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My illusive pran-bondhu!

9 August 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Azad Miah, Oldham, UK
9 August 2005, 18:00 PM
I have always wondered why those poems, songs and stories, for one reason or other, keep referring to this imaginary lover who doesn't exist. The biggest offenders are songs where almost every song has the mention of this imaginary friend/lover. You might quickly point your fingers at those movie-songs, but even civilised-heavyweights like Nazrul Geeti, Rabindra Sangeet and 'Adhunik' songs are not immune from this. They might not be that explicit or direct, but all those sanitised beating around the bush is essentially talking about the same stuff. Anyway, I have listed below some of the names given to this imaginary lover in Bangla, English and Hindi.

Bangla: Aashique, bondhu, dewana, kaala/kaaliya, koinna, manik, mashooque, mitro, moni, mothi, moyna, nath, prano-nath, premik, priye, priyothoma, raii, rongeela, roshik, roshiya, roshomothi, ruposhi, rothon, shaam, shai, shathi, shojoni, shokhi, shujon, etc.

English: Babe, baby, beau, darling, dear, honey, love, lover, sugar, suitor, sweetheart, sweetie, etc.

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Hindi: Aashique, aawara, baalma, deewana, dilbar, dildaar, dilher, dil-jaana, dilruba, dost, dulara, gulfam, gulzaar, hamdam, hamnashi, hamnava, hamsafar, harjai, hasina, jaan, jaanu, janam, mashooque, mastana, mehbooba, meherbaan, mitwa, parwana, piya,saajan/saajni etc. Of course, people sometimes use the same word to refer to different people. A mother, for example, may use the word 'love' to call her little child, but she may also use the same word to refer to her husband. Bauls on the other hand, usually refer to the Creator as their friend. Here are two lines from a song by Baul Shah Abdul Karim:
Tumar hathe kolom re bondhu, tumar hathe lekho Ami kemne hoilam dushi bujhina shei pak-o Khujiya pailam na re bondhu, O-re bondhu tumi kuthai thako.