Under all my tongues, even when I am silent

You can hear it still, though it’s a bit blurred -

the richly perfumed soil, the dawn birdsongs,

miles of latticed waters, still reflections,

emerald  paddies, scents of mango orchards

ripening their fruits under mango-coloured suns;

you can hear the cadence of the mother tongue

every time I write here and speak, and even

when I am struck dumb, though I’ve never been

there – never inhaled those rains, animal dung,

lentil paste daubed into delicate pointy shapes

drying in the yard; never seen those landscapes

of drizzly bamboo groves quietly quiver

by the whip-thin track tumbling to the river. 

ভাষা আন্দোলন দিবসের অভিনন্দন, শ্রদ্ধা জানাই সব মাতৃভাষাপ্রেমীদের যাঁরা শহীদ হয়েছেন নিজের কথা নিজের ভাষায় নিজের মত করে বলার মৌলিক ও অপরিহার্য অধিকার অক্ষুন্ন রাখতে।





Today is the International Mother Language Day, originally observed in India and Bangladesh, and now the world over since the UNESCO declaration in 1999, to honour the right to speak and value one's own mother tongue.  A day of pride and celebration, and also sombre commemoration and reflection, for all native speakers of Bengali. And for language lovers generally, in which category I automatically include all writers/poets/bloggers. Happy Mother Language Day to you!