Author: Deepa Govind

The old BBC sitcom Yes Minister is back on air in the history channel. I remember seeing this on TV somewhere in the 80’s. That was the time when i was going through the “we are just growing up” phase.. and you look up to a certain person as your hero – idol-and try to be like them. For me it was my aunt. I still remember her going ga-ga about this sitcom.. she and her friends used to have lengthy discussions…and the only thing i could catch was they were so much impressed about the language of the sitcom

I was rather confused…its an English TV show.. so obviously they are speaking English.. but then… what’s so special in English in this show….( this was the time i couldnt say one accent from another… and i did know that “Queen’s English” / “American English” even existed…) to me it was all plain english.

Now that the sitcom is back onAIR at the History channel – Saturday 10.30 am ( IndianStantardTime)..I started watching it out of curiosity ( all the hero(ine) worshipping thoughts.. of my aunt started reeling back as flashback)… but to tell the truth.. I am beginning to enjoy the show… before i tell about my favorite aspect of this show here are some facts

ABOUT THE PLOT:-

How the minister and his immediate team tackles every political situation that comes in their way… with diplomacy .. discretion ..saying what they would like to say.. but cannot say for the fear of loosing there reputation in the cabinet – tactfully agreeing to disagree – in short an action sequence involving words, words, and more words
For full details see here and here

NOW COMES MY FAVORITE PART OF THE SHOW

Today, I regard myself.. a little more wiser than I was in the 80’s ( when this show was first aired in India). Now, I can tell the difference between “Queen’s English” and “how the rest of the word speaks English”. Thanks to my (same) aunt… I grew up watching her getting involved in the books she read. She doesn’t stop at reading and knowing the summary of the book… but she would also encourage me to think.. as in.. what would have been going through the author’s mind when he wrote that piece”.. she would point out the nuances , introducing a thought – carrying it forward with known arguments -following it with our perceptions – and finally concluding it in a manner we feel appropriate.

Today when I think of that.. it seems like a literary exercise.. ( considered boring even by literature students)… but then.. back in those growing years.. she used to make the whole thing appear like a puzzle… and would challenge me to fulfill it. She knows only too well.. that I readily fall for the challenge-bait

She introduced me to Wordsworth – Keats – Shelly – Premchand and many more beyond my classroom and my teacher’s question and answers. Those were the same poems i had in my school curriculum.. yet.. when she would “discuss” ( note : not teach) it with me.. I could see the solitary reaper , I would feel the daffodils.. and every other composition

Oh! Dear…I am sooo moving away from the post… tch..tch… reality check

So.. with so much of insight from my aunt.. I was able to differentiate between the “Queen’s English” and “how the rest of the word speaks English”. To be honest.. my english is same as “the rest of the world”. But.. I enjoy reading and listening to conversations in “queen’s English”…I really do.. So Yes Minister came as a gourmet meal.

Iam not a politically active person.. nor am I interested in any political party. So its only natural that I am unfamiliar with the politics of politics. So in this show.. all the politics go way over my head…and still ..I love to watch it… the only reason is.. the language. I feel.. the characters don’t take shape.. if not for the language they speak in this show. IF languages could be translated / transformed into visuals… I can show you a bright display of glitters – gushing water through an empty pipe – noiseless splash of waves during a low tide – and so much more

If you are the person.. who loves to listen to a language ( content is irrelevant here) then .. I strongly recommend that you watch this show… you will not be disappointed.

Another Tv Programme that I watch purely for the sake of language is the “Aastha TV” where Sri.Ramdevji Maharaj gives discourse on Yoga in Hindi.(Ask me about yoga and its asanas… i am as dumb as a rock).. Till date I have never seen anybody having such a command over hindi (on speaking terms). I have read some really impressive hindi-texts… but to be able to speak in the same accord is a different ballgame.. (May be thats why I love watching Mirza Ghalib and Rekha’s UmraoJaan So much).I think this goes for all languages…. Try speaking for 10 min in a language of your choice,.,. in its most-purely-known form… Do you think you can do it… Then i would love to listen to you someday

Disclaimer: This does not convey that one language is better than the other… just that.. I like to listen when a language is spoken in a certain manner. (can’t say.. who we would end up offending)

We hated when we get one, yet we all love to distribute this free

This is one Gift that none of us wants to accept and yet give away readily for no reason and rhyme.Can you think of one such gift…think people..think..

