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| At Shalimar, 2008 |
It came back to me a couple of years ago while watching a sequence from Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Iranian film ‘Gabbeh’ (1996). The poetic sequence involved an elderly teacher singing a lesson to his young pupils [video link]. I remembered the way my grandmother sang table of two to me when I was a kid. It’s rustic nature never failed to delight me. In many futile attempts I tried to capture it. Could manage only a few delightful multiplications. I asked my grandmother but she too recalled it only in parts. Last night I again gave it another shot but instead ended up getting distracted by ‘Do Ekam Do Do Duni Chaar’ song from Dil Deke Dekho (1959) [video link]. But it also made me finally go for closure. This morning I called up my grandmother and over a long call, finally managed to compile the table. It was a fun exercise, which started after I failed to explain her my interest in something so trivial, in fact I am now somewhat in-famous in the family for my trivial interests, nevertheless, ever the Dadi, she agreed to entertain me one more time with her table song. From the voice in the background, I knew this time she had help, her son and daughter were filling in the blanks (only that my father was adding his own mock ribald version into it,only adding to the confusing). At time she ran so fast with the flow that I had to stop her so that I could follow, and then she would again start from the beginning, with each stop and re-rendering the song kept changing. In any case, I think I now have an acceptable version. Little rhyme, no reason. First line is what could pass off as ‘Hindustani’ but the second line, the auxiliary for memory, is in Kashmiri. And it goes like this:
do e kaya do
Padow Ladkow
do duna char
Batt’e Lejj Phayaar (Or Maj’e Dyutnay Mar)
[2 2 za 4]
[Stir the Rice Bowl (or Mother beat you)]
do tiya che
Vothu Batt’e Khe
[2 3 za 6]
[Get up and eat rice]
do chukay aath
Hyer par paath
[2 4 za 8]
[Read a bit louder (Read upstairs (?))]
do panjay dus
Hooyn Kheynay nas
[2 5 za 10]
[Dog ate your nose] (Laugh.Recall point.)
do che barah
Mol chui Praran
[2 6 za 12]
[Father is waiting]
do satay chowdhah
nikkan kori maedaan
[2 7 za 14]
[You kid just shit]
do ahthay solah
mol chui bolan
[2 8 za 16]
[Father is talking]
do navay athara
mol chui laran
[2 9 za 18]
[Father is giving a run]
do dahya bees
ungjan kad tees
[2 10 za 20]
[crack your knuckles]
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I thank my grandmother for teaching me how to spell धन्यवाद्.
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