THE RIVER

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Hey, does any of you know Why the water waves dance so? They dance day and night, Where did they learn it? Hark! With gurgle and splutter, Continuously flows the water. Whom do their hands beckon? Whose lap do they rock on? Always bubbling with delight They run with all their might. Keeping everybody appeased, They themselves remain pleased. I often sit and wonder, Wherefrom came the river From some high mountain it came, Does anybody know its name? It has never been visited It is uninhabited.

It has neither grass nor trees, Nor birds, beasts or bees. Where no sounds are heard The mountain sits like a great bard. On his high head Snowy covers are spread. Only the clouds there roam Like the children of the home. Only icy winds blow Over those wastes of snow. Only the stars of the night, Keep him in their sight. Only the smiling rays of dawn Adorn him with a crown. There, under the skys blue feet, Where the soft clouds meet, Where the white snow gleams, The sleeping river dreams. Once as the sun shone on her face, She woke up in that place; Once on a sunny day, She remembered her play. There she lived alone Playmates there were none; She heard nobodys tongue, There no songs were sung. So chattering along the road, She slowly left her abode Thinking, Whatever theres to see Wont remain hidden from me. Below, on slopes not so high, Trees have risen through the sky. They are old trees whose Age nobody knows.

In their joints hard and big Birds build with twigs. Raising their black branches, They obscure the suns rays. From the boughs here and there Moss hangs like tangled hair, They stand without a gap, As if laying a dark trap. In the silent shades below, The giggling river does flow. Who can keep her still? She changes course at will. Ever playing hide-and-seek Pebbles rattle at her feet. Pushing rocks on her way, She goes laughing away. If on the path stands a mount, She smiles and goes around. Wild billy-goats there graze With beards hanging and horns raised. And deer with thick fur Whom none can capture. The people there look new, Their bodies all sinew, Their eyes are not straight Their words you dont get. They are children of the hill, They sing as lands they till. They toil day and night And cut heaps of wood to light. They climb mountaintops To hunt wild antelopes. As the river moves farther, Friends come and join her.

They too, like her, have come Out on the road leaving home. At their feet ring the pebbles, Like anklets and bangles. Light sparkles on them Like a dress of sparkling gems. In their own babbling way They have so much to say. Falling over with mirth They increase each others girth. Embracing each other tight At last they all unite. Then the water flows so fast It shakes the earths very crust. Wherever it falls from a height The rocks tremble with its might. Boulders crumble by her force The river carves her own course. The trees on her banks are tall They lean as if about to fall. Large chunks of rock crash And hit the water with a splash. Then the muddy water flows With bubbles in clusters close. The water swirls around And runs madly seaward bound. Crossing the mountains, At last the river finds plains. Here whatever she does view, To her eyes they seem new. Open fields: her eyes they soothe The roads are flat and smooth. Here farmers crops do raise, There cattle having a graze,

Somewhere on a large fig branch A bird does a whistling dance, Shepherd boys there meet And play at some trees feet, In the villages near her shores People are busy doing their chores. Now nothing obstructs her flow She chooses the way to go. Rainwater streams on the way Come from all around. They Expand the river so fast, She is unstoppable at last. Grass makes the riverbanks green, Thats where herons preen. Buffaloes live there in herds, They roll in the riverbed mud. The wild boars there dwell, Their tusks dig up the soil. So many foxes there lurk, They howl after its dark. To so many lands she travels, The number is uncountable. At some places theres only sand, At others theres red-earth land; Some banks are covered with cane, Or wheat fields fill the plain; Small villages somewhere lie, Or a capital with head high The Nawab there a palace owns, With thick pillars of stone, Its ghats of a hundred steps Go down to the waters depths. Somewhere the rivers two banks A white stone bridge spans.

Somewhere on a bridge of steel A train puffs along on wheels. Travelling in this way, At last she finds soft clay. In course of the rivers tour, She comes to our very door. Here canals, lakes, rivulets Wrap the land in watery nets. Where girls themselves wash, Or boys have a good splash, Fishing nets the fishermen throw, The boatmen boats do row, The ferryman sings a merry song, As the ferryboats move along. Old temples by the scores, They line some of the shores, Each morning and evening, The prayer bells there do ring. Ascetics besmeared with ash, Sit as if drawn with a brush. Somewhere its market day, So many boats fill the quay. Fields have crops in such amount That is beyond all count! In some dense sugarcane plot, Lone mynas feed and trot. Where theres only sandy loam, Its the bank mynas home There turtles their eggs lay Under the sand and go away. In winter in flocks come Wild geese and make it home. There crowds of ducks belong,

They chatter all day long. The snipes along the shore Go pecking the mud for more. Somewhere beside paddy fields Through dense bamboo-banana yields Or woods of mango-jackfruit green Some small village can be seen. There grains in full barns lie, The haystacks are piled high, The cattle tied in their sheds, They are black, white and red. In the oil-millers small shack, The creaking mills at work. The potter his wheel whole day Turns and models clay. The grocer in his shop all day At the Ramayana reads away. Boys in classroom seats Their lessons aloud repeat, With the long cane in his lap, The teacher takes a nap. Here meandering all the way, Village roads go far away. A bullock cart on this road, Goes groaning under the load. Thin village dogs ill fed Sniff the dust in search of bread. When the full moon night comes by The moon smiles across the sky The woods across are dark, The water shines like sparks, Sand glistens on the bed, Shadows hide in shrubs in dread.

All are asleep under their roofs, Not a single boat now moves. The leaves on trees dont stir, Nor waves on the water. If suddenly awakened by the light, The cuckoo sings in the night, Across, a bird in its dream Utters an occasional scream. The river goes right-left, here-there, She stops never and nowhere. Here theres a deep jungle Where the shores have no people. Only crocodiles her banks do line, They bask in the bright sunshine. Tigers prowl among the clumps, On their prey they suddenly jump. Somewhere leopards can be seen, They have a spotted skin At night they steal to the brink And lick the water to drink. Here when there is high tide, The river swells up wide. The water is brim to brim Fruits and flowers in it swim, The waves laugh out loud, Boats pitch and roll about. The river like a python roars And tries to swallow its shores. Again, when the tide starts going low The water becomes shallow, The river is no more fat, On her sides are seen mud flats, The descending steps emerge

Like the rivers rib cage. Further the river goes More the water in it grows. Until you cant see the coast, And sense of direction is lost. The water becomes blue, Its taste is salty too. Then the river becomes so deep, To the sky the water leaps, The land now cant be found, It is water all around. Hey, whats that noise we hear? Whats the deep blue water there? That the ocean must be, Whose end none can see. There millions of waves all rise, Then banging its head each dies. The white foam dances on them, Like great anger bubbling within. The water roars and rushes around, As if to pull the sky to the ground. Running the wind arrives, Laughing into the waves he dives. Just like a school-less boy, Jumps, runs and plays with joy. Here however far you view, Theres nothing, nothing new Just the sky and wind and water, Just the noise of their chatter, Just the foam and the waves And theres no one, and nothing else. Here, at the end of all lands,

The rivers journey ends. Here all night and day Without end she can play. She can sing endless songs, Or dance all day long. Now she can have some rest, The ocean took her on his breast. On a blue bed her hell lay And wash her mud away. And cover her with froth, His wave-cradles bed cloth, Singing lullabys in her ears Make her tiredness disappear. For eternal days and nights, here She will lie in bottomless care.

(Translation by Sugata Banerji.)