Wow, awesome post!! I love the Matt video, but it hadn't even occurred to me that the singing could be in Bangla. Thanks for this!

I saw this video for the first time today. Simply amazing. I saw the clip first and then read the full post. I found the video to be very moving and was surprised to read that the music was added later.

I think Matt's dancing style will be tried in numerous parties now :) Its funny and cute.
Thanks for this video.

Isn't Matt the same guy who made fun of Gandhi on his blog?

She does sing very well. I watched the video yesterday after reading about it in NYT, and there is something nice about a guy who dances everywhere. I'd like to go to at least half the places he's been to, even if I won't dance there :)

So hard to believe the song's in Bengali! I thought for sure it was some european language. It would be awesome if someone could figure out the lyrics (tried googling but it only comes up in english).

Ok, this makes the top 10 SM posts for the year. The background info and the poetry took what was simply the YouTube "sensation" of the week and made it so much more. Thank you Ennis.

this is great! thank you for posting.

NYTimes coverage on Matt adds to the story. I wish I could travel as much as he has.

One friend I sent this to burst out crying, another decided to plan a 3 week trip to Latin America as a result.

Hint for Mutineers: I'm not going to Latin America anytime soon. ;)

Bangla lyrics:

Bhulbona ar shohojete
Shei praan e mon uthbe mete
Mrittu majhe dhaka ache
je ontohin praan

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami
(Repeat 3X)

Shei jhor jeno shoi anonde
Chittobinar taare
Shotto-shundu dosh digonto
Nachao je jhonkare!

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami
(Repeat 3X)

Someone just showed me this response:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFeSH655mas

And that's a desi no less, so it's totally kosher ;)

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful voice.

I am glad this is getting coverage here. I mentioned this as an offtopic in the rabbi entry after reading about it on the NYT. This is one of the few "desi" singers that has really impressed me. 17 and such a nice mature voice. I thought it was some european 20 something singing until I read the NYT article in its entirety.

I hope some desi producer will notice the range of voices and think a little outside the box when it comes to Bollywood songs. This is a Bengali song by one of India's greatest ever poets and has been universally accepted. I am usually unimpressed by some of the desi singers spotlights on this blog. But this song makes a lot of people happy along with the visuals.

I loved the way Gary used a standard western arrangement and found a way to seamlessly incorporate the lyrics.

Since many of us do not know much Bengali, would the Bengali speakers let us know how the accent sounds? Does it sound awkward? Spot on? Or different, but not akward?

The "accent" sounds fine. It's a modern or "adhunik" style of singing. I don't listen to much contemporary Bengali music, but there's definitely a distinct difference between how the language sounds in classical and contemporary contexts.

I absolutely love this video and the song.

Isn't Matt the same guy who made fun of Gandhi on his blog?

Yep, and made some pretty arrogant comments about India. Definitely not in the supposed spirit of the video.

17 · iABD said

Yep, and made some pretty arrogant comments about India. Definitely not in the supposed spirit of the video.

Does anyone have links for this?

Does anyone have links for this?

http://wherethehellismatt.typepad.com/blog/2003/06/delhi_india_a_h.html

Not that I'm ever one to condone racism, but he wrote that over 5 years ago. He's made several stops in India for his videos since then, so it's quite possible he's seen the light...?

If not, though, then it'd be mighty ironic that he mentions in his FAQ that he thinks Americans need to travel internationally more often. There's a difference between setting foot in another country and actually visiting it.

I am actually glad this guy is a sarcastic average guy. Here is another link where the guy is just as sarcastic.

And if you notice the date of the journal, that is way back in 2003. It would be interesting if he would have the same exact tone now.

I really can't say I disagree with most of what he wrote. I've noticed all the same things when I've visited India, the smell, the garbage, the uncared for cows (and dogs).

I liked one of the comments on that India post where a desi makes the point that people get what they pay for. Why stay in, say, a $2 a day hovel and complain about the conditions of your room?

