Why do we need to interpret silence,
In myriad ways, big and small?
Looking for surrogates,
Like a half-smile,
Or the twinkle in your eyes?
Why can’t it be left alone,
Without a tinge of loneliness?
To sit quietly,
And grow ever so slowly within you.
Treading in soft whispering steps,
Enlarging, enveloping, all encompassing,
Till you cannot distinguish any more,
Between the you that you know,
And the you that you are beginning to know,
All coalescing into a wholesome entity,
Of sublime energy, of dawning wisdom,
And of just being.

Subir Chakraborty
26th September 2026

The unasked questions, the unlived life, the unexplored persona.
The part of me that remained unknown,
Even to me,
Gnaws at me unexpectedly, every now and then.

The tyranny of ‘what if’,
Torments me intermittently without any design.
Unexpected scenarios loom loosely,
Latching on to fragments of my brain.

What would it have been like – this unlived life?
A path to unimaginable rewards or a life of utter ruin?
Unasked queries flowing ceaselessly.
Unreal solutions dawning incessantly.

A life well lived or well unlived,
For better or for worse.
Who really has the answer,
In the realm of this universe?

Subir Chakraborty
16th September 2026

I have aged.
Yes, I have.
But it does not define who I am,
Or can be.
For my existence is not defined by the finiteness of the mundane,
Or by the mundaneness of actuality.

It is not so much the words that I speak now,
But the silences interspersed in between,
That embrace true meaning and beauty.
Each breath a reminder that I am alive,
And each pause a time for reflection,
For who I really am.

The wonder is back in my eyes.
The gently rising sun, the moon in all its silvery magnificence,
The Milky Way in its majestic flight across the sky.
I stare in awe at the sheer splendour of creation all around me.

The curiosity is back once again.
To explore, to experience the unknown,
To tread the untrodden.
To rediscover myself as a part of the ceaseless stream of awareness.
To immerse myself in the immensity of my being.

I resume the dialogue, which I had interrupted in the tedium of daily existence.
The child is back once again,
And eager for the silent communion with eternity,
Seeping every so softly into me.

Subir Chakraborty
7th Sept 2026

क्या हर लड़ाई जीतना ज़रूरी है?
अपने घर में या बाहर,
अपनी बीवी या पति के साथ,
अपने बच्चों के साथ,
या अपने मोहल्ले में, दोस्तों के साथ,
या फिर दुश्मनों के साथ?

जीतने में भरपूर आनंद ज़रूर है,
लेकिन कब तक?
जब तक दूसरा विवाद सामने खड़ा न हो,
जब तक दूसरी लड़ाई की पुकार सुनाई न दे।

क्या हारने का सुख आपने कभी अनुभव किया है?
जहाँ आपके थोड़ा सा पीछे हटने से
दूसरों को शांति या सुकून मिलता है।
जहाँ हार के बदले में आपको दूसरों की दुआएँ मिलती है।

क्या आपके अंदर कुछ अच्छा सा लगने लगता है,
क्या आपके ज़मीर मृदू स्वरों में गुनगुनाने लगता है,
क्या ऐसा लगता है कि थोड़ा सा खोकर बहुत कुछ पाया है,
क्या इस हार से जीत की ख़ुशबू आने लगती है?

लड़ाई के मैदान में उतरने से पहले,
ज़रा सोचिए एकबार।
क्या जचता है आप पे उस क्षण,
शीतल पवन का समभाव या सुनामी का हुंकार।

सुबीर चक्रवर्ती
१ सितंबर २०२६

যে পাওয়াটা দাবি ভিত্তিক
যে চাওয়াটা নিরেট অর্বাচীন
যে পাওয়াটার মর্মভেদী আর্তনাদে
জীবন হয়ে আসে ক্ষীণ

যে পাওয়াটা অপ্রত্যাশিত
হঠাৎ আসে হাতের মুঠোয় ধরা
সেই পাওয়াটার ওজন যে কত ভারী
বুঝে উঠতে বয়ে যায় বেলা

যে চাওয়াটা নিতান্তই ভিত্তিহীন
মনের মাঝে দানা বাঁধে রোজ
সেই চাওয়াটার মূল্য বোঝাতে গিয়ে
রাত পেরিয়ে হয়ে গেল ভোর

এই চাওয়া পাওয়ার নিত‍্য খেলা ধুলায়
মশগুল হয়ে থাকি সর্বক্ষণ
কতটা পেলে কতটা ছাড়া যায়
অঙ্ক কষছি দিবা রাত্রি, ক্ষণে ক্ষণ

সুবীর চক্রবর্তী
১৪ এপ্রিল ২০২৬

I wish to travel the world with you,
Explore the myriad nooks and alleys,
Ride the rapids, hike the hills,
See the heavenly bodies do the cosmic dance on a clear, moonless night,
Admire the ebb and flow of tides gracing the shoreline,
Feel the joy of the petals unfolding one at a time,
In the early hours of dawn,
Or just sit together, hand in hand,
In a lonesome cafe overlooking the meandering land.

I wish to travel the world with you,
And beyond,
Into outer space,
And yet never ever arrive.

For in arrival there is the despondency of conclusion,
Of finality,
Of the cessation of mystery and romance.

And in non-arrival lies the sweet nectar of apprehension,
Of the unseen and the unknown,
Tuning our hearts together,
With the melody of our intertwined souls,
Nudging us gently,
To go on forever.

Subir Chakraborty
7th April 2026

তোমার কাছে আমি চিঠি হয়ে যাব।
খুলবে তুমি খাম খানা সযত্নে সোহাগ করে,
কত জানা অজানা কথা লেখা থাকবে
চিঠির পাতায় পাতায়,
ভাববে তুমি অনেক কিছু তোমার মত করে।
লেগে থাকবে তোমার চোখে এক মধুর রামধনুর আবেশ,
যেটা আমার চিঠির মন্থর পরশে,
সৃষ্টি করবে সেই হারিয়ে যাওয়া স্নিগ্ধ চাঁদনী রাত।
আমি না থেকেও থাকবো চিঠির ভাঁজে ভাঁজে
রাঙিয়ে দিয়ে যাব তোমার কল্পনার মুহূর্তগুলো
তোমার কাছে আমি চিঠি হয়েই যাব।

সুবীর চক্রবর্তী
১৬ মার্চ ২০২৬

I am born from the womb of consciousness,
Softly cradled by the tidal waves of continuity.
My voice breaks out in myriad tongues-
Of creation, of placidity, of destruction,
Deeply moored by chords of primordial silence,
Seeking a separate identity in vain.
For consciousness can only give rise to consciousness-
Part of an unending stream,
A never ending cycle,
Of birth, of life, of death,
Continuing mellifluously into eternity.

Subir Chakraborty
9th March 2026

What is that which speaks without noise?
Without even a single flutter?
Tiptoeing ever so softly,
Sensually,
Intertwining heart strings,
Interlaced with sweet melody,
Silence upon silence,
Skin upon skin,
Drenched with the nectar of love.
Imagined whisperings,
Floating in the air,
Which none can hear,
Save the two hands
Interlocked in a heavenly embrace

Subir Chakraborty
24th Feb 2026

Will the nowhere days come again?
In nowhere time?
When I can be the nowhere man,
Without my precious mobile,
Without any prescheduled timetable,
Without any complicated compulsions.
Where the mind is totally free,
To think or not to think,
To imagine or be a lazy drag.
To see the sky with closed eyes,
And contemplate the universe within myself.
To let all worries dissipate into nothingness.
And just feel blessed for the beauty of creation,
And for life and living and love.

Subir Chakraborty
21st February 2026