Anand’s first brush with Kabir was in school, with a doha that we’ve all heard as children “kaal kare so aaj kar aaj kare so ab/pal mein pralay hoegee bahuri karegaa kab”. He promptly drafted a parody: “Aaj kare so kaal kar kaal na aave ab/ pal mein pralay hoegee kaahe kare kachhu ab (Why rush now, there’s tomorrow, there’s day after/ if the end of days is nigh why even bother?)”

It wasn’t until years later, in his mid-thirties, that he discovered Kabir, the non-conformist, who championed the exact opposite of the values highlighted in the dohas taught in school textbooks. This Kabir is not to be found in books—it is more prominent in the sung-and-heard tradition called Kabiri, comprising bhajans and poetry performed across India by folk artistes. And it is this Kabir that Anand pays homage to in his translation, The Notbook Of Kabir (Penguin), released on December 1.