader shcool e sekhano hoto ! Onubad howa uchit bhabanubad....seta ek matro Sumon i parbe....ei onubad jara korechen tader choto korar kono obhipray nei...kintu tao chitkar kore bolchi

Tomar kobita ami porina kohono
...onubad kora kono onno bhasahi

onubaad jaaNra bangla janen, tNader jonno to noi
sudipto chatterjee je anubaad korechhen, ta jodio anek jaygay akkhorik, tabuo bangla na jaana manushder kiicchuta holeo suman-er gaaner swad poucNchhe dite pare

tai, amaar prostab chhilo, keu jodi utsahi hon, eksonge cheshta kora jete pare. bhabanubaad korte parle to bhaloi hoi. tobe kicchuta 'literal' holeo ba khati ki?

jemon: jatishmar

amaratyer protyasha nei...

Immortality - that's not for me, and was never due
A living mortal I am, just wanting you.

Now one can change the words, use the thesaurus, do whatever..
But if we all try together, may be we can hit upon some English line that captures the essence of some Suman line in Bangla.

Bondhuraa ki bolen?

Anirban