THE DHAAKI'S LAMENT
Can you hear my dhaak beating, O Maa?
Can you hear my heart crying?
You bless your father’s home when you come.
But who blesses my home, O Maa?
From far and wide people return
To their home and hearth at Pujo
And I travel across the world, O Maa
To play my dhaak at your Pujo.
Laughter, joy, best wishes resound
‘Jai Maa Durga!’ I hear them call.
Why do I feel lonely amidst it all?
My pain vibrates the dhaak, O Maa.
People resplendent in new attire
Dance to the beat of that dhaak
To see them splinters my heart’s desire
Your golden face blurs, O Maa.
New sari does not deck my wife
‘No new clothes,’ my children hear
For my home has floated away this year
On the waves of the flood, O Maa.
Hardly a mouthful they get each day
Sleeping under trees at night.
‘Is only misery our birthright?’
I ask my dhaak, O Maa.
It is time to go, they bid farewell
With sweets, sindhur and pan.
You smile on us with graceful elan
I play my dhaak louder, O Maa.
You are Siddhadatri.
‘Will you grant me a boon?’ I pray
With my loved ones, let me stay
Play dhaak, next Pujo, at home, O Maa.
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