Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/432

 408 BENGALI LITERATURE subtlety and presence of lyrical directness. Sridhar, like most of his contemporaries, is often slipshod and careless ; but he is always forceful and direct. His faults are faults common to the group—of too rapid composition, diffuse- ness and a certain share of the tricks and mannerisms of current verse : yet when he beats his music out, it has a touching and tender quality. In his best songs the words are few but the linked sweetness of his long-drawn- out melody has a charm of its own. We have quoted some of his well-known songs ; here are two from his less known pieces. Belay Aalcaral FY Slapeal SF শুনিলে আমার ছুঃখ সে পাছে বেদনা পায়। না বাসে না বাসে ভাল ভাল থাকে সেই ভাল শুনিলে মঙ্গল তার তবুও প্রাণ জুড়ায় ॥ যাবত জীবন রবে কারে ভালবাসিব না। ভালবেসে এই হলে! ভালবাসার কি লাঞ্চন। আমি ভালবাসি যারে সে কভু ভাবে না মোরে তবে কেন তারি তরে নিয়ত পাই এ যন্ত্রণা । ভালবাসা ভুলে যাৰ মনেরে বুঝাইৰ পৃথিবীতে আর যেন কেউ কারে ভালবাসে না ॥ It is impossible to overrate the quality displayed in the above passages, and one can, therefore, understand easily how Sridhar’s songs got so curiously mixed up with Nidhu Babu’s masterpieces. But, inspite of this extraordinary charm, Sridhar is a singularly unequal poet and shines best in a volume of selection. Many passages are mere fustian; others have a beauty not often 1 In Premahar (a collection of loye-songs) ed. Ksirod Chandra Ray (1886), pp. 94-95 the text of this song has a slightly different wording.