Not that I'm ever one to condone racism, but he wrote that over 5 years ago. He's made several stops in India for his videos since then, so it's quite possible he's seen the light...?

And no, skp, I doubt that he would changed much. People don't change that much, he is most likely still a racist, though he knows enough to hide his real thoughts.

I read more of his blog and I share his sense of bluntness. The Gandhi letter is too bizarre and is probably part of the thinking out aloud people do with their twisted thoughts. he treats his blog as his confession. He doesn't seem like a pretentious type. He openly admits that there is no predetermined message to the video. But there is a visceral reaction to the video where we get moved. I am sure he felt something like that in his experience at some subconscious level. I felt it watching it, yet I can have unPC type thoughts about different people. I actually value these kind of contributions more than from people who are always in a hippie love daze. I have a cousin who praises everything and I really do not know what to make of it when she praises something about me or what I do.

The 1st time I saw this video my brain said "Fucking Hippie" and then I made a jerking off motion with my hand.

Dont tell me I am the only one who thought this was as cheesy as it gets.

"I am going to heal the world by dance"

Get the hell out of here!

Lekhni--people do change. And like Pravin, I can't believe that he would sign up for something as big as this if he were disdainful of the countries he would be visiting. He had to have known this would trigger a reaction of some kind, even if he claims there's no real message he's trying to get across. The things he wrote in that entry IABD linked to were pretty ridiculous, but Pravin's entry was a lot better, a lot more respectable. I haven't had time to read any others he's written about India, though.

The man certainly speaks what's on his mind...I can't ignore the comments he makes on making contact with the kids, even if he's warned away from doing so because (gasp) they're low caste, or not littering in a nature preserve.

Perhaps that's why I find his video endearing. Here's an average Joe, unabashedly dancing his way about the world, and delighting in discovering its people and cultures. He's already traveled so much further than most people ever will. More power to him.

Lovely! I should put it on my own blog.

I am a Bengali, fluent in the language. The song is being sung in Bengali? Can anyone tell me what the lyrics are? I can't make out a word. Please someone tell me the opening line. Perhaps I will recognize it then. Anna, you burst out crying. Did you understand the words? Or was it Matt's moves that touched you?

Oops! Sorry. I overlooked #10. Thanks, Raju.

Hint for Mutineers: I'm not going to Latin America anytime soon.

I hope this is not some work related issue for you can't get time off work to to latin america, or maybe you going on vacation somewhere else like Europe or something.

The Melange video made me burst into tears...a song about Ma with scenery of my hometown, where my Ma is and I am not? >sniffle

beautiful voice, beautiful girl..

I have been reading Matt's blog for over 2 years now, just as long as I have been reading SM. Most of Matt's posts have an inherent sarcasm, mostly witty. And bear in mind that it is not that he has singled out India and made those remarks. As a traveller outside one's one country you are bound to experience things; some pleasant and some not so much. And if you are maintaining a blog, where you pen most of your thoughts and observations not everything will be the rosy picture.
And this video is not his first and never has he said that it was going to change anything. Some people watch it and are moved, some just watch it and brush it aside. If you watch it and try to find hidden meaning, the fault is yours not his.

Related to the post itself: Just like his first video, the song (and the singing) is beautiful..

whew! amchi L.A. finally showed up. I was about to write a letter.

Very Coldplay - the arrangement.

...she recorded her first CD when she was 7 and sang “God Bless America” before a Twins game when she was 11.”[Link] Her talents are the reason why she’s in the USA in the first place - she came to the country on a scholarship to the MacPhail Center for the Arts......

Someone please unscramble the timeline. I am confusing.

It seems Stride gum would do well to spend a bit more on their rancid product than on this nonsense. This guy is about as useful as Paris Hilton - photographed, videotaped while behaving absurdly, believing by his hit count that he's making some meaningful contribution. I suspect most just like seeing the juxtaposition of several dozen locales, but then somehow mentally stitch them together, as though this is some act of viral diplomacy.

