`
Translated from the original in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore
`
Krishnakali, that’s what she is to me
Dark they call her, the village laity
On a cloudy day, I’d seen her in the field
Her dark gazelle eyes and their dark beauty
Her wanton veil frisked the village track
Her plaited locks danced on her back
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Dense clouds cast a dense murk
Lowed aloud a couple of cows gray
Her dusky feet scampered anxiously
All along the cattle-beaten way
Casting her locked brow upon the sky
Heard she the dark clouds rumble by
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
A sudden gust rushes from the east
Rippling the emerald paddy yield
Alone, I stood by the ridge
None else were there in the field
Turning her gaze, did she look at me
Know I, and knows only she
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Just this way, the kohl-dark cloud
Diffuses onto the summer blue
Just this way, the soothing dark shadow
Paints the woods with her inky monsoon hue
Just this way, on a moist monsoon night
Sprouts within a sudden sprig of delight
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Krishnakali, that’s what she is to me
Whatever they may call, the village laity
I had seen her in the Moynapara field
Her dark gazelle eyes and their dark beauty
With her wanton veil, she ne’er tried to cover her face
She hadn’t the time to care about her naked grace
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Krishnakali, that’s what she is to me...
`
Translated from the original in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore
`
Krishnakali, that’s what she is to me
Dark they call her, the village laity
On a cloudy day, I’d seen her in the field
Her dark gazelle eyes and their dark beauty
Her wanton veil frisked the village track
Her plaited locks danced on her back
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Dense clouds cast a dense murk
Lowed aloud a couple of cows gray
Her dusky feet scampered anxiously
All along the cattle-beaten way
Casting her locked brow upon the sky
Heard she the dark clouds rumble by
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
A sudden gust rushes from the east
Rippling the emerald paddy yield
Alone, I stood by the ridge
None else were there in the field
Turning her gaze, did she look at me
Know I, and knows only she
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Just this way, the kohl-dark cloud
Diffuses onto the summer blue
Just this way, the soothing dark shadow
Paints the woods with her inky monsoon hue
Just this way, on a moist monsoon night
Sprouts within a sudden sprig of delight
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Krishnakali, that’s what she is to me
Whatever they may call, the village laity
I had seen her in the Moynapara field
Her dark gazelle eyes and their dark beauty
With her wanton veil, she ne’er tried to cover her face
She hadn’t the time to care about her naked grace
Dark, O however dark she be
Her dark gazelle eyes did I see
Krishnakali, that’s what she is to me...
`
Chandannagar, WB,
August, 2004
