They built me with their sweats
And enslaved blood
As a high mark of their might
Wearing the chest of Calcuttan culture.
Since then I have been standing strong
On my plastered feet
Like the two mammoth poles bound together
Yet as different as East and West.

Bridging the gulf between the people,
Quenching their thirst
Generation after generation
With the water ever flowing under me
I harbor beneath my bosom
A cauldron of composite cultures
Unifying their heart, their mind, their languages;
All fused into one As a whole.

Millions and millions smile in myriad ways--
Tagore sings in their heart
National song of unity despite diversity,
And hymns of humanity
Invoking their secular conscience
To embrace one and all
Moving alone......walking alone...

As a witness to the holy river
Of universal love and social pathos
I have nursed and healed
Many a man, my offspring who is the true man
Of heart and mind with cosmopolitan frame
With the head held high in esteem
Like the tricolor flag
Unfurling the glorious past and pride
Of the nation...