The Music of Hindostan c5.11

c5.11

Of this song, given me by S. M. Maitra, the tune is one commonly sung by boatmen in Bengal; the Bengali words are by Indu Bhuśan Ray, the translation by Maitra. The mad woman wandering about hugging a bundle of rags she has collected, with village urchins snatching at them, is a common sight; what is not common is the poet’s use of such an image to portray the soul’s close communion with God.