Sakhi Bhaabona Kaahare Bole
Written by Rabindranath Tagore
Sakhi*, bhaabona kaahare bole
Sakhi, jaatona kaahare bole
Tomra je balo dibaso-rajanee
bhaalobasa bhaalobasa
Sakhi, bhaalobasa kaare koy
Se ki keboli jaatonamoy
My friend, what are emotions
What is known as pain
You keep saying day and night
That love and love abound
O my dear, what is love
Is it all laden with agony
Se ki keboli chokher jal
Se ki keboli dukher shwaas
Loke tobe kore ki sukheri tore
emon dukher aash
Is it all tears
Or a sigh of grief alone
Why do people, for what sort of joy
yearn for such sorrow
Aamar chokhe to sakoli shobhan,
Sakoli nabeen, sakoli bimal,
Suneel aakash, shyamol kanan,
Bishad jochona, kusum komol
sakoli aamari moto
To my eyes everything looks so graceful
All is new, all is pure
The azure sky, the green garden
Soft flowers washed by the cheerless moonlight
All are just like me
Taara keboli haase, keboli gaay
Haasiya kheliya morite chaay
Naa jaane bedan, na jaane rodan
na jaane saadher jaatona jato
They only laugh and sing
They wish to die laughing and playing
They know no woe, they know no tears
They don’t know this desired anguish
Phool se haasite haasite jhare
jochona haasiya milaye jaay
Haasite haasite aaloksaagore
aakasher taara teyage kay
The flowers fall off, smiling and laughing
The moonbeams laugh and fade away
Smiling and laughing in the ocean of light
The smiling stars twinkle in the sky
Aamar maton sukhee ke aachhe
Aaye Sakhi aaye, aamar kaachhe
Sukhee hridayer sukher gaan
Shuniya toder judabe praan
Who is happier than I
Come nearer me, come my friend
Listen to the joyful music of my ecstatic heart
Hearing it will calm your heart
Protidin jodi kaandibi kebol
ekdin noy haasibi tora
Ekdin noy bishad bhuliya sakole miliya gaahibo mora
If you only lament every day
Why not laugh at least one day
Just one day let’s forget the gloom
Let’s all sing in unison
(*Sakhi means a female friend)
Details about Sakhi Bhaabona Kaahare Bole song and its music:
Parjaay: Natya-geeti
Taal: Ektaal
Raag: Behaag-Khambaj
Written on: 1880
Published in: Bharati
Collection: Bhagna-hridoy
Swarabitan: 20
(Source: Geetabitan.com)
This evergreen song has been sung by various artists through the decades. Enjoy some of the popular renditions:
Sakhi bhaabona kaahare bole (Sriman Prithviraj, 1972) Lata Mangeshkar and Arati Mukherjee
Sakhi bhaabona kaahare bole Sumitra Sen
Sakhi bhaabona kaahare bole Debabrata Biswas
More Must Read in Translations in LnC
Bipade More Rakkha Karo: The Prayer to Be Fearless (Translation of Tagore Song)
Rabindranath Tagore’s Chitrangada: English Translation (Part I)
