(Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Tumi Robe Nirobe’)

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There are some songs that do not end when their music fades; they stay, quietly alive, in the heart’s deepest chambers. Rabindranath Tagore’s Tumi Robe Nirobe is one such timeless murmur of love; written not to dazzle or shout, but to linger like perfume in an empty room.

Composed in 1895, dedicated in spirit to his wife Mrinalini Devi, this song captures love not as possession but as presence. Not as loud declarations, but as silent, glowing nearness. And in Hemant Kumar’s unforgettable voice in the film Kuheli, this song became something more; it became the very sound of love breathing in the dark.

This poem is woven from that same silence. It speaks of a love that does not need to stand beside you… because it already lives within you.

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In the quiet chambers of my soul’s embrace,
You dwell, a moonbeam’s soft, eternal trace.
Like a full moon’s glow on night’s gentle face,
Your silent presence fills my sacred space.

My life’s canvas, painted with your light,
Youth’s vibrant hues enriched by your sight.
Your tender gaze, a watchful, guiding star,
Illuminates my path from afar.

The shadow of your veil, a sheltering wing,
Covers my sorrows, each stinging sting.
Dreams realized, pains that softly depart,
Your fragrance lingers, soothing my heart.

In solitude, your essence remains,
A silent melody in life’s refrains.
Like moonlit nights, serene and deep,
Your love’s quiet vigil, my heart shall keep.

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Some loves do not clamour for space. They do not shout their names across the sky. They stay instead; like evening lamps in forgotten windows, like lullabies no longer sung but never forgotten.

Tumi Robe Nirobe is not just a song; it is the very soul of such a love. A love that stays behind not in form, but in feeling. Not in sound, but in silence. Not in nearness, but in eternal presence.

And those who are loved this way… never truly walk alone.

Rabindranath Tagore is a legend, a name that towers beyond time. I have always loved his work; he was a genius in the truest sense, and an extraordinarily prolific one.

To any purists who might feel that I have fallen short in doing justice to his creation, I offer my heartfelt apology. The truth is: no one can truly come close to a personality as magnificent and vast as Tagore.

My humble attempt here is not a translation, but merely an effort to offer a reasonable understanding of the song; as I have felt it, as I have seen it, through the small window of my own heart.

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