I'm Leaving You Now, Shyama*

[Guest guest]

I'm Leaving You Now, Shyama*

 

 

Shyama, I'm leaving you now.

I was only tricked into calling you "Mother."

You are the stone-hearted daughter

of the stony mountain god.

By your magic, you made me

hard-hearted too - until now.

Today I see the face of my real mother

and melt into tears, Mother!

I'm not beguiled by black anymore,

now that light has charmed me.

You had me deceived,

and now I've deceived you.

I've recovered from your spell,

and I go to the lap of my mother, Mother!

 

Rabindranath Tagore

 

* Shyama is another name for Kali, meaning "The Dark One." In

Tagore's dance-drama Balmiki-pratibha [The Genius of Valmiki],

Valmiki, the legendary sage and "first poet" of the Indian tradition,

is portrayed as a Kali-worshiping bandit who comes to eschew violence

and shifts his allegiance to Sarasvati, the goddess of poetry and

music. This song is Valmiki's famous farewell to Kali from the work.