Bishnu Prasad Rabha

Bishnu Rabha, singer, composer, lyricist, dancer, playwright, actor, politician, sportsman, the Kalaguru (the Preceptor of the Arts) of Assam is discussed today more for his revolutionary ideals than for his cultural contributions. Many eyebrows are raised at the very mention of the man himself, a man who abandoned his father’s tea estates and joined the freedom struggle to carry a ransom over his head for most of his life. Bishnu Rabha’s dream of a multiethnic Assamese society with full participation of each and every community is particularly relevant in strife torn Assam today.

In the following songs the translator has tried to represent in however selective a way the man and his dreams, both big and small.


1)

March ahead O farmers
Workers, compatriots
March ahead.

Wake up O youth workers,
Oppressed exploited farmers.
In your shoulders is hidden infinite strength.
Hear the sirens of the battle
March ahead.

What are you afraid of?
The gods are beside you.
You are surrounded by the enemy and rich landlords,
The suckers of poor farmers’ blood.
Destroy the pride of the rich.
Don’t be kind, the days of mercy are over.
Gather your sickles, hoes and machetes
March ahead.

You are the ones to grow grain for the world,
You are the ones to provide weapons to the rich.
The factories run because of you,
The huge fields are there because of you.
The magical plough, the sickle and the hammer belong to you.
You are the possessor of great strength.
Carry the blood red sign and march ahead.
March ahead.
2)

O my guru Sankar
Tell me what do I do?
O my guru………..

On his way to the lower part of Assam
Sri Sankar Guru stopped in the bank of the river.
O Ram Ram.

Six scores of disciples are clapping to the tune of
The ghoshas Sankar is singing in praise of the Lord.
O Ram Ram.

The boat is slippery
The oar is slippery
The soi is slippery too.

Accompanied by six scores of disciples
The guru is seated inside the soi
O Ram Ram.

Hailstones are pulling the boat down
The boat will sink O Ram Ram.
The guru himself takes the boat to his shoulders.
O my guru……………….

A lone tree stands amidst the water
The abode of various birds
O Ram Ram.
At dawn the birds fly to ten directions
Abandoning their attachment to the tree.

O my guru Sankar
Tell me what do I do?

Sankar is here Sankardev, the 16 th century Vaishnavite poet of Assam, who brought a religio-cultural regeneration of the land and its people and completely changed the social fabric of the region.
Soi: the covering of a boat

3)

My boat is sinking O my Lord
My boat is sinking.

Taking the name of the Lord
The boatmen row.

My boat is sinking my Lord
My boat is sinking.

The blazing sun above
The burning sand below
Hunger burns my belly.

Whirlpools in the river breast
The mad river flows.

O my Lord my boat is sinking
My boat is sinking.

Dark clouds cover the sky
The sun hides itself
Thunderstorms roar
And the mad wind blows.

O my Lord my boat is sinking
My boat is sinking

The boat is sinking
The oar is sinking
The soi is sinking too

Mountainous waves roar.
The boatman is lost
He sings only thy name O Lord.

My boat is sinking O my Lord
My boat is sinking.

4)

I am a simple innocent girl
Carrying a bunch of flowers in my aansal.

With immense care I decorate my sarai with unknown flowers.

A whiff of breeze comes dancing,
The cuckoo and the keteki skip through the trees singing.

With immense care I decorate my sarai with unknown flowers.

I am a simple innocent girl
Carrying a bunch of flowers in my aansal.


Aansal: the end of a sador, the traditional two piece Assamese dress for a woman
Sarai: tray usually made of brass or bell metal