When Grammar Met Clarity

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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...
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The Road Not Taken

Poems and quotes have always had a big impact in my life. Some of them have moved me so much that they have remained embedded in my mind for a long time. I am sure they are unforgettable. Robert Frost highlights the indecisiveness shared by so many of us at different points in life. Even today, there are so many interpretations one can guage from this poem. I have read it innumerable times and each time I have learnt something from it. A masterpiece from Frost reads thus:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

According to me, every word worth etching in gold!!!

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 16, 2006 at 7:21 AM

    Hmmm...
    So do you want to take the beaten track or the one less travelled ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Praveen KrishnanMarch 16, 2006 at 9:10 AM

    Partly both I guess!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 17, 2006 at 6:13 PM

    That means like me you also do not know what the hell we are doing with our goddamn lives ;-) !

    ReplyDelete
  4. Praveen KrishnanMarch 17, 2006 at 6:16 PM

    That was, is and will always be there!!! Life generally rolls over on you before you realise whether you are on the right path!!! I am not sure whether you have experienced that. Given a choice, I would really want to go back a few years in time and change the basics!!!

    Wishful thinking, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 20, 2006 at 12:33 AM

    I agree ! This poem is pinned on my cubicle wall and whenever I am really down, I read it ! :)

    ReplyDelete

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