“O Nodi Re”
This was written by and also sung by Hemanta Mukherjee. I think he also composed the tunes.
O Nodire
Ekti kotha shudhai shudhu tomaare
Bolo kothay tomar desh
Tomar neiki cholaar shesh
Tomar kono badhon naai
Tumi ghor chara ki taai
Ei achho bhataay abar
Ei to dekhi jowaar e
Ekul bhenge okul tumi goro
Jaar ekul okul du kul gelo
Taar laagi ki koro
Amay bhabcho michei por
Tomar naai ki oboshor
Shukh dukkher kotha kichu
Koile na hoy amaare
Roughly translated:
(improvements welcome)
Oh! you incessantly flowing river
I have but this one query for you
From where are you coming
And is there no end to your flowing?
You seem to be blissfully unfettered
Bereft of your own abode
One moment I see you receding in an ebb
And in the next you are rushing in a tide
You break a bank on one side
Only to create another on the other
And what do you do for those
Who have lost on all their sides?
Do not think of me as a stranger
For whom you have no time nor tide
Why don’t you pause next to me
And narrate the story of your life?
