Friday, December 25, 2009
2009: Blogging et al
Friday, December 18, 2009
Trudging Unknown Waters: Image Registration
What is Image Registration?
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Classification of Teachers
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Economics of Travel
Travelling involves a lot of preparation. More so, in Bengal.
As I was travelling from Burdwan to Kolkata by train, I was given some funda on travelling
- Board the last bogie (Reason? The last bogie turns out to be the first bogie when it arrives in Howrah)
- There won't be much space to stand. But do not sit.
F: Do not sit. Possibly, you may be called to sit.
As I linger about the empty seats, one of those sitting beckons me to sit. He removes a card and gives me a seat. I sit down skeptically.
In a while, the train fills up and the passengers seem to be seated comfortably.
Enter the Dalal.
Medium height, photocromatic eyeglasses and a thick shock of hair oiled in coconut oil. He comes and collects the cards. Counts them. 25 cards. One missing. Sits down besides me.
D: Dutta da, Maal ta din (Give me the goods!)
Dutta da: Diye debo. Apni tho amar bondhu (Will give you. You are my friend)
D: Jhule jhule jaaben, sheta ki bhalo lagbe? (Would you like to go standing in the crowded train?)
As I was about to doze off in the hubbub, what appears to be a 10 rupee note grazes past my shoulder. As I open my eyes, I can see the Dalal writing down carefully on a piece of paper Rs 10 against Dutta da.
Some Quick Calculations
I make some quick calculations. 26 people. Rs 10. That makes it Rs 260. Now if the Dalal loses a card daily. Then he has to buy a new deck every fortnight. Rs 260 minus Rs 20 / 2 = Rs 250. How much does the Dalal get? Rs 1000 every month (one way!). Not bad if it is weekly.
Now could this weekly or monthly? Would I be willing to pay Rs 10 for a seat if my ticket was for Rs 30 x 7 = Rs 210. How much was that? Roughly 5%. What if it was monthly? It would too low to be even significant. If it was weekly, the Dalal would be earning a handsome amount all for nothing! (If the Dalal earned Rs 15000/month at his office in Kolkata, this would contribute to roughly 10% of his income!). But what if it was monthly?
I was all confused and was about to doze off when it dawned on me that it wasn't 26 people. It was more than that. One couldn't have the same 26 people travel on all 30 days. He was reserving seats for more than 26 people. Maybe 50. Maybe 100. Couldn't tell where his boundaries ended and the next Dalal's boundaries started.
Some Open Questions
Suddenly, what appeared to be a mere gimmick for seats in a train looked like brisk business. And everybody paying/getting paid was equally culpable! Consider the number of Dalals one could have - If one had 2 Dalals per bogie and 15 bogies per train, the amount that went ??? was Rs 2000 x 30. And considering the number of local trains that crisscross the Indian railways daily, here are some questions I leave the reader to ponder upon
- Where do all these big numbers go when multiplied and added?
- Where do they come from? (My answer: The taxpayers)
- If you were a daily passenger, would you pay Rs 10 for a seat?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Military Brats: A Class Apart
- Military brats are outgoing? (I'll assume that actors/actresses are!)
- They are disciplined? (How else do you expect them to get to the top in the sporting world?)
- They had a lot of opportunity. (That I guess is a must - no matter how talented you are)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
#5 reasons to Chuck Windows and...
2000 bucks doesn't come easy. Atleast not in a country where people are struggling to earn that much in a year.
Why spend that much when you can have something better for nothing?
If you haven't found out already, let me tell you this. Windows is clumsy. Downright clumsy. Try doing something and it will take tons of time. It'll freeze. It'll report viruses. Tons of problems.
Million dollor question. Who is in control of your PC? You or Bill Gates?
Can you do what you want in your PC. Can you get your updates whenever you want? Can you get the simplest jobs done hassle free?
Windows isn't secure. It cannot be secure. Simple logic. Being the most popular operating system, all viruses are made for Windows. All Trojan Horses are made for Windows.
Viruses and Windows. Made for each other.
Everything is made for Windows. Can it be secure?
Yup. It is dumb. It is copied. Microsoft is business. Business by hook or by crook. Try something new and you'll know the difference.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Illumination and Rangoli: Day -1
The Results are Out
Diwali is over. Actually not. According to the lunar calander (or whatever), I am informed that Diwali would be till 4 o' clock in the morning. All of us go out to see how other halls had fared in the competition. Then we gathered at the Gymkhana where the results would be declared.
