When Grammar Met Clarity

Image
Writing has always fascinated me. It’s such an interesting aspect of communication; you can pretty much convey anything you want, in any way you want. Even a grammatically incorrect sentence can carry its full meaning. Yet, somewhere along the way, we began mistaking good communication for intelligence. “Oh, he writes and speaks so well.  He must be smart.” Good communication can create a false sense of technical pride. I grew up believing that grammatical precision was the measure of knowledge. But in hindsight, that wasn’t entirely me; it was my teachers. They were absolutely particular that every sentence not only conveyed meaning, but also respected the sanctity of grammar. A misplaced article or preposition could invite the harshest of corrections. Yesterday, my wife and I were talking about writing and as all conversations these days eventually do, it veered toward our kids’ writing. We were laughing over Sahana’s recent schoolwork: a delightful mix of humor, dialogue, and im...
Post a Comment

Food for thought

It is winter time in Stuttgart,
Better to live on bread and jam tarts,
But come you have from Bangalore,
Where food you have galore!!

An early wake up call,
Takes you to the breakfast hall,
And all you get to see,
Gives enough reasons to flee!!

No reason to think twice,
To eat what you despise,
If you get to be chosy,
Life cannot be any rosy!!

A hurried breakfast and a run,
In the cold and no trace of the sun,
To catch the bus in a few miles,
Can give you no morning smiles!!

As you get ready for lunch,
And absolutely have no hunch,
The food prepared last night,
Will it end up alright?

As you prepare the food to heat,
You realise it is no mean feat,
To eat self prepared food,
Which is not all that good!!

Soon, Dinner time it is,
You don't want to miss,
To try out something new,
So what if you eat a few!!

You learn at last,
That to cook good and fast,
Practice once, twice and thrice,
Before you pay the same price

Comments

Post a Comment