By “gift” I mean, you are offered this when this is the last thing on earth you expect to land on your lap at this moment ,… you give away this gift as and when you feel like and has no inhibitions of caste-color-creed- senior – junior- etc etc…yup.. you are getting close.. just think a wee bit harder

We tend to attract this “gift” when we are at the worst of our temper, and give this gift to “deserving people” when we feel ourselves on cloud nine..This gift is gift-wrapped with all tenderness and affection that a concern(ed) can gather…yet when we receive this.. it stings us like a porcupine… finally we end us almost hating the person who goes out of the way to present this gift to us

We scorn & slouch.. and refuse to accept the gift right away, may be when the gift looses its novelty, we are very much attracted to it, and may even admire the person whom we scorned at.

Advices, advices, and more and more of advices. We hate it when get one… love it when there is no one around to give us more… and distribute it to those who think deserves them.. (even if they may need it or not :: appreciate it or not ::accept it or not)

I am not getting into the age-long debate of “Does God Exist? ?” or “Do you belive in God” or “Your God or mine? ? “.. “If this is God.. then what / who is Devil?? “, further this post has nothing to with any religion both known and unknown to me. This is just me thinking out loud. However, if this interests you as much as it would, then do join me at my think-tank.. and we shall talk loud and clear.

Our parents take care to ‘install’ the power of prayer in our psyche from childhood. We are repeatedly nurtured with the ideas that “God” likes and favors good people – good thoughts – and good actions. So if we were to be in his good-books by doing “virtuous deeds”.. the he will come to our aid at times of adversity.As we mature chronologically, psychologically and emotionally we begin questioning the logic behind God and Godliness. God ceases to be an individual entity anymore and is seen as a “Concept”.

We start our journey of life cribbing.. I want this, I want that… followed by… This is not fair.. that’s not fair.. Why me ??… As we progress ( literally and figuratively speaking) in life we realize that “Life is not fair – So deal with it “. Along the way we try to look inward and question the very beliefs that had been laid as foundation by our parents. Not wanting to hurt the religious sentiments of parents.. we continue to perform the actives like prayer, going to temples ( ie.. your religious place of worship), not criticizing their view on God.. and so

Being a part of all the above process myself.. I am beginning to have some strange thoughts. I many not be a religious fanatic… but i start my day with a short prayer, before leaving for work, my mother ( now its my mother-in-law) applies the scared-ash to my forehead and blesses me to have a pleasant and productive day. Every time i pass by a roadside temple.. my hand involuntarily touches my heart.. as in a silent prayer. None of the above activities as pre-meditated. That’s how a typical day progresses at our house, and I donot have any qualms about it

It makes me wonder.. with all those religious discourses on God ( God of any religion), there is one thing that always comes back to me.. Faith and Belief. This is not about having total faith in (y)our religion. It’s about faith in one-slef, faith in the existence of goodness in others, faith that everything that goes up comes down.. even at the emotional level, and several other aspects of faith.

When in extreme distress, people take a vow to visit a certain shrine – do certain activities ( this is a long list and varies with each religion.. so i am not going to tell all that here) – donate materials / cattle to the shrine.. etc..etc. They believe when such a vow is taken, God comes to our rescue and shows us the way to overcome the distress and lead a more pleasant life. Things have changed for better for many such families. Are these incidents coincidental or divine.. no one knows for sure. Those who are in quest of answers to such an incident seems be still continuing their quest.

I am not baffled or thrilled on hearing such incidents.. instead they prompt me to sit back and think. I wonder, God never asks us to visit his shrine, donate materials-cattle, perform elaborate pooja , spend lavishly on temple actives. Then what is it that prompts the believers to all this. ( I am excluding the so-called-God-Men from this discussion.. Do I believe in God.. I am not sure. But i am very sure that I have no faith in people who is proclaimed as God-Men)..Believe it or not , One day on a totally boring evening.. somehow the very same thought popped up in my head.. and I just drifted with the train of thought..( darn.. I just can’t recollect the details now)..At the end of the evening.. I was left with just one word “COMMITMENT”

Yes, Commitment…. that’s what is nudging the believers to do the things they do ( oh yeah.. there is fear factor.. say.. if u don’t fulfill the vow then God will punish you and take away the good fortune… i think there are 2 genre of people here… those who fear God and those who believe in God). Taking a vow ( to God or otherwise) is akin commitment to oneself. There is no written agreement, no witness, absolutely nothing to prove that a vow has been conceived in mind. So why bother fulfilling it…