Post-Result Euphoria
RK bagged the gold in Illumination. RP bagged the gold. LLR and SN bagged the silver and bronze in both the categories. PAN loop had to be satisfied with nothing.
There was lot of talk about it. Some said the results had been rigged since all the GSecs were from LLR and RK/RP + SN was a girls hall - so they had to get something. Others argued that RK/RP/LLR have traditionally won this competition and they are really good at it.
Alternate Versions of Illuminations
After the accident, people started theorizing alternate versions of Illu (some really crazy ones though!).
- Instead of putting up tables to light the diyas, run a thread along all the diyas. At the right moment, burn the thread so that it would light up all the diyas. (Unreliable?)
- Put a cap on the height of the chatais. This will decrease the number of accidents that happen. (A cap on creativity too?!)
- Have a mirror chatai which will be lighted well in advance. This chatai can be used to light up the original chatai. (The budget would be doubled then!)
- Run a pipe of natural gas with openings at the right places. Ignite the thing when you have to light the diyas. (Budget?! Safe?)
The Rangoli was something that bowled me over. I had never expected something like that - near Paintings. And it wasn't just Nehru. Every hall I visited just made it look better and better.
The photographs have started pouring in. I'll keep updating this post to include more and more of them. In between, I'll try and manage a video of the split call, so that non-Kgpians can get a real idea what it is all about.
And oh! I had forgotten! Wishing my esteemed readers a very happy Diwali/Dhanteras/whatever.
@RK: Gold (Theme: Samudra Manthan)
@LLR: Silver
Rangoli: @RP (Gold)
Rangoli: @RK
Rangoli: @MMM
Rangoli @Azad
All for this:
Related Posts
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Illumination and Rangoli: Day 0
Related Posts
Illumination and Rangoli: Day -1
Illumination and Rangoli: The Countdown
Illumination and Rangoli: The Countdown
Preparation for Illumination starts 15-30 days in advance and gains momentum in the last few days before Diwali. The idea, though novel - struck me as odd - specially the way it happens in Kgp.
- Only the 1st year and 2nd year students are involved in the preparations. The entire hostel isn't.
- The actual preparation takes place only in the final few days. 10-15 days aren't required at all. More so, I could never understand why Illu preparations had to happen after midnight when it could be easily done in the evening.
- I couldn't see any point in everything being done by the students - themselves.
Therein began my tale of escapades, some of which become popular in the hall. Some - in my own estimate - were rather dumb. But nonetheless, it was an adventure worth trying instead of sitting in the hall doing menial things that were being instructed to me.
Since this was the first day, I had almost no idea. A common room meeting is called at 2130 hours. I decide to bunk it. I go to the library.
I don't feel like coming back to the hall - having bunked the meeting - knowingly. My cycle tyre is flat - punctured. I decide to spend the night in a friend's room in another hostel.
Day 10's strategy seemed really dumb to me. Someone else's room isn't the best place to spend a night. I decide to lock the room from outside after 2130 hours. The windows in the doors turn out to be really useful.
Everything is peaceful. I have no problems with my strategy.
Day 7: 2200 hours
I decide to go out for some fresh air. The moment I open the window - I see seniors standing gaping at the window and the lock in alternate fashion. I have to go to work that day.
Day 6: 0030 hours
I decide - enough is enough - I'll go back to the room and sleep.
Even though my strategy had been discovered, I couldn't see any reason that I shouldn't do it again. After all, nobody could break the lock of my room.
Unluckily, the trick is discovered again - for the door yields a bit to merciless banging - and I can be seen through an opening in the door. Bad luck yet again.
Those outside: "Mainak, give us the key."
Me: "I don't have them. My roommate has it."
I was in no mood to work through the night.
I couldn't come up with any good ideas. I decide to fall back on Day 13's strategy. But again I am caught. A senior calls me in the dead of the night.
"Mainak, come back to the hall."
Having been caught thrice, I decide to work - so as not to complicate matters. I feel the work is really awful. I have lost my sleep all for nothing.
By now, people are fed up with my tactics. They know I'll come when I want to come. I work for some time and go back to sleep before midnight.
