Agnishatdal
Falgun 1425 Critique
By
Troy David Loy https://www.amazon.com/author/troyloy
Agnishatdal
Book 8, Saraswatipuja 1425
Agnishatdal
Falgun 1425, February 2019
Vanakkam.
This Chaitra, I give you something on last month’s Agnishatdal,
Let
us begin…. Our virtual trip to India*
This
shows a girl in traditional garb in rural forest surroundings, maybe
someone of an adivasi ethnicity? This pic has a nice balance of light
and dark shades, particularly the light tones of dress contrasting
with the dark shades of her skin.
Malati
Ghoshal:
As
a student at Bethune college, trained in classical and Tagore songs,
and best in those, it’s no wonder she was mentioned by the
mentioned in the poems of some of the leading poets of her day. I’m
putting looking online for recordings of her songs on my list of
things to do for the weekend!
Pankaj
Kr. Malik:
What
an amazing career this man had, as an actor, singer, and songwriter!
That he took on the work of popularizing Tagore’s songs and
teaching them to that same public audience is something worth
remembering him for. I’ll have to take a look at some of his work,
maybe finding it online.
The
cook is a spy
Brieuc
tells of some of his childhood spent briefly in Africa, and the
danger of its political situation, especially to foreigners, and to
those suspected of spying against the ruling government! In this
chapter, both sides engage civilly when the family cook is accused of
the very same. I wonder how this turns out?
A
tale of two Gurus:
Raghu
tells the story of a raja with misplaced manners, who is taught a
lesson on his meeting of a local guru, in a clever use of reasoning
to inspire humility.
Just
my imagination*:
Dom
offers a short verse of one stanza, six lines, on a fleeting shadow,
when suddenly its true source is revealed!
Haters
6:
BP
tells of the poet Nazrul, who “won” the ire of dyed in the wool
religious conservatives on both Hindus and Muslims for his heterodox
spiritual views. The fact that he attained the role of Bangladesh’s
national poet is a strong admonition to carry on despite the
naysayers.
The
unfaithful earl, Part 6:
Doug
relates not one but two conclusions for this ghostly tale:
Conclusion
one: a coroner’s examination revealed that the death of the girl
was by natural causes…. Or was it??
Conclusion
two: the local village vacates, the inhabitants and witnesses of the
ghastly encounter die or move away to other locales, the pub closing
its doors.
But
not so fast! A closer examination of the scene of the girl’s deaths
reveals hoofprints made using horseshoes of a style not seen for a
millennium. What’s up with that??
Second
not so fast! A metal collector finds an ancient spear and archaic
armor at the sight with his detector. At this finding, he hears
faint, high-pitched laughter, followed by a moaning sound as he
leaves. A memorable ending!
Life
love Wisdom*
Lisa’s
photo meme features a bridgein dim lighting, with the text repeating
the words, “life, love, wisdom, experience” in differing typeface
sizes. This made an impression!
Congrats
to the authoress in this issue for her first sold digital painting!
It’s always good when others like your work enough to
buy it!
Bro’s
Birthday Cake*
Here’s
a neat little pic of the authoress with her bro, having cake and
eating it too! Many thanks to the authoress for displaying the New
Year’s Day card I sent out!
Noreen
had a nice New Year’s greeting as well!
Mrinalini
Sarabhai:
Bharata-natyam
is one of my favorite classical dance styles, and the fact that this
lady could make it both popular and respectable is especially swoopy,
“swoopy” because plain old “cool” is overused! Kudos to her!
Palani
S. Pillai
As
a drummer like his father that he learned to improve his performance
style was probably key to his success doubtless contributed to the
lifestyle he lived. With his prominence in the 1940s and 1950s, he
was way before my time, but there should be something online I can
listen to of his work!
True
Treasures, M.R. James:
Now
here’s a good writer, who used more traditional horror themes but
in a style that gave it different feel to his stories. He also avoids
the often blatant racism and xenophobia underlying Howard Phillips
Lovecraft’s Weird Tale fiction, which is a huge plus when reading
him. I also recommend seeing videos of James’ stories on YouTube,
as there are a lot of them, and they’re scary as all get out!
Falgun
Recipe: Shakbhaja:
This
looks tasty, and I do like spinach, or my favorite sweet kale, along
with the other veggies listed here. I tend to prefer my leafy veggies
crunchy!
7
Bengali
Here’s
a verse on Devi Saraswati playing her veena to sooth Devi Durga
7
Hindi
This
verse has a warning about those whose toxic words flow too freely.
Beware them!
Pieces
o/Past: Surdas and Tulsidas:
Here
are two prominent followers of the Bakhti movement, and the writings
they are principally known for. Fascinating.
Story
from Ved and Purana: Pippal Tirtha
To
lose one’s parents, be raised by trees, and then given the power to
destroy gods? Wow! That those same gods begged for protection from
him, and afterward making amends for what they did is a story worth
of a blockbuster film!
Well,
that’s it for this Chaitra! I’ll be back next month to see you,
but until then, in Soruggon…
…Talotaa
frang. Talotaa kas. Talotaa tranga suulaat.
And
in my currently amatuerish grasp of Tamil….
…Vanakkam.
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