The Same Stream of Life (Trans. from Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day 
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. 

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth 
in numberless blades of grass 
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. 

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth 
and of death, in ebb and in flow. 

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. 
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Some thoughts…

On the Poet: Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was an Indian poet who first gained international recognition when his ‘Gitanjali’, an anthology of Bengali poems, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He was the first non-European to win this coveted honor. Outside of India, he might be known mainly for his poems; but within his own country - and especially in his beloved Bengal - he left behind a lasting legacy as a national hero, humanist, universalist, and educator. He is the author of the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh.

On a Personal Note: I had initially chosen this poem for Earth Day – there is such a joyous revelry in his description of Nature. But then, I learned about the more recent impact of this poem…

On this Poem: In 2008, a video of a young man named Matt Harding went viral. It starts simply enough, with Harding doing an enthusiastic jig in a couple of different places. But the locales are far from usual. And very soon, he’s no longer the only one dancing.

The video was edited and re-edited over a period of several years. One of the most popular versions is the one with the background score sung by a young Bangladeshi American, Palbasha Siddique. And the song is ‘Praan’ – Tagore’s ‘The Same Stream of Life’ in the original Bengali.

Poetry is powerful in itself. Even though a few scenes may have been Photoshopped, this well-conceived video still conveys Tagore’s message more persuasively than words alone could.

“The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day 
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.”