Sidharth's "Mythical Cow" revisited

Another attempt at sketching.

Old soldiers never die...

Old soldiers never die…

Old photographs never die, they just fade away

Old clocks never die; they just call time out

Old wristwatches never die, they just wind up

Old watches never die; they just while away their time

Old (k)nights never die; they just call it a day

Old computers never die; they just log off

Old sodas never die; they just pop off

Old fountain pens never die; they just run out of ink

Old gamblers never die; they just run out of luck

Old inks never die; they just fade out

Old shopkeepers never die; they just shut shop

Old paratroopers never die; they just drop off

Old cowboys never die; they just ride away into the sunset

Old batteries never die, they just drain out

Old electric lights never die, they just blow out their fuses

Old honey bees never die, they just buzz off

Old actors never die, they just pack up

Old Shakespeareans never die, they just exeunt

::
Old Soldiers Never Die

“Old Soldiers Never Die” sung by Vaughn Monroe & His Orchestra (1951)

Old soldiers never die
They just fade away.

There is an old mess hall, not far away
Where we get pork and beans, three times a day.
Ham and eggs we never see, even when we're on KP
And we are gradually fading away.

Chorus: Old soldiers never die,
Never die, never die,
Old soldiers never die
They just fade away.

Privates they love their beer, three times a day.
Corporals, they love their stripes, and that ain't hay
Sergeants put you through the mill.

They just drill and drill and drill,

And they will drill until they fade away.

Chorus

Young soldiers shine their shoes three time a day
Young soldiers go on leave; they know the way
Young soldiers say goodbye, kiss the girls and make them cry
Then the girls all wonder why they fade away

Chorus

Washington, Grant and Lee were all tried and true
Eisenhower, Bradley and MacArthur too
They will live forever more, till the world is done with war
Then they'll close that final door, fading away

Chorus

Note: This song achieved instant recognition when Douglas MacArthur quoted it in his farewell speech.
::

Long Legged Sentinels

Another sketch from my collection.

The "inspiration" for this sketch was a beautiful photograph, published in a local newspaper, of cranes silhouetted against the sun, standing guard around a nest.

Misty morning in Bangalore, circa 1975

As far as I can remember, this photograph was taken some time in the spring of 1975. Bangalore those days was a small, uncrowded city and the Bangalore weather was fabulous throughout the year, more so during winter and spring.

My house was located very close to the North-West part of the Ulsoor Lake and faced a military war memorial. That morning there was a light mist and the early morning sunlight filtering thru the leaves of a nearby peepal tree was creating beautiful halo-like effects. I had actually planned to catch a bullock cart or maybe a couple of cows with my camera but it didn’t quite happen that way.

My camera (Sunflex, a twin lens Japanese model, my father’s, passed down to me) was loaded with a 100 ASA black-and-white film (I used only 100 ASA film for all my photography for a very long time). In my opinion, 100 ASA film is a very user friendly film because of its slowness. It allows a bit of leeway in the aperture and shutter speed settings, in regular kind of weather.

So there I was, camera at the ready, waiting for my subjects to appear. But there was nary a sign of bullock cart nor cow. The sun was going higher and higher and the mist was beginning to dissipate. Just then I saw this milkman slowly cycling up. He gave me enough time to frame him against the embankment of the lake and the result is what you see.

The print that is scanned and reproduced here was made on a monochrome paper with a sepia tint.

Bongrezi

(Author’s NOT: Pliss rid ich bhard kearfully)

BONGREZI – The Bong dictionary

(no offence meant to the grate pipul of Waist Bengal)

By Sudden Shiv

A

Aks – to put a question to, to enquire, e.g., if you don’t know the whey, aks.

B

Babe – a moving wall of water; flow of water in swells, on the seas, e.g., during tsunami, huge babes were sin on the bich.

Banga (also Bongo) – the Bangla or Bengali name for Bangla or Bengal.

