A Dream: English Translation
I
had
once
gone
to
Ujjaini
On
the
banks
of
the
river
Shipra
Far
far
away
in
that
land
of
dreams
To
seek
the
first
love
of
my
former
life.
She
had
lodhra*
powder
on
her
face
A
lotus
she
playfully
held
in
her
hand
She
stuck
buds
of
kunda
in
her
ears
And
kurubak
flower
in
her
hair
Her
slim
body
she
dressed
in
red
With
a
knot
at
her
waist
Anklets
gently
jingled
on
her
feet.
It
was
on
a
day
in
spring
To
find
my
way
I
had
to
travel
long
In
that
unknown
land.
In
the
temple
of
Mahakal
The
evening
prayer
bell
rang
The
crowded
roads
were
now
empty
The
dusk
was
falling
And
the
rooftops
were
glowing
With
the
rays
of
setting
sun.
My
beloved's
home
On
a
lonely
narrow
serpentine
street
Was
difficult
to
reach.
On
the
door
was
painted
A
conchshell
and
a
discus
On
either
side
of
its
entrance
Grew
two
young
mango
trees
Like
two
beloved
sons
On
a
white
pillar
at
the
gate
The
statue
of
a
lion
stood.
Her
pigeons
had
returned
home
And
on
a
golden
bar
Her
peacock
had
gone
to
sleep
With
a
lamp
in
her
hand
My
Malabika
slowly
came
down.
She
descended
the
stairs
like
a
goddess
Holding
an
evening
star
in
her
hand.
The
scent
of
flowers
and
her
body
Fell
on
me
like
warm
breaths
Her
half-slipped
dress
Revealed
her
left
breast
Painted
in
chandan
paste.
Seeing
me
my
beloved
Put
down
the
lamp
on
the
stairs
And
stood
before
me.
She
held
my
hand
And
silently
asked
with
her
anxious
eyes,
'How
are
you,
my
friend?'
Looking
at
her
I
tried
to
reply
But
no
words
came.
I
had
forgotten
her
language
Both
of
us
tried
hard
But
failed
to
remember
our
names.
Only
silent
tears
Trickled
down
our
eyes.
Sitting
under
the
tree
We
thought
and
thought
As
a
bird
seeks
its
nest
at
the
day's
end
Her
hands
sought
mine
Like
a
lotus
bending
on
its
stem
She
slowly
bent
her
head
on
my
breast
And
our
warm
eager
breaths
Silently
mingled.
In
the
darkness
of
night
Ujjaini
was
lost
At
the
gate
The
lamp
went
out
In
the
temple
On
the
banks
of
Shipra
The
prayers
stopped.
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (born May 7, 1861, Calcutta [now Kolkata], India—died August 7, 1941, Calcutta) Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-century India. In 1913 he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.