NEWS - that is what I live for, and by. Quite literally. It is what has driven me for the last decade and more - my source of sustenance, my adrenalin rush, the raison d'être for my being... And with that comes the constant struggle to put out news as correctly as possible, as fast as possible - and in this endeavour to be first, fast and accurate (in which I must admit I am routinely beaten) - my effort to speak and write correct English.
This weekend past, I learnt that both these things (NEWS and English) I could do without; that maybe I have attached so much importance to these two aspects that I've had many opportunities pass me by, many moments missed and many people discarded as 'not being up to the mark.'
And all this after spending two nights at a quaint cottage in Natuakhan , a village at an elevation of 6400 feet in Nainital district - 340 kilometres from Delhi (that translates into an 8-9 hour drive).
So what brought about this epiphany?
Before I get to that , here's the company - Me, My Wife (she's known me for ten years and my aunt once told me the only reason I was seeing her was that her English was better than mine), My Cousin (the moving force behind this trip, and someone who pestered me long enough to take time off for it), Her Friend (who turned out to be an affable vegetarian and a great sport).
Since names aren't really needed in what I am about to narrate - I shall - for the benefit of all - refer to our three protagonists (sans yours truly) as Wife, Cousin and Friend.
(My) Cousin, who I think pens her thoughts down as a cathartic exercise, and carries her note book everywhere, sat me down on a lazy, idyllic afternoon - and read out some of what she had written - thoughts that were meant to be intensely private - and perhaps, all she expected was an ear with empathy. Instead I had this great urge (and I did tell her so) to edit the copy for articles, prepositions - just tighten the script, say it better. That evening on maturer (read: whiskey-laced) reflection I realised what a jerk I had been. I had as much right in telling her that piece needed a quick spell-check and grammar-fix as US of A telling countries around the world how to run their affairs... at least the latter has money and power - I don't.
And then there was (the) Friend - a person who I'd never met before - a new acquaintance who I was busy being polite to. I 'couldn't saw' the 'didn't went' with a grimace and a clenched fist. At dumb-charades, Cold Creek Manor was interpreted as Cold Creek Manner...and there he strutted on as I threw wild guesses. And then I realised what an affable and fun chap he was - easy of manner and clear of thought. No, I did not like the way he spoke in English and had the greatest urge to correct him, but yes, I could understand every word he said - his thoughts well punctuated. The man had been to a top B-school and cracked the Chartered Accountancy exam whilst still in college; he reports to bosses in Shanghai and Hong Kong and they seem to understand him perfectly well. So here is the question - is the obsessiveness about correct English overrated? Isn't there a world out there ( a glimpse of which I had over the weekend) which depends on language for communication, and does seem to get on pretty well in making itself understood? Is this brouhaha of 'oh the missed hyphen' and 'such elementary mistakes' just that - floccinaucinihilipilification (much ado over something of little or no value)?
And as I was gathering my thoughts on the way back - it struck me ~ hadn't seen a newspaper in three days, no TV or radio either - and more importantly, hadn't missed it. No NEWS - that was a first in at least 10 years, and I really can't remember the last time I went 48 hours without looking at a newspaper, or at least a half hour news bulletin (even if it was of the Doordarshan variety). And to wonder how that though hadn't crossed my mind in all this time. I was happy star-gazing, book-reading, chit-chatting and whiskey-sipping - almost as if all was well with the world and there was nothing that I wanted to know about. Agreeable food and company, good wine and a good book - and my (long-suffering) companion of ten years - Wife, were all that I'd thought about. The only other constant presence in my thoughts - Masha - our three-year old Labrador, who we'd had to leave behind in Delhi.
Hmmm! Stunned as I am at my own eureka moments - it humbles me to know what I do doesn't even affect everyone I know. So while I still find it in myself to strive to do better at work - I realise more than ever - that is what it is - work. Yes, I enjoy it - sometime vicariously so - but that then it hits home - it's a part of my life (by implication - there is more to life).