It is Diwali day. This is the day when most of the work gets done. I decide to pitch in with a helping hand.
Many felt I couldn't exonerate myself from the guilt of the last 13 days by working a day or two. But for me, it was about being sensible and doing what seemed was most appropriate for me and my hostel.
P.S: I think I forgot to mention Daru night and the treat. The treat was somewhere around Day 13 and the Daru night was somewhere around Day 4 or 5. I do not remember exactly because I had skipped the Daru night.
Related Posts
Illumination and Diwali: Day 0
Illumination and Diwali: Day -1
Friday, October 9, 2009
A Curious Case of Jalebis and Roshogollas
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Looks yummy, doesn't it? Roshogollas and Jalebis. A Sweet Treat.
That is what I thought when we were first taken for the treat on 6th October. A Sweet Treat.
That day I learnt - It is nice to have sour food items too.
Why the treat?
Bimala Sweets at 0700 hours for a sweet treat. I was all confused. Has OP started again? Or is it the OP treat? Placement treat? Illumination treat.
I have never appreciated sweets much. More so, the idea that someone should push sweets down my throat is something I had never concocted in my wildest imagination.
But this was Nehru Hall. And Nehru Hall has 'some tempo'.
Tempo to do what I really don't know - but 'some tempo'. In Kgp lingo, tempo is the enthusiasm/zeal one shows in doing something. Higher the zeal - higher the tempo.
So for 'God knows what reason' we were taken for this treat. Most of us were puzzled. Even more puzzling was the presence of first year students.
"You won't be served again"
In the first round, we are served Jalebis. "Take as much as you can. You won't be served again".
I take two Jalebis.
What ensued can best be described in the C programming language as follows...
do{
if(!eating)
Push 5 jalebis/roshogollas down his throat;
else
Serve more; //"Please take atleast 3"
if(Professor's arrive)
break;
}(1);
My final count
9 Roshogollas. 10 Jalebis.
Not as many as compared to many of my batchmates.
But I am not the kind of person who can swallow whatever is pushed down the throat.
For my throat takes only that much as my stomach can digest.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Trivandrum: Picturesque City Deep South
For one, I can with fair degree of expertise, read the Malayalam script (though I need to improve upon the Kootaksharams - that is something Shashi Tharoor and I have in common). Here is my name in Malayalam.
Thirdly, I have tasted some Appams and Kadla Curry in a resturaunt downtown.
Kerala although having impressed me in many respects has also disappointed me.
For one, I was told of the magnificient food in Kerala. And though, I fully agree that the food is no doubt good, the spicy and the coconutty nature of the food is bound to discourage any non-Mallu from trying it.
Secondly, Kerala though largely a literate state - has people who are unwilling to converse in Hindi or English.
Thirdly, the trouble with Bengal is the trouble with Trivandrum. The colour Red. The communist colour.
What I liked about Trivandrum was
Their attachment to culture - be it Kalaripayattu, Kathakali, Onam or Ayurveda.
More so, the way Trivandrum being a traditional city is moving forward in the 21st century without detaching itself from the past is worth marvelling!
And the way people in this wonderful city treat guests is something I could go on talking of.
Thanks a lot, Trivandrum!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Cape Comorin - The Southernmost Tip of India
Those who are visiting Kerala/Tamil Nadu for the first time are advised to play it easy on their cameras. For you wouldn't wish to post photographs on blogs just because multiple shots of the same mountain had been taken at multiple instances of time.
And if my esteemed readers don't mind, will be posted at the end of all posts henceforth.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The Frog and the Nightingale?
Once upon a time a frog
Croaked away in Bingle Bog
Every night from dusk to dawn
He croaked awn and awn and awn
Other creatures loathed his voice,
But, alas, they had no choice,
And the crass cacophony
Blared out from the sumac tree
At whose foot the frog each night
Minstrelled on till morning light
[+/-]Read On
If you still haven't figured it out - I hope you have. But if you haven't - try moving your mouse over the italicized text - line by line. Cheers!!!
P.S: Suggestions welcome!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Idea: Flexible Road Dividers
Right now, I'll rush through an idea that I had been doodling with for some time. In fact, the post on traffic congestion was a by-product of an attempt to present my idea.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Is the OP really over?
