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...

Back and Forth

Whistling back to the glorious days of yesteryears,
I saw myself standing at the threshold of yore,
But, Why? The past just comes to the fore,
I wondered, wondered and wondered alone!

Standing at the corner of every street,
Waiting all along for every other treat,
Absolutely no reasons to celebrate,
But, we always found one not to retreat!

Life is a profound mystery,
You were worried, "When can I go out?",
Today, questions take a new turn
You are worried, "Am I going out?"

As your gaze falls on the pixels in front,
Thoughts flood and fill you in doubt,
The program runs out of memory,
Enough to bring old memories back!

You were waiting for this,
Total recall of the past,
Endless events appear and reappear,
You wish it just would disappear!

You have solved the problem,
Your program no longer runs out of memory,
Back to star gazing, now a new program,
Thoughts churn out again in a flurry,
Frantically hoping to clear the memory,
The pixels fade, you have turned it off!

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