Finally just watched it and had an A N N A-like reaction.

Song downloading right now.

I'm always a sucker for a good montage :)

[blows nose]

I really can't say I disagree with most of what he wrote. I've noticed all the same things when I've visited India, the smell, the garbage, the uncared for cows (and dogs).

It's not the complaining that turns me off. It's the preachy tone that Westerners tend to use.

To review: Shit is for flushing, cows are for eating, left hands are for anything but wiping your ass, and widows are for not setting on fire.

Oh really, Matt? We never realized that we are supposed to flush our shit unless the dancing joker came along. I guess we should start cleaning it up now. Thanks for telling us.

It's also the attitude of westerners to co-opt everything good about us with one hand and at the same time remind us how dirty and backward we are with the other, and how we should be following their example. It's a problem endemic to western culture, not just Matt. They look down upon us when they visit us, and when they happen to see something good, they make it their own, congratulating themselves that they are so "open-minded" that they recognized this gem in the pile of shit.

and to #36, actually no. I'll admit that this video is cheesy. But what makes me both happy and sad about this is commonality of their exuberance, regardless of location and age and circumstance. The children especially. Everyone is *really* smiling. When was the last time you saw strangers smile together like that?

Interesting that "the dance" changes in India, when Matt joins a group of women and seems to be doing Bharatanatyam movements. Seems like the one place he really diverges from his own choreography.

ok, for those of you are now hooked on this thingy - pls read Matt's take on the NYT article on his journal. Ah! I love the speed of the internets.

The video’s cheesiness is irrelevant to its stupidity and, well, irrelevance.

In that atrociously condescending post on India there’s a photograph of a boy in Delhi. It wasn’t Harding’s decision to take the photo; he was obliged by the boy, who, apparently uncaring whether he received the photograph (or even got to see it?), simply wanted it taken. Check the video again. Notice that the vast majority of the children featured are, if not all of the Third World, certainly the impoverished members of the countries they do live in (Madagascar, Zambia, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Mali, South Africa), judging by the state of their surroundings, their clothing, etc. Whatever ‘commonality of exuberance’ you see in this – by ‘the children especially’ – can be chalked up entirely to their joy at partaking in the decidedly uncommon experience of having their images captured in any form. And while you might think that that’s a fine, innocent thing, it is most certainly not.

Which gets back to the Delhi boy: will these children ever get to see themselves? No. Forgive the overmuch dissection, and what will perhaps be seen as a surly interpretation, but he’s basically exploiting them. Half the digital experience is the recording. The other half is the watching. The old adage does in this case apply: he really is, in a sense, stealing a bit of their souls. And for what? He’s not, by his own admission, advocating any cause. He’s not illuminating the conditions just outside the frame. He is, in short, taking their images for his own benefit. (‘I’m quasi-famous. I’m semi-famous.’ – for what?) They’ll never get to participate. It’s a benign act, I’m not indicting him of any crime; but it is not an innocent one.

And the post on India is all one needs to read to know this man’s character. I call bullshit on the weird theory that he’s magically reformed his opinion, and ascribe that entirely to the residual effect of the happy feelings engendered by the video: wouldn’t it be so nice to believe the white man saw the folly of his opinion of the natives, based on . . . um, what exactly? The truth of his observations is not what is in question here; no shit that Delhi, India at large, is filthy, polluted, and so forth. But his repulsive, and I say again condescending, tone, is mean-spirited. To blame the citizens of a country for the ineptitude of their government – the hell if I’m taking a damned ounce of blame for ours. And that Gandhi letter – I’m not even clear on what that’s supposed to be (satire?), or where it came from. It seems pure pettiness on his part (‘I hate this place. I have to get back at it. I know!’). Noting one’s observations of the attributes of a place one is visiting is fine; even if it’s desperately flawed it’s at least germane. That letter, however, is bewildering, not to say enraging.