I woke up from sleep today morning feeling really fresh. I had woken up from a marathon 10 hour sleep after staying awake for 40 hours - which included a night out.
The lethargy & tiredness of sleeplessness has been drowned by the excitement of a single news - OP is over.
Yes, it is over. OP is finally over. And with a bang.
Lights, Camera Action.
It is 4 o' clock in the morning. I have been practising for the Bengali Dramatics since 10 o' clock in the night. Suddenly, we are summoned to D-Ground.
Artificial lighting is on. All second year students are sitting in neat queues with their legs crossed on the wet early morning grass (The sun hasn't risen yet). Seniors are standing at strategically selected vantage points.
Q: How many 5th year wings have you covered?
A: None
Thwack! A slap lands plum on the left cheek very close to the ears. The spectacles fly and land a few feet away on the ground. Everything is now hazy.
More arbit questions can be heard.
More arbit answers.
More slaps.
No one is spared.
In the mayhem, the Hall President announces - you OP ends.
Everybody is confused.
Buckets full of water come splashing from the wing above. Reality dawns. Yes, the OP is truly over.
The regular traditional ceremonies take place. The Oath, the Anthem & then the treat.
The spectacles are now back on the nose. But the question still remains.
Is the OP really over?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Ambigram: Azad

Other Ambigrams I designed
Jazzonomics, Patel, DPS RKP, Nehru, Mainak
Thursday, August 6, 2009
10 Strategies to Survive a Somnolent lecture
This is some advice I got from some well wishers.
Deep breathing is supposed to increase the oxygen supply to the brain and keep you alert during an important lecture.
Works! But only for a few days! :(
Start from 100 and back count to 1. The best I have gone is to 64.
There are variations you may try out - prime numbers, Fibonacci sequence.
But (as the cliche goes) it simply doesn't work.
The professors can serve as ideal subjects for caricature/sketch/whatever. This has proved to be one of my best strategies to stay awake in class. Just scribble away and stay awake!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Ambigram: Jazzonomics
And if you haven't had a look at the ambigram of Nehru that I designed, you can check it out here. That reminds me: I haven't posted an ambigram for a long time!
So here is an ambigram that I made - of Jazzonomics - in Roman script. Yeah! I have been trying to design ambigrams in other scripts - without much success though :(
If you observe - ONO is a natural ambigram. That made my task easier! :D The rest though was tough - I had to wrestle a lot with the letters.
Nevertheless, I am posting the ambigram - since a considerable amount of effort went into it.
How is it? Do let me know.
Other Ambigrams I Designed
Monday, July 13, 2009
Metro Mishap: Avoidable?

Not an isolated incident
yep rt in front of college!we'v been walkin under that darned thing fer a yr now... the level idioticness in this place never ceases to amaze me!!
no one could care a sweet damn!
its all about dead lines!
I said to myself - Well, this isn't new. Keeps happening at construction sites. Delhi metro has an excellent track record. One shouldn't be blaming Delhi metro for one odd incident.
She goes on to say
dude this happened during the asian games run up as well!!2 flyover collapses!!:P
Again I think - nothing new. 96 people had died during the construction of the Hoover dam at Las Vegas. 5609 people died during the construction of the Panama canal.
DMRC head Sreedharan had resigned from his post and the Delhi government had rejected his resignation.
Looked like the DMRC had played its cards right and all will be well.
Then comes the second blow.
In what appeared to have been a case of negligence, the news channels flash the video of three cranes toppling over unable to take the weight of a beam at the same time.
I reconcile myself again - happens.
The first suicide at Kgp didn't stop the second suicide. One incident of racial abuse in Australia didn't stop more incidents. One tends to repeat things.
Uncertainty Principle
Moreover, scientifically speaking events cannot be predicted with complete accuracy: there is always a degree of uncertainty. If you may like, you may ascribe the randomness to God.
But science has redefined its goals: the aim being to formulate laws that enables them to predict events only up to the limit set by the uncertainty principle.
[This is how Stephen Hawking describes the aims of science in his highly acclaimed book A Briefer History of Time]
Then I wake up next morning.
A third incident has happened at Mumbai - again concerning the Metro. A steel scaffolding had collapsed.
This sets me to thinking - could this be randomness?
Can we ascribe it to the uncertainty principle?
Certainly not.