Bangdu – a tarm of endearment, e.g., arre bangdu.

Bard – a worm blooded vertebrate which has feathers and wings and can fly, e.g., iggle is a big bard.

Barth – the event of being born, e.g., Happy Barth Dey!

Beer – large strong bhild animal with thick far and shurp claws.

Bent Case – Hindu name, believed to be a Bong derivative of Venkatesh.

Bhear – to have something on one’s body, e.g., bher a shart bhen you go.

Bhery – a bhard which emphasizes an adjective or adbharb, e.g., the swit is bhery good! Misty khub bhalo, bangdu!

Bhojan – devotional songs sung in praise of God.

Bhore – past tense of bhear.

Bhurk – any activity or labour which produces something, e.g., bhurk is bhursheep.

Bhurker – one who bhurks, e.g., ent ees bhery hurd bhurker.

Bich – the strip of land alongside the sea, e.g., the sisside bich is bhery fine.

Bird – a lyrical poet, one who can recite, e.g., Shakespeare is a well known bird.

Bit – to strike violently or forcefully and repeatedly, e.g., he bit the ship very hurd and the ship blitted in pen.

Blit – sound made by ship and got, e.g., the ship ees blitting.

Bongo – for all others it is a percussion instrument but for a Bengali, it is Bengali.

Boss – a vehicle with a long body and sits for passengers; men public transport of city.

Boston – a place or tarminus where bosses perk, e.g., Shiboji Nagar Boston in Bengaluru.

Breeze – a structure nowadays made of still, used to span rivers etc. and which enables pipul to cross over, e.g., there is a gret still breeze in Kolkata which is called the Howrah Breeze.

Brif – of short duration. Also, inner garment worn over the lower part of the body, e.g., brifly he bhore brif.

Briz or Brij – a gentle wind, e.g., a soft briz ees blowing.

Bridge – supposedly the barth place of Lord Kisna. Also known as Bridge Bhumi.

C

Car – a dog or mongrel.

Card (also referred to in the plural, i.e., cards) –  the curdled form of milk, a kind of yoghurt, e.g., swit card (misty doi in Bengali) ees bhery swit end testy.

Case – money in the form of currency, e.g., herd case.

Cattle – a container in which to boil liquids, e.g., water for making tea is boiled in cattle.

Cheap – a thin slice, e.g., a potato cheap.

Cheat – a sleep of pepper, e.g., he rot a small not on a cheat and saint eat to me.

Chip – inexpensive, of low price or low quality, e.g., that cur is bhery chip.

Chit – to deceive or trick somebody, e.g., don’t chit that parson.

Congo – another percussion instrument, rather like a Bongo. Also, Bengali for a comb.

Corn – Bengali derivative of Karan, one of the legendary characters from the epic Mahabharata, brother of the Pandavas.

Corona – Bengali derivative of Karuna – it symbolizes the ring of compassion around a person rather like the ring around the Sun.

Cur – a wheeled vehicle.

D

Dart – unclean matter; earth, soil; anything worthless.

Dey – one of the seven 24-hour periods in a wick, e.g., there are seven deys in a wick.

Dirt – a sharp-pointed missile; move rapidly.

E –

Each – irritation in the skin which makes one scratch; a craving to do something.

F

Far – the hairy covering on an animal’s body that keeps it wurm.

Fast – before anything else; representing the number 1, e.g., he bit the others and came fast.

Feat – correct or proper; also, in good health, e.g., he is a feat parson.

Feel – to occupy the entire space or cover fully, e.g., don’t feel your stomach with potato cheaps.

Fill – to perceive, a sensation, e.g., if you touch fire, you will fill pen.

First – quick, speedy, e.g., the ket ken run first.

Fit – an achievement, e.g., he parformed an extraordinary fit.

Fool – complete, whole, up to the brim, e.g., his stomach ees fool.

Full – a stupid parson, e.g., he is a stupid parson.