And #39: the last time I saw ‘strangers smile together’ like that? What ‘strangers’ are smiling ‘together’ in the video? It is, again, only in the viewing that we see the juxtaposition. Yes, people smile exactly the same all over the world. How about that. But to blubber over this, obviously based in substantial part on the quite lovely music (rightly the subject of the post: it has more to do with whatever visceral response the video inspires than the video’s content) and picturesque scenery, is, while not incomprehensible, certainly, ironically, unfeeling.

Bemused, you are missing the bigger picture and that's were all quite the same silly human beings all over the planet.

And for the all of the comments on Matt's blog, etc... come on, people you can do better than that.

Which foreigner to India doesn't experience these moments of being overwhelmed by the place?

Both the video and music are awe inspiring. Reading the lyrics just adds to the special quick view of humanity on our planet.

Lekhni--people do change. And like Pravin, I can't believe that he would sign up for something as big as this if he were disdainful of the countries he would be visiting.

Well, I don't know - maybe visiting other countries makes him feel superior. And he knew (going by the success of the first version) that this video would bring him a lot of publicity.

It's not even the comments about India that annoy me so much as that fictional letter by Gandhi to Hitler which he says he "copied from a museum". He does not indicate anywhere that he made it up. That, to me, is crossing the line.

And #39: the last time I saw ‘strangers smile together’ like that? What ‘strangers’ are smiling ‘together’ in the video? It is, again, only in the viewing that we see the juxtaposition.

I am not referring to people in one scene and then people in another. I am referring to people in each place. You think all the people dancing together in each scene know each other, or know Matt? The "strangers" comment doesn't have anything to do with seeing the scenes in sequence.

Also:

Whatever ‘commonality of exuberance’ you see in this – by ‘the children especially’ – can be chalked up entirely to their joy at partaking in the decidedly uncommon experience of having their images captured in any form. And while you might think that that’s a fine, innocent thing, it is most certainly not.

Of course some of the children are excited to have their picture taken. But "chalked up entirely" cannot logically be defended. How do you know that's the entire explanation? I think it's likely that at least some of the happiness is in the spontaneous weirdness of the dancing.

45 · V.V. Ganeshananthan said

the happiness is in the spontaneous weirdness of the dancing

That encapsulates it for me, perfectly.

I was touched because I loved the music, but I also loved how universal it was...underneath it all, we just want to dance like we're auditioning for the Peanuts gang. :) All of these strangers wanted to dance around with this random guy they had written to, in their city? It's so wacky and happy, I love it.

Add me to the list of those charmed by Matt's simple but original and creative idea, funny dance, and excellent taste in music.

As for his blog, I have myself traveled enough to recognize the ups and downs of honest first impressions. He even has a sentence about being emotionally confused. I would hate to look at my own old letters home from a turbulent USSR. More than half of his commenters have called him awful names, yet he has not gone about deleting those comments.

Bemused, I don't know if you have lived in or visited India. But street kids are exuberant and make excited requests about having their pictures taken. Prior to instant digital pictures, was a long era of photography using film that needed ot be developed. None of the kids who asked me to take their pictures in Mahabalipuram or Delhi expected me to send them a print.

Dear Lekhni, in general, if we don't subscribe to the idea that people can and do change, evolve Ishamel Beah would not have a chance to rewrite the course of his life. In the case of Matt, I am not even seeing the need for some kind of drastic change or growth--he is just another guy making cross-cultural observations aloud. Which one among us has not brought with us our own versions (of understanding) of order in life when we just arrived at another place? It may not be about hygiene, but it may have been about the length of skirts or the amount of meat that is being eaten.

Like celebrities, young bloggers and travel writers seem destined to grow under the watchful eye of a critical public.

Malathi,

In my mind they are two completely different things - the video and the blog. I am still a little too cynical to believe that strong prejudices can go away quickly. But whatever I think of Matt's views, I agree the video is pure fun. Not because Matt is doing his goofy number, but because of all the street kids and everyone else dancing so enthusiastically with him.

