The Poem in English & Japanese by HE Aitaka Saiki Ambassador of Japan:

Child, thou bringest to my heart
the babble of the wind and the water,
the flower's speechless secrets,
the clouds' dreams,
the mute gaze of wonder of the morning sky.

The rainbow among the clouds may be great
but the little butterfly among the bushes is greater.

The mist weaves her net round the morning,
captivates him, and makes him blind.
The Morning Star whispers to Dawn,
"Tell me that you are only for me".
"Yes", she answers,
"And also only for that nameless flower".

The sky remains infinitely vacant
for earth there to build its heaven with dreams.

(translation in Japanese)

我が子よ，あなたは私の心に最も輝かしい
あなたは，風と水のせせらぎであり，
花の無言の秘密であり，
雲たちの夢であり，
曙の空の音のない驚異

雲の間の虹は素晴らしい
でも，茂みの間の小さな蝶は，なお素晴らしい

霧は朝にその網を巡らし
彼をつかまえ，彼を盲目にする

明けの明星が，夜明けにささやく
「あなたは，私のためだけにいるのでしょう」
「そうよ」と夜明けは答える
「あなたと，名もない花たちだけのために」

空は限りなく空虚だ
大地が天まで届く夢でその空間を埋めるために

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By Mr Donal Lu, DCM in the Us Embassy in New Delhi:-
Journey Home

The time that my journey takes is long and the way of it long.

I came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light, and pursued my

voyage through the wildernesses of worlds leaving my track on many a star and planet.

It is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself,

and that training is the most intricate which leads to the utter simplicity of a tune.

The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own,

and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.

My eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said 'Here art thou!'

The question and the cry 'Oh, where?' melt into tears of a thousand

streams and deluge the world with the flood of the assurance 'I am!'

Closed Path

I thought that my voyage had come to its end

at the last limit of my power,---that the path before me was closed,

that provisions were exhausted

and the time come to take shelter in a silent obscurity.

But I find that thy will knows no end in me.

And when old words die out on the tongue,

new melodies break forth from the heart;

and where the old tracks are lost,

new country is revealed with its wonders.

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By UGO Astuto, DCM, Italian Embassy New Delhi:-

Tagore was in Italy at several times. Italy was the first place in Europe were he set foot, on his travel to England in 1878. He was back for longer stays in 1890, 1925 and 1926.

I was able to find a newspaper clipping of an article dated 23rd January 1925, concerning a talk that Tagore held in Milan, at the Philological Society. The subject of his talk, which was a resounding success, was the Crisis of Western civilisation as he saw it, in the wake of the First World War and at a time when totalitarian regimes were gaining ground in Europe.

In a nutshell, Tagore reminded his European public that materialism and commercialism cannot be the sole foundation for the happiness of man. Man needs to believe in superior universal values in order to achieve peace and dignity. And such values being universal, they can serve as a bridge between cultures, different in outlook but not in their intimate essence, East and West, North and South.

In order to keep faith in Man, the Poet witnessed the truth of what sages have proclaimed: 'By unrighteousness man prospers, gains what appears desirable, conquers enemies, but perishes at the root.'

Let me read the translation in Italian of a brief poem of Tagore, taken from the collection "Fruit-Gathering" published in in 1916, which I feel somewhat expresses this same message.

L

Nel bagliore di un istante ho visto la grandezza della tua creazione nella mia vita. Creazione attraverso infinite morti, di mondo in mondo. Piango sulla mia miseria quando vedo la mia vita in balia di ore inutili. Ma quando la vedo nelle tue mani, so che e’ troppo preziosa per essere dispersa tra le ombre.

L

IN the lightning flash of a moment I have seen the immensity of your creation in my life--creation through many a death from world to world.
I weep at my unworthiness when I see my life in the hands of the unmeaning hours,--but when I see it in your hands I know it is too precious to be squandered among shadows.
(translation in English by the author)

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