Fur – a long way off, e.g., my house is bhery fur from my office.

G

Got – a domesticated animal, close relation of the ship.

H

Heart – that which is sustained when we fall, causing pen, e.g., I heart myself and eat pens.

Heat – to strike or bit, e.g., don’t heat him, he will fill pen.

Hit – to increase the temperature by placing over a fire, etc., e.g., pliss hit the water in the cattle.

Hurt – the organ which bits, pumping blood, e.g., my hurt is bitting.

Hurd – to strike with great force, e.g., he heat the nail hurd with the hammer.

I

Ibry – itch, all, e.g., itch end ibry theeng is good here.

Itch – ibry one (from two or more) taken separately, e.g., I have two legs and itch one is different from the other.

Ist – one of the 4 cardinal directions, opposite of Waste, e.g., the sun rises in the Ist.

J

K

L

M

Meal – a factory with machines where manufacturing activity is carried on, e.g., a still meal.

Mill – any kind of food; the regular occasion when food is taken, like breakfast, launch, etc.

N

O

Omit – a Hindu name, short for Omitabh.

Oui – plural of I, e.g., oui are the pipul of our nation.

P

Pain – an instrument for writing.

Paper – a spice, a pungent condiment, gret combination with salt.

Parson – a man, woman or child, any human being.

Pepper – a fabric or sheet made from wood pulp or other fibre used for writing or printing or wrapping.

Pen – distress or suffering due to injury, illness, etc., e.g., he wus in gret pen.

Person – a priest or preacher.

Phis – swimmer with fins and gills, favourite mill of the Bengalis, e.g., these phis ees bhery bhery terribly testy.

Q

R

Rid – to observe, peruse and understand the meaning of something written or printed, e.g., he likes to rid books.

Robi – Bengali for the Sun (also known as Saan).

S

Saan – Bengali for the Sun (also known as Robi).

Sheep – an ocean going vessel propelled by sails or engines.

Shibojinagar – the famous Austrian body builder who went on to become a popular Hollywood star, also known as The Tarminator. Not to be confused with Shiboji Nagar, the Boston in Bengaluru.

Shiboji Nagar – one of the men Bostons (Boss Tarminus) in Bengaluru.

Ship – a domesticated  animal, close relation of the got.

Sit – chair etc. e.g. pliss tek sit.

Steel – stationary, not moving, e.g., there wus no briz, eet wus very steel.

Still – an alloy consisting of iron, carbon and various other elements, also known as the backbone of our economy, e.g., the gret Howrah breeze is made of still.

T

Taste – to examine, determine; an examination, e.g. I have a taste tomorrow.

Test – to determine the quality or flavour of something by taking some of it in the mouth e.g. he tested the food and found it terribly testy.

Tree – that which comes after two, i.e., one more than two.

U

V

W

Warm - any of a number of creeping or burrowing invertebrate animals with long, slender, soft bodies and no limbs; a wick or despicable parson.

Warship – (also bursheep) to prey.

Waist – one of the 4 cardinal directions, opposite of Ist, e.g., the sun rises in Ist and sets in Waist.

Waste – inner garment worn over the upper part of the body, e.g., waste end brif.

West – to squander away, e.g., don’t west money, shave it.

Wheel – the power of a parson to control the mind, e.g., he has a strong wheel.

Whey – path or route or direction, e.g., where there’s a wheel, there’s a whey.

Will – a circular object that rotates on an axis e.g., the ones fitted to a cur to make it move.

X

Y

Z

Tadpor ami – I am a tadpole

My tribute to Guruji

May 9th was Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's 150th Birth Anniversary. This sketch is my tribute to Guruji.

The original sketch, by another genius, Satyajit Ray, appeared alongside a newspaper article some years ago. I was impressed by its sheer simplicity and tried to reproduce it with my pen. A remix, would you call it?

Om Shri Ganeshaya Namaha!

starting off with a pranaam !