Basanta Panchami
translated from the Bengali by Lilian M. Whitehouse
To-day, after a year, on the sacred fifth day, Nature has flung away her worn raiment, and with new jewels, see, with fresh buds and new shoots she has begemmed herself and smiles. The birds wing their way, singing with joy; ah, how lovely! The black bee hums as if with sound of “Ulu! ulu!” he wished good fortune to Nature. The south breeze seems to say as it flits from house to house, “To-day Bīnāpāni comes here to Bengal.” Arrayed in guise that would enrapture even sages, maid Nature has come to worship thy feet, O propitious one! See, O India, at this time all pay no heed to fear of plague, famine, earthquake; all put away pain and grief and gloom; to-day all are drunk with pleasure. For a year Nature was waiting in hope for this day to come. Many folk in many a fashion now summon thee, O white-armed one; I also have a mind to worship. Thy two feet are red lotuses; but, say, with what gift shall we worship thee, O mother Bināpāni? Ever sorrowful, ever ill-starred are we women of Bengal, all of us. Yet if thou have mercy, this utterly dependent one will worship thee with the gift of a single tear of devotion shed on thy lotus feet. Graciously accept that, and in mercy, O white-armed one, grant this blessing on my head on this propitious, sacred day, that this life may be spent in thy worship, Mother.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on May 13, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.
“Basanta Panchami” appears in Poems by Indian Women (Oxford University Press, 1923). The Bengali original was composed sometime during the life of Pankajini Basu, who lived from 1884–1900. In the footnote to her translation, Lilian M. Whitehouse explains that “‘Spring fifth’ is the fifth day of the light fortnight of the month of Māgh, when Sarasvati, the [Hindu] goddess of letters and wisdom, who loves the vīnā, lute, is worshipped [sic]. The month of Māgh corresponds [in the Bengali calendar] to January–February. [. . .] [Bīnāpāni is] the goddess who carries the vīnā, or lute, in her hand.” In the introduction to Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry (J. Murray, 1927), in which the poem was again included, editor Gwendoline Goodwin writes, “Mrs. Pankajini Basu is represented by one poem, ‘Basanta Panchami,’ a description of the famous Spring Festival. One line, in particular, stands out: ‘Ever sorrowful, ever ill-starred, are we women of Bengal, all of us,’ and, one might add, ever devout, ever faithful. The eternal question of Indian womanhood cannot be dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders.”