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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How the hell does it matter?

The other day, it was just me and Yadu catching a late night movie from the late nineties, Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jayenge (DDLJ). The other two roommates of ours had got into bed early, and we had just got up after our evening sleep. Strange things prop up while watching movies and strange ideas give rise to funny situations. It is baseless to equate the cinematic moments with real life scenario. But, it is fun to see to what extent we can go to simulate what we see on screen. I have this "terrible" habit of posing questions out of thin air. No wonder my friends complain when I sit back to watch movies with them.

As we started watching the movie, we came across a scene where Kajol is supposed to marry a guy whom she has never met before. Come on, this is actually not an all out surprising scenario for people like us. But, I still had the nerve to ask Yadu, "Maga, tell me what will you do if you were in such a situation?" Yadu gives that glance which could mean a thousand different things, and then comes up with this reply, "Sh..(Hell for commoners!!), That's what is going to happen to us!!". I just couldn't control my laughter. Obviously, all of us were(rather are) in the same boat. I don't want to make the situation more apalling by writing the obvious. Let me just end it here and wait for a better turn of events in life!!!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2007 at 10:10 PM

    Ahem.....maga why don't you write about your great expectation of finding a girl from your workplace in California?

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  2. Urban geekJanuary 19, 2007 at 12:28 AM

    well, i think this blog is a total cover up. its not going to work though...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lotus ReadsJanuary 19, 2007 at 3:20 AM

    Ok, you've got me curious as to what "Maga" means - is it something like the Mumbai "Yaar" or the tamil "Macha"?

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  4. VyasJanuary 19, 2007 at 5:42 AM

    ^Yes I need this answer too
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    But live is short pal...depends on how you want it to go..

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  5. Praveen KrishnanJanuary 19, 2007 at 12:33 PM

    Hi,

    Anonymous: Will take it up in some other post :-)

    Anand: Never been hideous in my life!! So, forget it :-)

    LR: Yep!! Maga is a common word in Kannada to address friends...yes its like machi in Tamil. There are also good number of kannada words like guru, sisya (Note it is sisya not shishya), siva (my personal favourite!!)....

    Vyas: The answer has been very elusive....I am still probing :-)

    ReplyDelete

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