Warren Senders

Man With Sign, June 26, 02026

Friday morning and as I come into the kitchen I hear the drops of water outside and realize it's raining. Yum. I finish my coffee and suit up for the outside world, grab my umbrella, and head to Roosevelt Circle, arriving at 7:30 and setting up. Today's hand-held message is CLIMATE CHAOS INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE NEXT PANDEMIC. No Craige today; I'm a soloist.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvoM1T1M8F4
#ClimateChaos #GlobalWarming #HindustaniMusic #CitizenActivism

Man With Sign, June 26, 02026

YouTube
Jun 26 at 1:26pmWeb
Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

Traffic is very light, and with the light rain coming down, the windshield wipers are going. I get a few waves and smiles, but not much other responses from the morning commuters. The rain intensifies, but never to a really intense point. I hold my blue umbrella over my sign, and stay reasonably dry. I'm a little tired, but feeling relaxed and comfortable.

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Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

Today's practice is not rigorous. I start the tabla at an easy 160 bpm and sing bol-bant in quarter-note triplets for a while, occasionally moving into taans or sargam at other tempo levels. I also stop periodically and look around me at the world, thinking, speculating, wondering, then jumping back into song (it's important to include empty space in this music!).

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Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

As the hour unfolds I continue improvising, trying out different approaches to the material, but without any particular goal — it just feels good to be singing a rainy-season raga, in the rain, welcoming the start of the day and the end of the week. I notch the tempo up to 165, then to 170, where it stays for the rest of the hour.

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Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

Quarter-note triplets offer an interesting challenge in bol-bant when they're applied to syllable groups that don't add up to a multiple of three. One approach is to repeat such groups thrice, creating a polyrhythmic phase-shift with its own peculiar character. Another avenue is to interpolate an extra subdivision or two, typically on an otherwise unremarked long vowel.

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Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

I use both of these approaches at various times, and because I'm not trying particularly hard, it's effective. I should remember not to try too hard more often! The effect of the syllabic flow at this speed is more relaxed than I would have expected, but with a nice payoff at the resolution point.

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Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

At 8:25 I make a video (holding sign and umbrella with one hand, camera with the other — a non-trivial piece of digitation), then sing through the end of the hour. Shut down, pack up, head home, my feet squelching on the wet pavement. I have a couple of student cancellations today and hope to take advantage of the gift of time to do some office work, never my preferred occupation, but necessary.

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Show threadWarren Senders1d ago

Of course, the regular agenda of students, resistance chores, and video editing can be expected to unfold in its usual way. I stay busy and — I hope! — ahead of the demands of daily life. While the daily vigils are sometimes tiring, they are an outrigger to my canoe, keeping me from capsizing in the constant storm of news and outrage.

Have a good weekend. See you Monday.

Man With Sign

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