Warren Senders

Man With Sign, June 5, 02026

I wake well before the alarm, spend some time trying to get back to sleep, give up, read a bit, then rise when the buzzer goes off and go about my vigil preparations as usual. I reach Roosevelt Circle at 7:29; Craige is already there, so we exchange greetings and I set up my sign and speaker, then lean on the railing holding LET'S BUILD A BETTER FUTURE TOGETHER.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDtzRWeVVEI
#ClimateChaos #GlobalWarming #HindustaniMusic #CitizenActivism

Man With Sign, June 5, 02026

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Jun 5 at 1:21pmWeb
Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

Traffic is relatively heavy for a Friday and we get a lot of nice responses from the drivers (along with one, "it's all BULLSHIT" from a chucklehead in a grey sedan). The skies are clear, a light breeze is blowing, the sun rises and I stay in the shadow of my sign, doing my little bit to avoid melanoma in my Golden Years.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

I sing a few warmup phrases and then turn the tabla on at mm. 152, launching right into "mora jiya aati akulaata" in Megh. This has been a short week, and it makes a kind of sense to have put in three days of practice on a short khyal. Heh. It's a nice composition — useful as a drut conclusion or as a farmaishi bandish — and I'll revisit it at some point.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

The past months' work on additive strings of bol-bant turn out to have transferred well. I am able to start executing competent sequences of one or two avartans in a variety of superimposed tempi, counting syllables on the fly and making adjustments to keep the flow balanced. At first I just work on double-time, but then I include a string of quarter-note triplets that resolve nicely.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

This inspires me: can I execute 8th-note triplets at this speed? That's 456 syllables a minute, a healthy clip. I start by locating the triplet flow with the ta-ki-ta syllabification (basically trumpet tonguing exercises), then (having already counted the syllables required to fill up a cycle) launch into the bol-bant sequence without any thought of melodic substance.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

It takes a few passes to get it solidified, but eventually I reach the point where I can adjust the textual content midway through and still resolve. Now it's time to make the syllables cling to pitches, creating a more nuanced melodic contour. This likewise takes a while (and I'm still not totally satisfied), but I gain enough command over the line that I can afford to leave it to marinate.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

Intermittently I move to the antara, working out connective tissue between the third and fourth lines (which, you'll recall, are registrally separate and require a descending ninth leap). As usual, the mere process of working out melodic links between these lines obviates the necessity for them, and as the song settles in my muscles the time seems to expand and breathe.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

I wonder if I can get quintuplets? Yes, though not on the first try. Knowing that the first line of text has ten syllables means thirty phonemes in a cycle, which means six quintuplets with a displaced syllabic accent at the midpoint (the "ti" of "aati"). It takes me surprisingly little time to put this tempo level in play, and I'm pleased by the way it moves to resolution.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

John Gallagher arrives around 8:12 and I see him chatting with Craige, then moving around to take our pictures from various angles, waiting while I make a video at 8:22, then recording us as Craige and I do a surprisingly good version of "Get Together." After which we all chat as I pack up my kit and head to the intersection for a day of students, interview editing, and various chores.

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Show threadWarren SendersJun 5

I am grateful for the stability provided by these resistance rituals, which keep me grounded in a world spinning dangerously out of control. May all of us find our own ways to stay centered, sane, generous, empathic. "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." I dunno if I'm a revolutionary, but I strive to tell (and sing) the truth.

See you Monday.

Man With Sign

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