Malatibala Balika Bidyalay
Benimadhab, Benimadhab, I want to visit your home
Benimadhab, do you still remember me?
Benimadhab, when you played the flute of romance--
under the lush green canopy, I was a pupil at Malati School
Sitting at my desk I solved math problems in our small classroom
Outside the class our teacher alongside her groom
I was standard nine, I was sari
We met, Benimadab, at Sulekha's home.
Benimadhab, Benimadhab, well-read and smart
When visiting from town I am but dark
Just one glance at you and I ran to my abode
Benimadhab, my father works at a store.
Despite it all hums the whining little bee, in the arbor blooms life decree
And in my evening study hour I miscalculate my sums
I was standard nine, I was sweet sixteen
Clandestinely we met beside the bridge
Benimadhab, Benimadhab, tell me the truth
After all these years do you still remember our past?
Did you ever tell your girlfriend about us?
I saw you just once together with her
Under a light, a marvelous light
I tell you I thought you two looked smart
The sight quenched my eyes, the sight burned my eyes
I came home and wished you good luck.
At night when I go to sleep at the basement chamber
Silvery moon rays illuminate the bedding sheet spread on the floor
My other sister, the one younger than me, is lost in the barbed thoroughfare
She just disappeared; I don’t know with whom she now resides
Today you have, what will happen tomorrow? Tomorrow is the devil
Nowadays I am the neighborhood needlework tutor
Yet fire, Benimadhab, why the fire does not lit?
How will it be if I end too up being another fallen woman?
Benimadhab, do you still remember me?
Benimadhab, when you played the flute of romance--
under the lush green canopy, I was a pupil at Malati School
Sitting at my desk I solved math problems in our small classroom
Outside the class our teacher alongside her groom
I was standard nine, I was sari
We met, Benimadab, at Sulekha's home.
Benimadhab, Benimadhab, well-read and smart
When visiting from town I am but dark
Just one glance at you and I ran to my abode
Benimadhab, my father works at a store.
Despite it all hums the whining little bee, in the arbor blooms life decree
And in my evening study hour I miscalculate my sums
I was standard nine, I was sweet sixteen
Clandestinely we met beside the bridge
Benimadhab, Benimadhab, tell me the truth
After all these years do you still remember our past?
Did you ever tell your girlfriend about us?
I saw you just once together with her
Under a light, a marvelous light
I tell you I thought you two looked smart
The sight quenched my eyes, the sight burned my eyes
I came home and wished you good luck.
At night when I go to sleep at the basement chamber
Silvery moon rays illuminate the bedding sheet spread on the floor
My other sister, the one younger than me, is lost in the barbed thoroughfare
She just disappeared; I don’t know with whom she now resides
Today you have, what will happen tomorrow? Tomorrow is the devil
Nowadays I am the neighborhood needlework tutor
Yet fire, Benimadhab, why the fire does not lit?
How will it be if I end too up being another fallen woman?
Recitation of Joy Goswami's original Bengali poem Malatibala Balika Bidyalay by Barnali Saha
