The Music of Hindostan c7.166

c7.166

‘O girl, with the month of Kartik my beloved went away. This month is the harbinger of winter, when cold is fierce like lightning. My beloved has left me, and the night which is my enemy begins to increase in length. I wonder why my soul does not leave my body. Magashir is full of emotion. It is difficult for a woman to pass her days apart from him who loves her; so her condition is very unhappy. The rooms of the house look empty, and Sītā is grieving with tears in her eyes. Will any one bring a letter from my beloved, or carry one to him? In Posh, here in the court of Rāvaṇa, my home comes to my mind: this Sītā says with tears. In Megh the wind from the Himālaya blows, and my body trembles. To whom can I open my heart, O friend, that heart which is attached to Rāma alone? In Phalguna the flowers bloom; but what are these to her who has not her lover. The Rāg Basant is being sung, but how can she care for such songs. In Chaitra my mind has become anxious and confused, and the absence of a letter from him pains me. All the leaves return to the trees, but not my lover to me. In Vaishak grapes and mangoes are ripe, and the hot wind is blowing, and the body of one who has not her husband breathes fire. In Jeth it is the custom to go to the tanks with friends to bathe; but he is not here, and my heart does not permit me to do so. Why bathe, or dress, or put on ornaments; I will none of them. In Ashā’ī when the rains have begun, and birds are singing in the trees, I envy them. In Shravan the tanks are full and the rain falls in streams. My gay clothes are wet with rain and tears. One who has once loved can never change; but for all this I must not lose heart. In Bhadarva all kinds of corn are ripe, but they please me not. It is now Aso, and I have heard, O friend, that Rāma has constructed a bridge to carry an army from India to Ceylon.’