Flavored hukkas are passed around,
Alcohol and paan bring the mehfil alive,
The Ustad ji sits down and flexes his fingers,
He knows he’ll be working all night.

Dha dhin dhin dha, dha dhin dhin dha
Na tin tin ta
Ta dhin dhin dha,
Move the Ustad ji’s fingers on the tabla.

While with a veil on her face,
And feet dipped in and henna-colored,
Lips in cheap red lipstick covered,
She unfalteringly, gracefully enters.

Her steps are matched by the chhan chhan
of the ghungroos tied around her ankles so slender.
Eyes set on her, feast on her youth,
Just right for the taste of all her customers.

Bejeweled hands placed on waist,
She stands at the centre of attention,
She lifts a foot, readies to dance,
And begins the nightly convention.

Skillfully, perfectly, sensuously move
Feet well-trained since childhood days,
Harmonizing with the timbre
That the Ustad ji creates.

Tin tin na dhin na dhin na
On the tabla, experienced fingers beat.
Chhan chhan chhan chhan,
She dances, repeating the rhythm with her feet.

Metal bells strike against one another
And chhan chhan chhan-a chhan she goes,
Making breaths prance and jump,
As she strikes on the ground her heels and toes.

Then suddenly she stops and gasps,
Over disgruntled, impatient groans she tries
to hear the sound that flows in, only to her ears.
Several rooms away, a baby cries.

Naach! A voice booms,
Arey naach! More join in.
A glass of wine is shattered by an irritated one.
But she stands still, clutching her chest, frozen.

One sways up to where she stands,
For the veil covering her face, his hands dive.
He uncovers her, but is blinded by the sight of her beauty
And her tears that fill her kajal-smeared eyes.

She’s shaken back to reality as she looks all around.
Her sparkling pall is off her face.
She sees all those drunk men who’ve paid to watch her dance.
She knows she has to make the sound of the cries fade away.

So she stomps her feet on the ground till it hurts.
Hair flying out of braid, bangles clanging,
Anguish replaces her innocent loveliness,
The music in the air is now shrill,  jarring.

Her steps match with the tabla’s rhythm no more.
But she dances, planting her feet so hard they weep.
She silences every sound with the noise of her ghungroos,
Praying that the night will lull her wailing son to sleep.

La, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la
Singing along with the Cosmic Hum;

Dha Dhin Dhin Dha,
Dha Dhin Dhin Dha,
Tapping along with the Cosmic Drum.

These are the sounds of Love and Joy,
The glorious sounds of Joy.

These are the sounds of Love and Joy
The Glorious Sounds of Joy.

I pose as this person by day
Who admits
To the others, his brothers
No god he submits
To more regal in splendor
More real in its form
More unruly enraged in
Its wrath firestorm
None its equal in might
Of life-giving aflame
The sol only creator
False prophets disclaim
But in vain is my quest
To convince them or dare
For with all of their deities
Mine gladly shares
Its irrefutable
Undisputed dominion
Across the sky realms
Of religious opinion
And sets upon Earth
With its mercy in tow
Reappearing each day
As its progeny grows
To discover the omniscient
Secrets it frequents
In flight, alight bright
Until someday, we reach it

Vitamin regimen of Dr. Abram Hoffer, 2008:
1. B-100 Complex : one capsule per day—contains all the B-vitamins
2. Selenium : 600 mcg per day
3. Niacin : 4500 mg per day, taken as 1500 mg, 3 times per day (with meals)
4. Vitamin C : 2000 mg per day, taken as 1000 mg, 2 times per day (with meals, I assume)
5. Vitamin A : 30,000 IU’s per day
6. N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) : 3000 mg per day, taken as 1,000 mg, 3 times per day (with meals, I assume), it increases a naturally-occurring antioxidant in the body called glutathione
7. Coenzyme Q10, (CoQ10): 300 mg per day, taken as 100 mg, 3 times per day
8. Vitamin D (vitamin D3, I assume) 6,000 IU’s per day
9. Salmon oil (fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids), 2,000 mg per day, contains omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA
10.  Zinc 50-100 mg per day
11. Folic Acid 5,000 mcg per day (which is the same as 5 mg)
12. Vitamin E 800 mg per day
13. Alpha Lipoic Acid (Lipoic Acid): 600 mg per day, taken as 200 mg, 3 times per day