Naked lonely hand( Nogno Nirjan Haat)
Jibananda das
Satavahana /OU/KU/TU-Telangana State-M.A. English Sem.1
(Paper-V.Modern Indian Literatures in Translation
Jibananda das (1899-1955)was a modern Bengali poet and contemporary of Tagore. Jibananda das was a nature worshipper and his poems are filled
with emotions.Apart from poetry, he wrote 21 novels and 108 short stories.Naked lonely hand is an anthology of 50 poems, translated into English by Joe Winter.He received Sahitya Academy Award for Shrestha Kavita in the year 1955.
Darkness once again thickens throughout the sky:
This darkness, like light's mysterious sister.
She who has loved me always,
Whose face I have yet to see,
Like that woman
Is this darkness, deepening, closing in upon a February sky.
A certain vanished city comes to mind,
In my heart wake outlines of some gray palace in that city.
on shores of the Indian ocean
or the Mediterranean
or the banks of the Sea of Tyre,
Not today, but once there was a city,
And a palace-
A palace lavishly furnished:
Persian carpets, Kashmiri shawls, flawless pearls and coral from waters
round Bahrain.
My lost heart, dead eyes, faded dream desires
And you, woman-
All these once filled that world.
There was orange sunlight,
Cockatoos and pigeons
Dense, shady mahogany foliage.
There was orange sunlight,
Much orange-colored sunlight,
And you were there.
For how many hundreds of centuries I have not seen the beauty of your
face,
Have not searched.
The February darkness brings with it this tale of a seashore,
Sorrowful lines of fantasy domes and arches,
Fragrance of invisible pears,
Countless deer and lion parchments, graying,
Stained glass rainbows rippling over drapes-
A fleeting glow from
Room through anteroom to further inner room.
Momentary awe and wonder.
Sweat of ruddy sun, smeared on curtains, carpets,
Watermelon wine in red glasses!
Your naked lonely hand
Your naked lonely hand.
Summary.
In the first stanza, the poet speaks about the darkness of the spring sky. Phalguna, the eleventh month of the Bangla calendar, marks the arrival of spring. Thepleasant spring season falls in the month of February.The poet addresses darkness as light's mysterious sister. This mysterious darkness is compared to an unnamed woman who loved him so dearly. He has not seen her face yet. It might be platonic love or imaginative love. Darkness deepens in the February sky.
He reminisces about a fading palace in a vanished city on the shores of the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, or the Bay of Tyre. He is not sure about the location of the palace, as it is a faded memory. Now the darkness of spring's sky reminded him of the palace in the long-lost city. The palace was well furnished with Persian carpets, Kashmiri shawls, flawless pearls, and coral from the waters of Bahrain. The vivid imagery of distant regions is created in the minds of readers. The poet cherishes his memories. The woman was also there when there was orange sunlight, parrots, pigeons, and dense mahogany trees. Orange-coloured sunlight is seen at sunrise or sunset in the sky. It symbolises joyful life in the palace. The poet uses hyperbole to say that he has not seen her beautiful face for a thousand years. Now the February sky or Phalguna's darkness is carrying the tale of a seashore that brings back those memories, and he is longing to see his beloved face. There were some painful memories of ancient domes, arches, fading manuscripts made out of deer, lion parchments,rainbow-coloured windows, and glass full of watermelon wine. A short-lived glow of sun enters the waiting room and into the inner room. There, he sees only her naked, lonely hand.
S.Rajedh kumar
