What happens when sadness becomes a house and welcomes us as its most cherished guest? “The House of Sadness” turns sorrow into an unusual host, serving a strange feast made of tears, neglect, hatred, humiliation and wounded pride. With a touch of dark humour and deep emotion, the poem explores the curious intimacy we sometimes develop with our own sadness.
Watch “The House of Sadness” on YouTube:
Note: The English subtitles in the cinematic video are an adapted version of the poem, while the translation above is a fuller literary rendering. Both convey the same poem in different English expressions.
মন খারাপের নেশায়!
গিয়েছিলাম মন খারাপের বাড়ি!
সে তো আমায় পেয়েই পাগলপারা!
কি করবে, কোথায় বসাবে,
কি খাওয়াবে, কি দেখাবে –
সে কি হুলস্থুল কান্ড!
তারপর কি হলো শোনো না:
মন খারাপের নেশায়,
আমি তো পুরোই ভুলেছি কান্ডজ্ঞান!
English Translation
A Strange Invitation
I went to the House of Sadness!
Oh, how wildly excited it was to see me!
What would it do, where would it seat me,
What would it feed me, what would it show me –
What a commotion it created!
Then, listen to what happened:
Under the intoxicating spell of sadness,
I completely lost all my common sense!
সে কি কষ্ট কি করে বোঝাই!
আর এদিকে,
আমাকে সে আরো মুগ্ধ করবে বলে,
এনে দিলে সব যা ছিলো ঘরে:
প্রথমেই নিয়ে বসালো কণ্টক শয্যায়,
আহা! সে কি কষ্ট কি করে বোঝাই!
তারপর একের পর এক নিয়ে এলো –
দু’ফোটা চোখের জলের শরবত,
এক থালা অবহেলার নানরুটি,
এক টুকরো ঘৃণার শিক কাবাব,
এক বাটি অপমানের রেজালা,
এক বাটি বঞ্চনার হালিমও ছিলো!
English Translation
A Feast of Pain
And then, wanting to enchant me even more,
It brought out everything it had in the house.
First, it seated me upon a bed of thorns –
Ah, how can I ever describe that pain!
Then, one after another, it brought forth –
A glass of tears, just two drops of sorrow,
A plate of neglect served as naan bread,
A piece of hatred, roasted like seekh kebab,
A bowl of humiliation, rich as rezala,
And even a bowl of deprivation,
Slow-cooked like haleem.
আতিথেয়তায় মুগ্ধ হলাম।
কী যে ভীষণ দহনের যন্ত্রণা বুকে নিয়ে,
আমি এক এক করে সবটুকু খেয়ে,
তার আতিথেয়তায় মুগ্ধ হলাম।
তারপর এনে দিলো,
অভিমানের এক পেয়ালা চা!
আহা! যন্ত্রণায় আমি দুমড়ে মুচড়ে গেলাম!
English Translation
The Host’s Hospitality
With such terrible burning pain
Deep inside my heart,
I ate every bit of it, one after another,
And somehow found myself enchanted
By my host’s extraordinary hospitality.
Then it brought me
A cup of tea brewed from wounded pride.
Ah! The pain twisted me,
Folded me into itself,
Until I could barely bear it.
শক্ত করে জড়িয়ে ধরে ছিলাম।
এতোকিছুর পরেও,
কিছুতেই সে আমায় ছাড়তে চাইছিলো না!
আমিও ভীষণ মন খারাপের ঘোরে,
তাকে শক্ত করে জড়িয়ে ধরে ছিলাম।
কেই বা দিবে বলো – এতোটা অধীর হয়ে,
তার সমস্ত কিছু আমার তরে!
English Translation
The Embrace of Sadness
Even after all of this,
It simply would not let me go!
And I, too, lost completely
In the strange intoxication of sadness,
Held it tightly in my arms.
Who else, tell me,
Would become so restless to give me
Everything it had,
Just for my sake?
তাকে কেউ কেড়ে নিও না।
তাকে কিন্তু কেউ কেড়ে নিও না।
আমার জন্যই থাকুক সে সকলকে ভুলে!
তোমরা শুধু মন খারাপের কাছেও ঘেসো না!
সে না হয় শুধু আমারই হলো!
এইটুকু তো করতেই পারো আমার জন্যে!
English Translation
Let Sadness Be Mine
So please –
Do not take it away from me.
Let it remain only for me,
Forgetting everyone else.
Just don’t you go anywhere near
The House of Sadness!
Let it belong only to me.
Surely, you can do at least this much
For my sake!
When Sadness Becomes a Companion
At first, the poem appears to invite us into a house filled with sorrow and pain. However, beneath its playful imagery lies something much more human: our strange attachment to the emotions that hurt us. Through the unusual feast served by sadness, made from tears, neglect, hatred, humiliation and wounded pride, the speaker accepts every dish with a curious affection. In this way, sadness becomes more than an emotion; it becomes a companion that is difficult to leave behind.
Moreover, the poem gently reminds us that people sometimes hold on to their sorrow because it has become familiar. Even so, something that hurts can still feel deeply personal and strangely comforting. As the poem unfolds, this contradiction becomes increasingly clear: the speaker does not simply suffer from sadness but embraces it, almost as though it belongs exclusively to them.
Ultimately, “The House of Sadness” turns this contradiction into a poetic journey. Rather than presenting sadness as something that must simply be escaped, the poem explores the complicated relationship we can develop with our own pain. Perhaps, therefore, the strange house is not only a place of sorrow, it is also a reflection of the parts of ourselves that we find difficult to let go.