4. Ramprasad Sen, "Duto dukher kotha koi" [Let me confide a sad word or two]

The fourth song is taken from the corpus of lyrics by Ramprasad Sen, a well-known saint and devotee of Goddess Kali, who lived Halisahar, Bengal, during the 18th Century. He was patronised as a poet and composer by Maharaja Krishnachandra, the zamindar of the Nadia estate. Ramprasad's devotional songs to Goddess Kali, known as "Ramprasadi", influenced future poets and composers, including Rabindranath Tagore. Ramprasad was deeply affected by the Bengal Famine of 1769-70 (described in one of our famine tales) and the scarcities that rural Bengal experienced during his life time. The song selected here reflects his empathy with the suffering poor.