(Mon re krisi kaj jano na – Ramprasadsen
Mon re krishi kaj jano na,
Mon re krishi kaj jano na,
Emon manob jomin roilo potit,
Abaad korle folto shona.
Kali name dao re bera,
Fosole tochorup hobe na,
Se je muktokeshir shokto bera,
Tar kachhe Jamo ghenshe na.
Oddyo othoba shoto bochhor por,
Basonto hobe jano na,
Ache ek tare mon ei bela,
Chutiye foshol kete ne na.
Guru ropon korechen beej,
Bhakti bagani taay seche de na,
Eka jodi na parish mon,
Ramprasad ke songe ne na.
O mind, you know not how to till your field,
This human soil lies barren, unrevealed.
Had you but sown and cared with loving art,
It would have yielded gold within your heart.
Raise a fence with Kali’s sacred name,
No thief nor death shall touch that flame.
Her loosened hair — a fortress strong —
Even Yama dares not come along.
Today or ages yet to be,
You know not what your fate shall see.
O mind, while still there’s breath in you,
Reap the harvest that is due.
The Guru sowed the hidden seed,
Water it well with faith and heed.
If alone you fail to find the way,
Take Ramprasad with you, pray.
(Malarndhum Malaradha – Pasamalar)
Malarndhum malaraadha paadhi malar pola
Valarum vizhi vannamé – vandhu
Vidindhum vidiyaadha kaalai pozhudhaaga
Vilaindha kalai annamé!
Nadhiyil vilayaadi kodiyil thalai seevi
Nadandha ilan thendralé – valar
Pothigai malai thondri Madurai nagar kandu
Polindha Tamil mandramé!
Yaanai padai kondu senai pala vendru
Aalap pirandhaayadaa – puvi
Aalap pirandhaayadaa
Aththai magalai manam kondu ilamai vazhi kandu
Vaazha pirandhaayadaa, vaazha pirandhaayadaa
Aththai magalai manam kondu ilamai…
Though blooming, yet not fully grown —
A half-opened flower softly shown,
O eyes that widen day by day,
In tender light you gently sway.
Like dawn that comes but lingers still,
Not yet the sun upon the hill,
O graceful art of morning’s hue,
The world awakens just for you.
Young breeze that played along the stream,
And combed the vines in playful dream,
Like Podhigai rising proud and high,
Like Madurai beneath the sky —
You are Tamil’s shining grace,
Time’s own beauty in one face.
Born to command great armies strong,
Born to rule the earth lifelong,
Born to walk youth’s golden way,
With love to guide your brighter day.
Born to live and laugh and shine,
Born to claim a life divine,
O child of destiny and flame,
The world itself shall know your name.
Let us gently place them side by side.
We are looking at:
Mon Re Krishikaj Janona by Ramprasad Sen
Malarndhum Malaradha from Pasamalar
At first glance — one is a devotional Shyama Sangeet, the other a cinematic sibling song.
Yet, underneath, they speak the same spiritual truth.
1. The Shared Metaphor of the “Unfolding”
In the Bengali song:
The human mind is a fertile field left uncultivated.
It is capable of golden harvest — but only if nurtured with devotion.
The soul is like land waiting to blossom.
In the Tamil song:
The sister is compared to a half-bloomed flower, a dawn not fully risen.
She too is in a state of becoming.
Both songs speak of potential not yet fully expressed.
One speaks of the soul awaiting spiritual awakening.
The other speaks of a young life awaiting maturity.
2. Tenderness Toward the Fragile
In Mon Re Krishikaj Janona, the poet speaks gently to the mind:
“Oh mind, you do not know how to cultivate yourself.”
There is no harshness — only compassion.
In Malarndhum Malaradha, the brother sees his sister as:
A half-bloomed flower
A soft dawn
A playful breeze
Again — deep tenderness.
Both songs recognize fragility and respond with care.
3. Cultivation and Protection
In the Bengali song:
Build a fence with Kali’s name.
Protect the crop.
Water it with devotion.
In the Tamil song:
The brother dreams of protecting and guiding his sister.
He imagines her future, her happiness, her flourishing.
In both: Love is not passive.
Love cultivates.
Love guards.
Love nurtures growth.
4. The Divine Hidden in the Human
Ramprasad Sen sees the divine Mother in the inner field of the heart.
Kannadasan sees near-divinity in a sister —
he compares her to:
Podhigai hills
Madurai’s Tamil glory
When human affection is pure, it becomes sacred.
The Bengali song moves from human mind → Divine Mother.
The Tamil song moves from human sister → near-divine reverence.
Both elevate the ordinary into the sacred.
5. Dawn Imagery — A Subtle Bridge
Tamil song:
“Like a dawn that has arrived but not yet fully broken.”
Bengali song:
“Now is the time — harvest before it is too late.”
Both are aware of time.
Life is brief.
Growth must happen now.
Delay wastes the golden opportunity.
Both are quietly urgent — but softly expressed.
Deeper Spiritual Connection
If we look deeper:
The sister in Pasamalar can symbolise the inner innocence of the soul.
The Bengali poet urges:
Do not leave your inner field uncultivated.
The Tamil brother lovingly says:
You are precious. You must blossom.
Both songs say: Life is sacred.
Do not waste its flowering.
Yes — they belong to different languages, regions, and contexts.
But both:
Use nature imagery (flower, dawn, breeze, field)
Speak with tenderness
Celebrate potential
Call for nurturing love
One is bhakti toward the Divine Mother.
The other is bhakti expressed through sibling love.
And perhaps that is the deepest connection:
In India’s poetic tradition,
spiritual devotion and human affection are not separate rivers —
they are branches of the same Ganga.
