Always, o river, you peep in my mind.
Always, I think of you in this loneliness.
Always, I soothe my ears with the murmur
Of your waters in illusion, the way
Men hear songs of illusion in a dream.
Many a river I have seen on earth;
But which can quench my thirst the way you do?
You’re the flow of milk in my homeland’s breasts.
Will I meet you ever? As long as you
Go to a kinglike ocean to pay the tax
Of water, I beg to you, sing my name
Into the ears of the people of Bengal,
Sing his name, o dear, who in this far land
Sings your name in all his songs for Bengal.
One could easily presume that the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth penned the verses mentioned above. Except, they are not. They were composed by the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt.
A rebel and an incurable romantic, Madhusudan Dutt is known for his exceptional contributions to Bengali literature. Much like Wordsworth and Byron, Dutt’s poetry invokes the innate feelings of the heart. And, much like Wordsworth, Dutt’s poetic philosophy was shaped by his interactions with his family and by his innate desire to make a difference to his homeland.
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