So here's looking forward to a few more 'newsless' days, as I set forth to discover all that I have buried away and forgotten, locked and left behind - my 'janus' faces - and see where or what that leads me to...
This weekend past, I learnt that both these things (NEWS and English) I could do without; that maybe I have attached so much importance to these two aspects that I've had many opportunities pass me by, many moments missed and many people discarded as 'not being up to the mark.'
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| A view from a hilltop at Mukteshwar, 40 kms from Nathuakhan |
So what brought about this epiphany?
Before I get to that , here's the company - Me, My Wife (she's known me for ten years and my aunt once told me the only reason I was seeing her was that her English was better than mine), My Cousin (the moving force behind this trip, and someone who pestered me long enough to take time off for it), Her Friend (who turned out to be an affable vegetarian and a great sport).
Since names aren't really needed in what I am about to narrate - I shall - for the benefit of all - refer to our three protagonists (sans yours truly) as Wife, Cousin and Friend.
(My) Cousin, who I think pens her thoughts down as a cathartic exercise, and carries her note book everywhere, sat me down on a lazy, idyllic afternoon - and read out some of what she had written - thoughts that were meant to be intensely private - and perhaps, all she expected was an ear with empathy. Instead I had this great urge (and I did tell her so) to edit the copy for articles, prepositions - just tighten the script, say it better. That evening on maturer (read: whiskey-laced) reflection I realised what a jerk I had been. I had as much right in telling her that piece needed a quick spell-check and grammar-fix as US of A telling countries around the world how to run their affairs... at least the latter has money and power - I don't.
And then there was (the) Friend - a person who I'd never met before - a new acquaintance who I was busy being polite to. I 'couldn't saw' the 'didn't went' with a grimace and a clenched fist. At dumb-charades, Cold Creek Manor was interpreted as Cold Creek Manner...and there he strutted on as I threw wild guesses. And then I realised what an affable and fun chap he was - easy of manner and clear of thought. No, I did not like the way he spoke in English and had the greatest urge to correct him, but yes, I could understand every word he said - his thoughts well punctuated. The man had been to a top B-school and cracked the Chartered Accountancy exam whilst still in college; he reports to bosses in Shanghai and Hong Kong and they seem to understand him perfectly well. So here is the question - is the obsessiveness about correct English overrated? Isn't there a world out there ( a glimpse of which I had over the weekend) which depends on language for communication, and does seem to get on pretty well in making itself understood? Is this brouhaha of 'oh the missed hyphen' and 'such elementary mistakes' just that - floccinaucinihilipilification (much ado over something of little or no value)?
And as I was gathering my thoughts on the way back - it struck me ~ hadn't seen a newspaper in three days, no TV or radio either - and more importantly, hadn't missed it. No NEWS - that was a first in at least 10 years, and I really can't remember the last time I went 48 hours without looking at a newspaper, or at least a half hour news bulletin (even if it was of the Doordarshan variety). And to wonder how that though hadn't crossed my mind in all this time. I was happy star-gazing, book-reading, chit-chatting and whiskey-sipping - almost as if all was well with the world and there was nothing that I wanted to know about. Agreeable food and company, good wine and a good book - and my (long-suffering) companion of ten years - Wife, were all that I'd thought about. The only other constant presence in my thoughts - Masha - our three-year old Labrador, who we'd had to leave behind in Delhi.
Hmmm! Stunned as I am at my own eureka moments - it humbles me to know what I do doesn't even affect everyone I know. So while I still find it in myself to strive to do better at work - I realise more than ever - that is what it is - work. Yes, I enjoy it - sometime vicariously so - but that then it hits home - it's a part of my life (by implication - there is more to life).
So here's looking forward to a few more 'newsless' days, as I set forth to discover all that I have buried away and forgotten, locked and left behind - my 'janus' faces - and see where or what that leads me to...
