The weather has been all over the place this month. Mornings and Evenings are quite chilly but the rest of the day is quite warm. I seem to turn on the fan for 10 minutes every hour or so. There were again a few weddings this month but I didn’t attend any as I did in November because Sakura had a few Olympiad exams this month and her final exams for class 3 start next week. You may wonder why I did not go alone as I did in November! Well, I wanted to help her “revise” regularly this time. Anyway, it seems she did as good/bad as last time so my “help” may not have helped that much. Or, maybe it “helped” to maintain that level of consistency!๐ We did take a weekend trip to Kochi before the exams, so there’s that too. And remember Fort Kochi is not a Fort!๐คฏ
I have also been programming the past few couple of weeks and the result of that is here. The actual code and stuff is accessible directly on GitHub. It is basically a card game that became well-known as a nontrivial programming problem in a contest organized by MathWorks last year.
Out of the blue, 5 chapters of Sketchbook dropped this year after a gap of nearly 3 years! And these did not disappoint. Two sample strips about cooking food are perfect:
Lastly, I listened to a “new” poet this month. I was amazed at his choice of simple words which packed a brilliant punch to where it mattered! This is again one of those untranslatable Ghazals so I won’t even transcribe it in English. But I will try to explain it below, though I don’t think I will do it justice.
เคฐाเคน เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ เคे เค़ाเคซ़िเคฒा เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ
เคเคธเคธे เคฌेเคนเคคเคฐ เคนै เคฐเคนเคจुเคฎा เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ
เคฆเคฐ्เคฆ เคाเคคा เคจเคนीं เค เคाเคฐाเคเคฐ
เคฐोเค เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ เคे เคฎैं เคฆเคตा เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ
เคซिเคฐ เคตเคนी เคुเคฆ เคธे เคฐोเฅ เคा เคเคเฅा
เคुเคฆ เคो เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ เคे เคเคเคจा เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ
เค
เคฌ เคोเค เคช्เคฐाเคฐ्เคฅเคจा เคจเคนीं เคซเคฒเคคी
เคถเคฌ्เคฆ เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ เคे เคฆेเคตเคคा เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ
เฅिंเคฆเคी เคी เคฐเคฆीเฅ เคฐूเค เคเค
เคฌเคนเคฐ เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ เคे เฅाเฅिเคฏा เคฌเคฆเคฒूँ
–เคฆीเค्เคทिเคค เคฆเคจเคौเคฐी
The whole Ghazal is about dilemmas in various situations, where one has to choose one option or the other. This Ghazal is so structured that the first and last Sher themselves open up dilemmas in similar situations but with contradictory options! That’s what makes this a great Ghazal. So the first Sher asks in its first line whether to change one’s path or one’s company (caravan); only to wonder in the second line if it’s better to change the leader. The second Sher complains to the doctor that the pain does not subside; and wonders whether to change the disease or the medicines. The third one is upset about fighting with oneself; and wonders whether to change oneself or the mirror! The fourth one is so profound as to notice that no prayer is being answered; and wonders whether to change the words or the gods! The last Sher contains quite a few technical terms related to Ghazals (refer to this post for their technical meanings) but they all have “normal” meanings too, so in essence, this Sher is full of เคถ्เคฒेเคท เค เคฒंเคाเคฐ (Puns) raising it to the highest level of poetical beauty I’ve ever witnessed! Here is what I think are its dual meanings: 1. My life’s refrain (เคฐเคฆीเฅ) is “upset”. Should I change the meter (เคฌเคนเคฐ) or the “rhyme” (เฅाเฅिเคฏा)? 2. My life’s co-travellers (เคฐเคฆीเฅ) are upset. Should I change my ways (เคฌเคนเคฐ) or the followers (เฅाเฅिเคฏा)? What a reversal of viewpoint compared to the first Sher: there, the leader seemed to be the problem and here, the followers! To appreciate the beauty of this Ghazal fully, here is Dixit Dankauri reciting it in full (starts around half-time):
His previous recitals are also worth listening to: 2019, 2021 & 2023. One more on the occasion of
