by Ankur Barua
O my Lord –
From the rivers to the sea is this great land blessed with greenery
Through the fleeting clouds on blue skies you breathe mercifully
O Allah – across this partitioned land your indivisible love does stand.
On a luminous arc from the valleys of Sind to this corner of al-Hind
Through the golden harvest blows bounteously your gracious wind
O Allah – across this partitioned land your indivisible love does stand.
Today I sing the lyrics of Rabindranath and tomorrow I invoke Nazrul
Thus have I intermarried my rustic banphul1 with many a refined gul2
O Allah – across this partitioned land your indivisible love does stand.
Through my zikr breathes the melody of your enchanting flute
From my Indian roots it is to your throne that I forge my route
O Allah – across this partitioned land your indivisible love does stand.
With our sweat and tears we raise our sickles reddened with blood
As our boatman deliver us from the ravages of this fearsome flood
O Allah – across this partitioned land your indivisible love does stand.
May I ply my frail boat on rivers of paradise that abound in fish
When I draw my last breath this shall indeed be my dying wish!
O Allah – across this partitioned land your indivisible love does stand.
1. Bengali: “wild flower”.
2. Persian: “rose”; “beloved”.
Ankur Barua is University Senior Lecturer in Hindu Studies at Cambridge University. He read Theology and Religious Studies at the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge. His primary research interests are Vedantic Hindu philosophical theology and Indo-Islamic styles of sociality.
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One response to “Zikr: The Boatman of Calcutta”
Exquisite! I kiss your feet, dear Ankur-dada, where the gods have poured amrita.
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