. . . Came flood, came death, came the storm of war
Great Famine left its signature on every road,
Every moment I was afraid the whole history was under threat
Yet I kept my spirit up, although besieged by death, and heaved no sigh of despair
There are signs left in the burning ghats in towns and villages
And face to face with many a death I have sung firmly of victory.
That is why today standing here, close to our dear dreams,
It seems we are all living only in you—
We have got you after scaling many deaths
You will stand like a wall in this devastated land.
Raising your hand to the horizon in all directions you have sent us a call
And see millions of people are throbbing with life in villages and town halls.
Sukanta Bhattacharya
(Translated from the original Bengali by Jagannath Chakravorty)