The Guest of Phases

When you came to be Tithi's guest,
why not stay a few more days then!
Was there even a grain's worth lacking in hospitality?

The house might burn down—so from that fear you'd flee the house itself!
—This was never how it was supposed to be!

Did you hear Charulata's call then, I wonder?
She has become nothing more than a speck in the eye!
Didn't you understand?

Tell me, did fleeing bring you much gain?
Better instead, without tangling again in that old dispute,
if you'd wrestled with the darkness of your own mind,
that would have been the work...somewhat wiser at least!

The day that slipped away unnoticed,
what use is remorse for that day now!

You came to the hills seeking camellias. Good!
But if you belittle the mountain daughter once here,
will you find camellias then?
Or will such behavior make you the playwright of the drama,
and drench that daughter's heart?

I saw it all, it seemed to me,
that morning you returned empty-handed!

Was the gain so very great then?
Instead of being Kapalkuṇḍalā's summoner,
if you had surrendered your heart to Śakuntalā,
I think then you'd have gained something in life,
—thinking just this much, your chest too would swell with pride!

You tell me, does the station master ever
understand what pain it is to leave the platform!
It's because he doesn't understand that this mess has erupted today!

If you hadn't done so much calculating,
if you'd had the courage to simply put a zero in the ledger,
if you'd spent your days easily in simple hospitality,
then even if not family—
you could have lived quite well...as Tithi's eternal guest!