Benimadhab, Benimadhab,
I want to visit your home
Benimadhab, do you still remember me?
Benimadhab, when you played
the flute of romance--
under the lush green canopy,
I was a pupil at Malati School
Sitting at my desk I solved math
problems in our small classroom
Outside the class our teacher
alongside her groom
I was in standard nine, I was in a sari,
We met, Benimadab, at Sulekha's home.
Benimadhab, Benimadhab,
well-read and smart
When visiting from town
I am but dark
Just one glance at you
and I ran to my abode
Benimadhab, my father works at a store.
Despite it all hums the whining little bee,
in the arbor blooms life decree
And in my evening study hour
I miscalculate my sums
I was standard nine, I was sweet sixteen
Clandestinely we met beside the bridge.
Benimadhab, Benimadhab,
tell me the truth
After all these years
do you still remember our past?
Did you ever tell
your girlfriend about us?
I saw you just once together with her
Under a light, a marvelous light
I tell you I thought
you two looked smart
The sight quenched my eyes,
the sight burned my eyes
I came home and wished you good luck.
At night when I go to sleep
at the basement chamber
Silvery moon rays illuminate
the bedding sheets spread on the floor
My other sister, the one younger than me,
is lost in the barbed thoroughfare
She just disappeared;
I don’t know with whom she now resides
Today you have, what will happen tomorrow?
Tomorrow is the devil
Nowadays I am the neighborhood needlework tutor
Yet fire, Benimadhab,
why does the fire not light?
How will it be if I too
end up being another fallen woman?
Notes
Lyrics:Joy Goswami
Singer:Lopamudra Mitra
Translation:Unknown, from the Internet