By Bhupen Hazarika

If life cries in dire needs
If dust blows on earth in pain
If despair is up to dashing hopes
Croon the song I sing

If you see a heron flying
All alone towards the sea
If a tiny moment makes the cosmos brood
Pore over the lyric penned by me

If you never get what you crave
Time and again the unsought if you get
If tears well up for what you crave
Laugh the laugh I laugh

I’ve seen lots of heartbreak  
So I pen lyrics laced with hope
If in darkness you land by mistake
If you pick up thorns as sewali petals
If your path is traced with blood
Mop it away with tunes I play

Translated by Nirendra Nath Thakuria

Click here to read the original Assamese poem.

Bhupen Hazarika (b.1926-d.2011) was an Indian singer, lyricist, musician, poet, author and filmmaker from Assam.

Nirendra Nath Thakuria, retired Associate Professor of English, is a translator.