We are ordinary people with ordinary aspirations to lead an ordinary lifestyle in this rat-eat-rat world. We regard ourselves high in self-esteem and self-confidence and that’s what is motivating us to move ahead in life. So when a vow is taken , it seen more as a commitment / promise to self. When we donot take efforts to fulfill the promise we made to ourselves, then every time we say .. ” I will do this…I Promise ..” , something rings at the back of our head and call’s out “Liar”.. Never again we will be comfortable in saying.. “I promise” .. be that attending your son’s P&T meet , or talking your wife to her parent’s place.

In my opinion , during those distressing times, when we take a vow, it somehow gives us the mental balance to see our troubled situation in a more clearer sense at a different level . We tend to think and act with caution. Missing pieces required to correct our situation seem to be present right in front of us.. yet we were so engrossed in self-pity , that we failed to see. Now with new found energy in “faith” ( faith in oneself) , we face the difficulty, battle it and come out of it with minimum bruises. ( I wont say unscratched). On a religious note , I can say “God works in mysterious ways”, but I am not so sure if this is to be accepted or rejected or just let it be there.

For me faith in the things around me is godliness. If my words can give little faith to someone who constantly droops… and motivate him to stand straight and look ahead.. then I think I have lot of faith in God

Bar-fight is something we all are familiar with these days . There is a new kind of fight doing rounds these days.. its the blog-fights. This is how the fights travel in the blogosphere. Say Mr.A writes a certain post.. expressing his ‘opinion’ on a controversial subject – political party’s decision – religion based ideas ( these are the hot spots).. and in the process of ‘expressing’ his ‘opinion’ he resorts to name-calling towards a particular group of people – organization-political party – religious groups etc ( again ..”hot spots”). Now.. with so much of name calling ( in a bid to justfy his post and vent out his anger / disgust) in the posts.. its not practically possible for every visitor who stumbles upon this Mr.A’s post to accept whatever Mr.A has to offer.

One such person will be Mr.B ( rarely they identify themselves… they usually use the Anonymous option to place their comments.. when they dot agree with the post author) Mr.B puts in a comment ( with equal amount of name calling and usage of abusive words towards the same sector whom Mr.A seems to be sympathetic to).. and Mr.B may call upon his friends to “support his cause”, so does Mr.A.. Finally the post is bombarded with comments with each group calling names at each other and fishing out the most abusive terms in the(ir) dictionary.

One day the post author ( ie our Mr.A) decides to ban any further comments..With no platform to continue the fight.. the immediate reaction of Mr.B is to have a post at his blog conveying his “Opinion” and attempt at outsmarting at Mr.A in name-calling and abusive vocabulary.

So.. what is wrong with posting one’s individual opinion.. after-all we all have the freedom of thought and freedom of expression. But what went wrong in the above case is.. somewhere along the line of discussion both parties lost track of the actual issue ( which was being scrutinized) and the only thing that remained was name-calling and gathering the most abusive adjectives.. If all these abuses are “beeped” out from the post – comments .. there was indeed a very intelligent argument hidden within.

We are under no obligation to accepted everything we read / hear. When an opportunity shows up.. we must express our opinions .. and speak of the subject matter only. How productive would a debate be.. if the debatees are attack each other personally. Isn’t it not the cardinal rule of social etiquette that you donot disagree with a person… but disagree with the idea in question

Believe me.. I speak from experience. Its perfectly possible to have an argument between two people with opposing views , each of them committed to their own perception of the same subject.. without using any kind of adjectives (..ie nothing that might indicate goodness or badness).I have had my share of abuses at my comments section. But when if confront the person with an open invitation for a debate.. under the singular condition that he / she shall not indulge and any kind of name-calling & abusive / flattering adjectives… then that’s the last time I see him /her at my blog.

Your thoughts and ideas are as important as your vocabulary. If you can roll out abuses at the drop of a hat.. how much importance do expect your readers / listeners to attach to your genuine ideas. It doesnot hurt to be polite and your words make a greater impact.. when you direct them towards the subject of debate rather than the person whom you are debating with. A little decency will not harm… it will make people sit straight and see your perspective ..( that’s the idea isn’t it ? ? ? )