The life of an academic

Today's quote needs no introduction.

Devanagari text:

तावद्विद्यानवद्या प्रभवति विदुषां तावदाचारधारा तावद्गाम्भीर्यशौर्यमधुरमधुरिमाडम्बरो वाग्विलासाः|
यावत्पाकाधिकाराकुलितकुलवधूप्रेषितापत्यवक्त्राद्धे बाबू नास्ति तैलं न च लवणकणेत्यादिवाचां प्रचारः||

Harvard-Kyoto transliteration:

tAvadvidyAnavadyA prabhavati viduSAM tAvadAcAradhArA tAvadgAmbhIryazauryamadhuramadhurimADambaro vAgvilAsAH|
yAvatpAkAdhikArAkulitakulavadhUpreSitApatyavaktrAddhe bAbU nAsti tailaM na ca lavaNakaNetyAdivAcAM pracAraH||

– Anonymous

Loose translation: A (male) scholar's impeccable learning, his consistently flawless conduct, his composure and prowess, the unencumbered sweetness, volubility, and playfulness of his speech – all prevail until the moment he hears from the lips of his offspring, dispatched by his frantic wife from the kitchen, words such as "Hey Babu¹! We are out of (cooking) oil, and do not have a single grain of salt."

Source: Vidyakara Sahasrakam (विद्याकरसहस्रकम्), the source of the couplet quoted in my first post. This anthology was compiled in the early part of the 19th century. So the above verse might not be too old by Indian standards, but it is safe to say it was penned about two centuries ago.

1 In many modern Indic languages, babu (बाबू) is a term of address for one's father, father-in-law, or any respectable man; variants include baba (बाबा), bawa (बावा), bapa (बापा), bapu (बापू) etc. (see Wikipedia article on the title babu). This is an interesting example of a vernacularism in later Sanskrit literature.^↩