Jao Pakhi Bolo Taré (Monpura)

Jao Pakhi Bolo Tare" comes from Monpura (2009), a Bangladeshi romantic tragedy set in rural Bangladesh, directed by Giasuddin Selim in his feature debut. It's considered by critics one of the greatest Bangladeshi films ever made and became a cult classic largely on the strength of its performances and music. The film stars Chanchal Chowdhury and Farhana Mili, and its contemporary-folk soundtrack was released before the film opened — generating so much advance buzz that the soundtrack itself became one of Bangladesh's most popular albums even before people saw the movie. Monpura went on to set a first-week box-office record and remains the highest-grossing Bangladeshi film of 2009.

The music is by Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, a central figure in reviving and modernizing Bengali folk music for a contemporary audience, and the track is sung by Chondona Mojumdar and Kazi Krishnokoli Islam.

The title translates roughly to "Go, bird, tell her/him" — the lover is addressing a bird as a messenger, asking it to carry word to a departed or distant beloved. It's built around the classic Bengali folk device of speaking to nature (a bird, the wind, the clouds) because the speaker has no other way to reach someone who's out of reach — physically distant, lost, or unreachable in a more permanent sense. The recurring plea is for the bird to remind the beloved not to forget the lover, and to reassure them the singer wishes them happiness and well-being despite their own private grief ("salty ache" welling in the chest, tears falling). It's a piece of longing and separation ( বিরহ ) filtered through folk imagery rather than direct address — very characteristic of Bhatiali and Baul-influenced Bengali folk song traditions, which Monpura's soundtrack draws on heavily to evoke the riverine, rural world of the film's setting (Monpura is itself the name of a real char/river-island region in Bangladesh).

Lyrics & Phonetics:

[Chorus]
shonar o palongker ghore,
likhe rekhe chilam nare/dare,
jao pakhi bolo tare,
shé jeno bhóle na moré,

shukhe thekó bhalo thekó,
mone rekho e amare...

[Verse 1]

buker vetor nona batha,
chokhe amar jhore kotha,
epar opar tol par eka
buker vetor nona batha,
chokhe amar jhore kotha,
epar opar tol par eka

[Verse 2]
megher opor akash ore,
nodir opar pakhir basha,
mone bondhu boro asha
megher opor akash ore,
nodir opar pakhir basha,
mone bondhu boro asha

jao pakhi jare ure,
tare koiyo amar hoye,
chokh jole lay dekhbo tare,
mon chole jay odur dure,
jao pakhi bolo tare,
she jeno vole na more.