Gitanjali: Song 74 "Aar naire bela namlo chhaya"

To the average Bengali this song refers to a bunch of village belles going to the river bank to fetch their daily water. But when you tear apart the "sanchari" (last verse) of this song, the hidden message comes out differently. Tagore had painted a scene using words like "bijan path e" (lonely path) , "prem nadite uThechhe dheu..." (in the river of love there are rampant waves), and also thrown in a surrealistic hint with "bajay bina taranite" (plays a lute while upon a boat.)

Now, here is an erotic background information (as stated by Nirad C. Chaudhury) that Tagore had plugged in this song: In nineteen century rural Bengal the sexual cravings of married women would be appeased during their daily evening jaunts away from their homes to the river bank, where virile young men from neighboring villages would be awaiting their arrival. The women would "hook up" with men of their own choice and return home sexually satiated, to their unaware husbands. Some would even wish never to return home again, should they find a satisfactory lover. Hence the lines in the poem "jani na ar phirbo ki na, kar sathe aaj habe chinaa..."




Unfortunately, most Bengali artistes when they sing this song (and their audience) are oblivious of the fact that the song represents the sexual arousal in women; verisimilar to that of Radha pining for extramarital sex with Lord Krishna. Ergo, even doyens like Kanika Bannerjee and Ritu Guha have recorded it as sung in a slow tempo. One would expect a faster tempo rendition to aptly portray the sense of urgency for a woman in "heat". Fortunately for us, Mita Hauk has recorded a perfect rendition in a baul style.

When you translate the song properly and generate appropriate visuals, the meaning becomes lucidly clear. Perhaps, it is for this reason that Tagore had deliberately sanitized this song in his English prose translation, which I am including just so the interested viewer can compare.

The day is no more, the shadow is upon the earth.
It is time that I go to the stream to fill my pitcher. The evening air is eager with the sad music of the water.
Ah, it calls me out into the dusk.

In the lonely lane there is no passer-by,
the wind is up, the ripples are rampant in the river. I know not if I shall come back home.
I know not whom I shall chance to meet.
There at the fording in the little boat
the unknown man plays upon his lute.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Rabindranath Tagore
• Bengali song
• Gitanjali
• rabindra sangeet

[misergirl]

this song is not by ritu guha.....she is definitely not the singer here....

[Supe2U]

@misergirl Read the Credits please. This is sung by Mita Hauk

[lanimesh]

bah bhalo hoyeche khub..

[Supe2U]

@lanimesh Thanks Animesh for appreciating. :)

[Kheyalkhushi]

Sadly, your interpretation of a purported sexual angle in this great song totally diminishes the ethereal beauty of the composition. Unpleasant.