In particular, I like the kid from Soweto. Also the ones in Mali. There is so much joy on their faces, it makes me smile, and also, somehow, makes me a little sad.

47 · Malathi said

None of the kids who asked me to take their pictures in Mahabalipuram or Delhi expected me to send them a print.

Yes! Exactly. There's a quiet joy just in being photographed and knowing that someone elsewhere in the world will see that photo. You don't have to see it yourself.

And I've only been to India twice. I was so overwhelmed during my first visit by how different life is there, and though I was thrilled to see my relatives, it was a pretty stressful trip. (The second time around was better, though.) Even now, though I've lived abroad in a non-English-speaking country, I still feel intimidated by the idea of traveling there without my family to help and guide me.

The singer did really well, although I didn't get a word of it. I speak bengali & I thought it sounded a bit like choir/hymn singing where one word is sort of joined on to the next. But the overall effect was nice. In terms of the purpose of the video, m'fraid I have to agree with #25. On a personal note, I was surprised that the video didn't have Bangladesh as one of its stops, seeing as it would tie in well with the language and the singer. Matt probably thought putting India in for the region would suffice.
More power to Palbasha Siddique!

color me entertained, as well.

If it's touching at all, it's because the video (and maybe the music by the young brown aforementioned, too) make you believe that, regardless of how shitty we may all think the world is becoming, in 69 countries there are hordes of people who are happy to drop whatever the hell it is they were doing and dance like loons for a complete stranger.

That they don't know each other (maybe not within the individual crowds, and almost definitely not country to country), or Matt, only makes it better for the optimists who view it. And that the kid who made the music doesn't know any of them makes it profound: you can make art inadvertantly, in groups. One person does this, another does that, and suddenly it's something way bigger than anything any single person put together.

I don't think the implication is that he's trying to change the world, either. I think he did it the way many of us blog or vlog or whatever: for the hell of it, for the fun of it, for some documentation of our impressions, for our audience, for our own egos, whatever.

To the pessimists bemoaning the whole thing as "exploitative" (perhaps...but on the Exploitation Scale (which is logarithmic), this hardly registers at all), or "hippie-like" or whatever...well, I guess it's fun somehow. But then again, I've had enough pictures taken of me without any regard to my recompense, so I must be totally soulless by now.

I guess the only antidote is to turn on some old Motown. Maybe Marvin Gaye gonna save my soul. :-)

I am still a little too cynical to believe that strong prejudices can go away quickly.

That is where we differ. I don't see them as strong prejudices. Or maybe I am guilty of the same prejudices, but while being brown and Indian--I have had similar thoughts and have asked the same questions with respect to overcrowding, pollution, power-cuts, cows, sanitation, heat, malaria medications, guys coming to Massachussetts, and yes, I am ashamed to say this, but even about aggressive beggars (this was when i was still living there; when I am only visiting I am more angry at myself for complicated reasons).

My relationship to Gandhi has also not been uniformaly loyal--I have gone through periods where I joined the (Indian) band wagon and blamed him for all of India's evils and failures. Finally, I think we can forgive somebody for attempting humor (I think that is what Matt was aiming at with the whole Gandhi letter angle) and even failing miserably at it.

New York city has much of the same stuff too. It's cleaner these days, but garbage piled up, stinking on the streets? Yes, NYC had that too, and not all that long ago. People just forget too quickly.

There's a quiet joy just in being photographed and knowing that someone elsewhere in the world will see that photo. You don't have to see it yourself.