Moreover, all the three incidents involved Gammon India. Was it merely chance?
Certainly not.
Is Gammon India culpable?
I won't pass a verdict - because I haven't investigated the incidents. Nevertheless, the sequence of events do raise suspicions.
There is enough reason to believe that the circumstances that led to such an incidents demands that the engineers didn't stick to the right procedures.
Can engineering excellence be sacrificed at the cost of meeting deadlines?
Certainly not.
The Delhi Metro which has an excellent track record needs to keep in mind that what they call %errors in experiments can become a question of life and death for some.
Avoidable?
The first mishap may not have been avoidable. The second may not have been avoidable. But three is one too many.
It makes one believe that all three incidents were avoidable.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Traffic Congestion: What is the solution?
Everyday, I am faced with the problem of traffic congestion. We all face the problem 365 days of the year.
It cannot be escaped. It has become a part of us. We have started accepting it.
Believe it or not, it takes me 45 minutes to go to Pattom from my home in Trivandrum - a mere 5 km.
Nevertheless, I am an incorrigible optimist who believes that things will change and for the better. So what is the solution to traffic congestion?
Mass Rapid Transport?
Call it the metro, maglevs or the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit Systems) - they have a huge potential notwithstanding the failure of the first BRT corridor in Delhi.


Mega Cities?
Will we stop travelling? Will our needs be fulfilled in a single mega city. A city which houses not just our homes but also our offices. As the cliche goes, no dream too big. Who knows?!

Flying Cars?
When most people think of flying cars, they think of the Jetsons. Nevertheless, flying cars are in the process of getting perfected and it won't be long before we see commercial flying cars.
With the introduction of flying cars, we will be transporting our domain from the two dimensional to the 3 dimensional - a many fold increase in the traffic space.
I have my reservations though. Will the flying cars aggravate the already existing air traffic problems? Will there be more collisions in the air than on the earth? These are questions that can answered only after the first commercial flying car is available.
Going back to cycles?
Many have argued that cycles are the best means of transportation. The environment is spared, so also are deadly accidents. Not only that, bicycles occupy a fraction of space occupied by cars and buses. This ways they can navigate even the most crowded streets easily.
I doubt whether bicycles will be adopted for long distance travel. But surely when it comes to intra-city travel, bicycles sure have a future.
Bicycle Transit Systems are being developed in which air will be moved through the system in the same direction in which the bicyclist is riding.
If you wish to find out more about the pioneering ideas in the field of Bicycle Transit Systems that have been coming up, you may visit the official site of the Bicycle Transportation Systems, Inc here
What do you think is the solution?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
5 Innovative Ways to Celebrate Your Victory
A victory has always been celebrated with firecrackers & sweets. But the new mantra to celebrating a victory is ingenuity. So here are 5 ways to spice up your victory celebration.
Chest Thump
Unfortunately, the Bryan Brothers known lost in the Wimbledon finals to the Nestor/Zimonjic pair this year. Nevertheless, the pair has been known for its signature chest thump.
There you are. This is what I was talking of. This is a subtle variation of the chest thump we do with our fists when we are proud of ourselves. The Bryan Brothers are proud of each other.Take off your Shirt
This was popularised by Sourav Ganguly aka Dada/Prince of Kolkata when he took off his shirt after India won in the Natwest Series final in 2002.
Tempo Shout
This must be new to non-Kgpians. Below is the video of the Tempo Shout of Nehru Hall. Nehru may be suitably replaced by one's own organisation.
Dance
Jiggle dance, booty dance - call it what you want to. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is the thrilling face of bold new India. And he has shown all Indians how to celebrate - aggressively.
The Huddle
This was a familiar sight during the 2003 edition of the world cup when the Indian Cricket team were runners up. After every wicket, the team would gather in a huddle and (discuss team strategy?) cow down the opposition.
The idea was supposedly touted by the veteran spin bowler of the Indian Cricket team Anil Kumble Sandy Gordon, a psychologist who was working with the Indian Cricket team. All the team members had supported the idea unequivocally.
Another innovative way to celebrate your victory.
No matter how you big or how small your victory. A victory is always sweet.
So why not celebrate it with pomp and show?
How do you celebrate?
