doore kothay doore doore...

doore kothay doore doore
aamar mon beraye go, ghure ghure...

je baanshite batash kaande,
shei bashitir shure shure...

je poth shokol desh paraye,
udash hoye jay haraye...
she poth beye kangaal poran,
jete chay, kon ochin pure...

dure kothay, doore doore...


Even after almost 4 years i cannot stop myself feeling miserably nostalgic when i hear this song... True to its title the song takes me back through the depths of time, into the darkness of the ever so walked alleys, both of my mind and Presidency College...

i have been exposed to various forms of music... However the closest to my heart shall always be the great composer Tagore... i have often spoken to the large potrait of his in my house... for he is the only one who understood me... or rather understood the facets of human emotion better than anyone else... everyone writes, but to be able to evoke and describe human emotions through mere words is the work of a master...

Although i have been exposed to his compositions from birth, due to the culturally rich environment of my home, i only truly started appreciating the real worth of his songs during college...

humans are programmed not to think, biologically... indeed it takes a great deal of effort to search for reasons for everything around us... thus my thought process also started quite late... but the enormity of Tagore's work was immediately established...

human emotions are complex mechanisms... whether the work of simple chemicals or a greater being, the 'soul', will always be debated... it is thus quite incredible how i have found a song composed by him for every mood i have ever been in...

Unfortunately this part of me is not explored so often anymore... i still remember sitting with a harmonium every morning learning more... learning not just his songs but more about nature, life and even myself...

i have profound memories attached with his music... my earliest memories go back to me running around the house and my dad singing in front of the harmonium after office... later my memories take me to being taught by my mother... mugging up songs like some school quiz...mugging the patterns of rising and falling notes and learning the way the language flowed without really understanding any of it... later it takes me to my grandmother... her voice held a passion that truly cannot be described... the songs used to come alive with her steady strong voice... people would often choke with emotion when they heard her sing... then comes my singing school and all the people i met.. people from diverse backgrounds who touched my life in ever so beautiful a way... then comes the innumerable duets sung by me and my sister to the audience of my grandparents, functions in my house... appreciation and criticism...

however finally came love ... love for an individual and his compositions... all through singing school i had realized nothing... however one such incident changed me for ever... during that unreciprocated love i learnt... i thought and i understood... for the first time his music set me free... my thoughts needed to no other medium of expression than his songs... the path was already there... he knew and he made it easier for so many of us to express our deepest thoughts and desires, our unbearable sadness and disappointment, our brightest moments and pleasures... He was always there... by my side... by our sides...

next came singing on the phone for the one person who mattered... honestly had Tagore not been there, i would not have been the person i am, now...

i still hold on to the 'gitabitan' (collection of his songs) which belonged to my grandmother... it was a gift from me and my sister towards her... now she is no more... however her feelings and mine are intricately related through the one book i still have...

to end this highly emotional blog, let me translate the song for all those who have not had the opportunity to know it, love it... believe me i am getting choked with emotion while listening to the song and going back into the dark through the aeons of time...

doore kothay doore doore
aamar mon beraye go, ghure ghure...

je baanshite batash kaande,
shei bashitir shure shure...

je poth shokol desh paraye,
udash hoye jay haraye...
she poth beye kangaal poran,
jete chay, kon ochin pure...

dure kothay, doore doore...




Far somewhere,
my mind wanders,

to the tune of the flute
that brings sadness to the wind...

the path that runs through all near and beyond,
and gets lost in the darkness of gloom,

seduces my hollow soul to travel
through to some unknown mysterious land...

far somwhere,
my mind wanders...