Friendship

Now this is true friendship. Not that I didn't know. Three days before I wrote about my friend Sanjay, he had already written a poem to mark our reunion. And I didn't even know he had written it till last evening. Here goes:

Bondhu bollo, amar aathtirish (38), tor aathchollish (48)...
hotath pechhon phire dekhi, shey ekhono aathash (28)...
aachhe ekhno shei bhalobasha,
premer shei unmadona,
dekhi, ekhono du chokher kone chholchhol korche, duto chhotto chokher jol...
"Akhono tumi ki colourful ?" jigesh kore bondhur bou,
"Na, akhon aami black and white" -- kanchapaka chule aar gopey haath ghuriye bollam...
shotti, bocchor gulo kokhon jano beriye galo,
chuler rong bodle galo,
chosmataro power berechhey,
kintu, shey to bodlalona,
ekhono rod jola dupure
she roilo hoye aamar jiobner Ruby Ray...
monta akhono chhute beray shei maya mriger pechhone,
Hemantor gaan..."mon haralo, haralo mon haralo", ekhnono monta gun gun kore gaye...

A translation :

That day , my friend said, I am now 38, you are now 48...
Suddenly I looked back, he was still 28...
the love still lingered,
flames of friendship, still burning,
I could see, two little drops of tears, in corner of his eyes,
"Are you still colourful," asked my friend's wife
"No, now I am black and white," I pointed to my greying hair and moustache.
The years just passed by even before I could realise,
colour of my hair changed,
power of my spectacles went up...
But he never changed
Even today in this midday of my life
we remember Ruby Ray,
and our hearts still chase the illusionary deer
That Hemanta Kumar's song, "I lost my heart somewhere," the hearts still sing.

N.B. Ruby Ray is the muse in a famous Bengali song, Mone pore Ruby Ray, sung by R.D. Burman. The tune was also used by him for Meri bheegi bheegi si in Anamika.