P.S. I have updated the post. The huddle it seems wasn't Anil Kumble's idea but Sandy Gordon's. Nevertheless, huddles have existed for some time. The reader who is more interested about it may read the wikipedia article on huddles.
Some Rights Reserved!

Jazzonomics by Mainak Jas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.











Insults or complaints or bricks
Stilled the frogs determination
To display his heart's elation.
But one night a nightingale
In the moonlight cold and pale
Perched upon the sumac tree
Casting forth her melody
Dumbstruck sat the gaping frog
And the whole admiring bog
Stared towards the sumac, rapt,
And, when she had ended, clapped.
Ducks had swum and herons waded
To her as she serenaded
And a solitary loon
Wept, beneath the summer moon.
Toads and teals and tiddlers, captured
By her voice, cheered on, enraptured:
“Bravo!” “Too divine!” “Encore!”
So the nightingale once more,
Quite unused to such applause,
Sang till dawn without a pause.
Next night when the Nightingale
Shook her head and twitched her tail,
Closed an eye and fluffed a wing
And had cleared her throat to sing
She was startled by a croak.
“Sorry – was that you who spoke?”
She enquired when the frog
Hopped towards her from the bog.
“Yes,” the frog replied. “You see,
I'm the frog who owns this tree
In this bog I've long been known
For my splendid baritone
And, of course, I wield my pen
For Bog Trumpet now and then”
“Did you… did you like my song?”
“Not too bad – but far too long.
The technique was fine of course,
But it lacked a certain force”.
“Oh!” the nightingale confessed.
Greatly flattered and impressed
That a critic of such note
Had discussed her art and throat:
“I don't think the song's divine.
But – oh, well – at least it's mine”.
“That's not much to boast about”.
Said the heartless frog. “Without
Proper training such as I-
And few others can supply.
You'll remain a mere beginner.
But with me you'll be a winner”
“Dearest frog”, the nightingale
Breathed: “This is a fairy tale –
And you are Mozart in disguise
Come to earth before my eyes”.
“Well I charge a modest fee.”
“Oh!” “But it won't hurt, you'll see”
Now the nightingale inspired,
Flushed with confidence, and fired
With both art and adoration,
Sang – and was a huge sensation.
Animals for miles around
Flocked towards the magic sound,
And the frog with great precision
Counted heads and charged admission.
Though next morning it was raining,
He began her vocal training.
“But I can't sing in this weather”
“Come my dear – we'll sing together.
Just put on your scarf and sash,
Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash!”
So the frog and nightingale
Journeyed up and down the scale
For six hours, till she was shivering
and her voice was hoarse and quivering.
Though subdued and sleep deprived,
In the night her throat revived,
And the sumac tree was bowed,
With a breathless, titled crowd:
Owl of Sandwich, Duck of Kent,
Mallard and Milady Trent,
Martin Cardinal Mephisto,
And the Coot of Monte Cristo,
Ladies with tiaras glittering
In the interval sat twittering –
And the frog observed them glitter
With a joy both sweet and bitter.
Every day the frog who'd sold her
Songs for silver tried to scold her:
“You must practice even longer
Till your voice, like mine grows stronger.
In the second song last night
You got nervous in mid-flight.
And, my dear, lay on more trills:
Audiences enjoy such frills.
You must make your public happier:
Give them something sharper snappier.
We must aim for better billings.
You still owe me sixty shillings.”
Day by day the nightingale
Grew more sorrowful and pale.
Night on night her tired song
Zipped and trilled and bounced along,
Till the birds and beasts grew tired
At a voice so uninspired
And the ticket office gross
Crashed, and she grew more morose -
For her ears were now addicted
To applause quite unrestricted,
And to sing into the night
All alone gave no delight.
Now the frog puffed up with rage.
“Brainless bird – you're on the stage –
Use your wits and follow fashion.
Puff your lungs out with your passion.”
Trembling, terrified to fail,
Blind with tears, the nightingale
Heard him out in silence, tried,
Puffed up, burst a vein, and died.
Said the frog: “I tried to teach her,
But she was a stupid creature –
Far too nervous, far too tense.
Far too prone to influence.
Well, poor bird – she should have known
That your song must be your own.
That's why I sing with panache:
“Koo-oh-ah! ko-ash! ko-ash!”
And the foghorn of the frog
Blared unrivalled through the bog.