My grandmother used to take my hand and lead me beneath the kadam tree
She would make me a garland of Spanish cherries around her neck.
Every morning she would wake me up
Come, precious grandchild, the puffed rice treats are almost ready
In the afternoon, when I returned home after playing outside
My grandmother would feed me until my belly was full
When night fell and the fireflies lit up, my grandmother would carry me
To see the firefly fair, how they danced about
Late at night, she would pat me
And sing me to my castle of sleep
Today, my grandmother is far away, we cannot meet anymore
She rests beneath the ground, we cannot meet anymore
No one plucks a kadam flower for me like before
The Spanish cherry tree has now died out
No one is there to wake me up in the morning
No one tells me to come quickly, the puffed rice treats are ready
I spend the afternoons with great difficulty and loneliness
I cannot fill my stomach with food when I think of my grandmother
Those fireflies at night do not seem to dance about anymore
They are no longer my friends, they fly away when I reach for them
Md Mukul Hossine transcreated by Cyril Wong & Marc Nair, translated by Fariha Imran & Farouk Ahammed