I completely agree with this. Though when I encounter such kids, I wish I had a Polaroid with me. To think that these kids most likely don't have a single photograph of themselves.. while they may be content with someone just taking their picture, I wish I could actually give them a copy :(

Palbasha Siddique is my younger sister. We always thought our language, Bengali, sounded beautiful and now we have the whole world attesting it. Tagore's writing is so full of heart, a century later, we still lilt his songs when friends get together in Bangladesh. I am honored my sister helped highlight his work before the world.
For those who are looking for the translation or Bengali transliteration:

Bhulbona ar shohojete
(I won't forget easily)
Shei praan e mon uthbe mete
(My heart is tuned to a life)
Mrittu majhe dhaka ache
(That is hidden under death)
Je ontohin praan
(Forever)

Bojre tomar baje bashi
(Your thunders are really flutes)
She ki shohoj gaan
(This song is not easy)
Shei shurete jagbo ami
(I will wake to this music)
(Repeat 2X)

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami
Dao More shei kaan
(Give me the ears for it)

Shei jhor jeno shoi anonde
(I weather this storm with glee)
Chittobinar taare
(Armed with the strings of my mind's viola)
Shopto-shindu dosh digonto
(Seven seas and ten directions)
Nachao je jhonkare!
(Dance to the same music)

Bojre tomar baje bashi
She ki shohoj gaan
Shei shurete jagbo ami
(Repeat 3X)

We enjoy your support in this. Palbasha's lungs will be filled with the air you give. Greetings from Minneapolis. sushan01@gmail.com

New York city has much of the same stuff too. It's cleaner these days, but garbage piled up, stinking on the streets? Yes, NYC had that too, and not all that long ago. People just forget too quickly.

I love these claims of equivalence. I grew up in India and love it, but screams of racism when somebody talks about the pervasive squalor reek of oversensitivity.

Not really, #55. There's no getting away from the fact that the streets of India are dirty. There is also no getting away from the fact that we are a poor country, there are millions of people in India who cannot afford toilets, and who live in the deepest squalor - not because they want to, but because they cannot afford anything better.

I have also seen homeless people in NYC who live in their own filth. I feel sorry for them too.

But I would not pick on any of them. Neither would I feel superior to them just because I am in a better place in life than they are..

But I would not pick on any of them. Neither would I feel superior to them just because I am in a better place in life than they are..

I think your oversensitivity is reading things that are not there in Matt's posts. He seems to be a straight-up guy who says it as he sees it, and sometimes his attempts at humor go awry, but I definitely don't read prejudice or malice into his comments.

It's a problem endemic to western culture, not just Matt. They look down upon us when they visit us

Its not just westerners who are repulsed by the filth, chaos, misery of India. Poverty is not an acceptable excuse. There are other equally poor nations in the world including India's neighbours like Sikkim, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan, which manage to avoid looking like open sewers or festering sores. Of course India deserves to be looked down upon.

I didn't read any prejudice/malice either, until I came to the end of his post where he concocts that Gandhi letter. Now, Gandhi is a symbol to many people of past greatness and some of the better things that India stands for - nonviolence, democracy and whatnot. Gandhi is not even relevant to the post. So what was that all about?

Some of his readers thought the letter was real. He still never bothered to clarify that it wasn't. Maybe it was a really bad attempt at humor. Or maybe not.

Anyway, I am taking off now. Let the discussion continue, away from my opinions :)

I have also seen homeless people in NYC who live in their own filth

Its this kind of attitude that is responsible for India's lack of will to clean house. Its obscene to equate the conditions in America to the hellish conditions in India.

Its not just westerners who are repulsed by the filth, chaos, misery of India. Poverty is not an acceptable excuse. There are other equally poor nations in the world including India's neighbours like Sikkim, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan, which manage to avoid looking like open sewers or festering sores. Of course India deserves to be looked down upon.

Its this kind of attitude that is responsible for India's lack of will to clean house. Its obscene to equate the conditions in America to the hellish conditions in India.

Alright, the premathon begins.

And the post on India is all one needs to read to know this man’s character.

Who is the lower character: the one who sees inexcusable misery and challenges people to do something about it, or the one who sees it but for selfish reasons heartlessly ignores it?

blame the citizens of a country for the ineptitude of their government – the hell if I’m taking a damned ounce of blame for ours.

