https://youtu.be/vDCAuuoXVZc?list=PLB86AF2310291E958
The second monsoon has hit Uganda and temperatures have suddenly plummeted. I can’t describe how pleasant and beautiful it is. The early mornings in particular have this unusual translucent quality and the nights are deep and still, broken only by the occasional waft of the cool monsoon winds, call of the occasional night bird and the chirping of countless insects.
I am reminded of Tagore’s
আমার নিশীথরাতের বাদলধারা, এসো হে গোপনে
আমার স্বপনলোকে দিশাহারা ॥
ওগো অন্ধকারের অন্তরধন, দাও ঢেকে মোর পরান মন –
আমি চাই নে তপন, চাই নে তারা ॥
যখন সবাই মগন ঘুমের ঘোরে নিয়ো গো, নিয়ো গো,
আমার ঘুম নিয়ো গো হরণ করে ।
একলা ঘরে চুপে চুপে এসো কেবল সুরের রূপে –
দিয়ো গো, দিয়ো গো,
আমার চোখের জলের দিয়ো সাড়া ॥
Come to me in my private seclusion
The downpour of my dark night
Come to me unbridled
In the realm of my dreams
O my innermost treasure,
In the depth of my darkness
Wrap me up, my heart and soul
For now I seek not the sun, nor the stars
The hour when the rest of the world is deep in sleep
Take away my sleep, rob me of my repose
Come to me in my private chamber
Come to me in the strains of a melody
Respond, O do respond I beseech
To the plaintive call of my tears
(Translation: Shumon Sengupta)
The core message of the song, the key to the song in my view lies in the last two lines ..
দিয়ো গো, দিয়ো গো,
আমার চোখের জলের দিয়ো সাড়া ॥
Respond, O do respond I beseech
To the plaintive call of my tears
The quest, the call of the soul is so beautifully expressed in the simple words দিয়ো গো, দিয়ো গো .. দিয়ো সাড়া! The intense yearning, the pain, the desperate ‘reaching out’ is so beautifully expressed in the simple, yet exquisite and heart wrenching melody.
Who else, but Tagore could have pulled this off so elegantly!
And now, something about the artist and this particular album would be in order.
Sahana Bajpaie has this unusual tonal quality to her voice, which is husky, heady and melodious at the same time. She has a straightforward, unadorned style of rendition, stripped of any excesses or mannerisms, but imbued with an emotional intensity that is at the same time, refreshingly understated.
The soul stirring, haunting quality of her voice makes me think that this song was composed by Tagore especially for her. Sahana’s style is truly very original and unique.
This particular album, in my view, is one of the most successful and sensitive experiments I have come across, in the area of instrumentation in Rabindrasangeet. Arnob has surpassed himself in this.
