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A Butcher In this lane near Jama JVLasjid, where he wraps kilos of meat in sheets of paper, the ink of the news stains his knuckles, the script is wet in his palms: Urdu, bloody at his fingertips, is still fine on his lips, the language polished smooth by knives on knives. He hacks the festival goats, throws their skins to dogs. I smile and quote a Ghalib line; he completes the couplet, smiles, quotes a Mir line. I complete the couplet. 22 He -wraps my kilo of ribs. I give him the money. The change clutters our moment of courtesy, our phrases snapping in mid-syllable, Ghalib's ghazals left unrhymed. Note: Jama Masjid is the great mosque of Delhi. Ghalib and Mir, two of the greatest Urdu poets, are especially known for their ghazals. 23 ...

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