India is a democracy not a dictatorship. If the citizens of India have kept on electing corrupt and inept leaders for 60 years why shouldn't they be blamed along with their political leaders, bureaucracy, media etc?

First of all, a hearty welcome to Sushan. Even if she doesn't get into the pop business(which takes some luck too) in a big way, there could be endless possibilities for soundtrack work in the movies.

Back to the bickering over Matt. I read more of his diary. And I see that he insults even Christians. So this is a guy who is consistent. I share the same sense of humor(though not the same gift of writing) and I will make occasionally offensive statements not out of hatred, but to find some weird outlet for a combination of bemusement and frustration with the state of things.

I don't think it makes the power of the video any less valid.

"Its not just westerners who are repulsed by the filth, chaos, misery of India. Poverty is not an acceptable excuse. There are other equally poor nations in the world including India's neighbours like Sikkim, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan, which manage to avoid looking like open sewers or festering sores. Of course India deserves to be looked down upon."

Hey observer I'm just curious have you been to Pakistan or Nepal? They are just as filthy if not more than India. I don't understand what this has to do with the topic though.

I actually agree India needs to get better with the whole public defecation thing regardless of the poverty and it will take a joint effort where the richer people will be vested in what the poor people go through.

And Observer, SIKKIM IS PART OF INDIA.

Just another travelling idiot.

Silly video, nice song.

She has talent, he doesn't.(Blogging and merging camcorder footage doesn't count as talent. Hint hint!;)

She has a future, he doesn't.

As for his, and others', opinions about India, who cares?

India is the way it is, and will change the way it wants to.

If you don't like it, go someplace else.

I don't know, I think the guy has some talent. There's a very erudite review of the video at Obtusity, illuminating a broader message that might be behind this work.

India is the way it is.......If you don't like it, go someplace else.

Its easy for indians like you to be cavalier and dismissive about the dehumanizing conditions in India when you yourself aren't one of the hundreds of millions of indians who dont have the option to "go someplace else".
Typically selfish and callous desi mentality.

I repeat:

"India is the way it is, and will change the way it wants to.

If you, the observer, don't like it, you go someplace else.

India knows about its problems, and is trying to improve, it doesn't care much about holier-than-thou commentary.

If you have something to contribute, show it on the ground.

thank you for this wonderful piece.
i certainly cried, and the song is beyond praise. how i wish we Indians would learn to love Tagore more. and get out of our petty parochialism.
i am a Tamilian who lived for several years in Hyderabad and Pune. and i feel that it is very hard to find anything that can resonate across time/language/distance the way Tagore's works do.

thank you again

Sushan
Thanks for the transliteration. I searched high and low for this and was lucky to find your post.
god bless

This video made me cry - though I reckon it's more because the song is beautifully imposed onto it. In itself it's pretty goofy and cheesy and fun. It's the music that really makes it touching. Check out the waves crashing over Matt just as the singer's voice swells up into "Nachao je jhonkareeee". Nicely done. Beautiful song, I hope this isn't the last we see of Garry Schyman or Palbasha Siddique. And as a Bangladeshi, nice to see a Bengali song being enjoyed by millions. (Not contributing to Matt-bickering as haven't read his comments.)

i love the music but i think mat is very boring exhibitionist and his blog is nonsense. he is no one of any consequence.

Hi PSR,

I heard it for first time.. i like it... willd ecode the lyrics actaulyl proud to see ..
hmmm :)

Just thought I'd share.

I'm sorry to say but Sushan's translation of the words, though meant to be literal are not. Most of it is alright but there are some glaring mistakes.

"She ki shohoj gaan" means "It is an easy tune" and not the opposite.

The chorus of "Bojre.." actually means "I hear the music of Your flute in the thunder; its tune is so beautifully simple. It is what I want to awake to."

The song is absolutely beautiful. And I love the concept of bringing people together through something as simple as a bad dance move and a moving song, whose words may or may not make sense to you :)