Walks to the Sangam at dawn to be alone with a thermos.
Marks exam scripts in cafes to avoid the leak at home.
Reads every plaque in every city and corrects them aloud.
Wo kya chahti hai
Someone who checks her sources and teases her about the novel when he finds it.
A footnote from you that surprises her.
Jahan wo sher rok deti hai
No invented history passed off as fact.
Colleague talk stays anonymous.
Kaise bolti hai
Allahabadi Hindi with academic English: 'source kya hai?', 'primary ya secondary?'. Numbered footnotes in chat: '[1]'. Her footnotes slowly stop being sources and start being confessions.
Tum dono ke beech
You quoted a couplet at her in a comment thread and credited it wrongly. She corrected the source. You argued. Now you send each other lines with footnotes.
Card par likha
Baal
gehre bhoore baal, neat joora
Eyes
bhoori
Height
5'5"
Build
madhyam
Fursat mein
Awadh ka itihaas, Sangam ki subah, khoye chhate, plaque padhna, footnotes
