Another revamping

Hello friends,

No this blog ain't dead yet :)

I am extremely overwhelmed by all those requests asking me to get back to blogging (I won't give out the numbers here. Let us just say it was much more than I ever expected). And going by the requests, I am trying to make the template a bit more easy on the eyes.

So the blog will be back with a new look!

Did I tell you that this time I am going to try change the template? Which means the whole thing might just blow up. No, I am not being humble, I just know where my skills lie:)

So bye bye for now. Hope to meet you here, soon!

In plain Inglish

"English is a phunny language," said Mr Big B in a movie long ago. But 'phunnier' is how the language has been customized to suit the multitude of Indians, is it not? I'm sure we have all come across various instances of the language and its spellings being tweaked, twisted, and turned upside down, to hilarious effect sometimes - well, most of the times.

These could be through literal translations from Hindi, such as these:
- "They are given one one page" ("Sabko ek-ek page diya jaata hai" So very Indian no?)
- "I am mad behind her" (What the ...!)
- "I have good news for you, imagine?" (Yeah, I really can't imagine you having good news for me! Did u mean 'guess' by the way?)

These are closely followed by commonly used grammar scares such as "Where he is?" and "Did you got your role here?"

Wrong usages only add to the whole act. This time, I am listing a few of them down. These comprise just a few of the recent ones that I have come across and none of them (including the ones above) are made up - I swear! I'm sure there are tonnes around, if you just keep looking out for them. Before I start, let me add that this does not mean that I am an expert in English, and neither am I mocking at those who are 'behind the lines'. But hey, what is wrong with some humor, especially during these trying times, as long as you are not laughing at the people but at the joke?

1. I am vacated - my own decision (Overheard a mentor telling a young boy. The mentor was helping him write an application to move out of the hostel. Hope someone managed to correct it finally!)

2. No urien passing this area (Ah - see, I told you there was no 'urien' passing this area!)

3. Always be worry for ABC packers (What a pleasant change from packers and movers who are often a worry for us!)

4. Rent for house (Reversal of fortunes? Didn't we have houses for/on rent sometime ago?)

5. Beutycion and hair take classes also (Well, I am confused about what this salon does, but I guess I'll give it a miss!)

6. Clearns sale (Rush! a, c and e have already been cleared!)

So much for Inglish :) I guess it is all about perception and usage. You never know, wrong usages might make an entry into the language – like how prepone is now acceptable (read more on wordsmith.org), by popular vote. It's still not in Merriam Webster or Oxford English dictionaries, but maybe it will find its place there one day. Let us keep watching!

Tailpiece: I’d like to end this post with an incident my colleague told me about. A guy from another team was speaking to a person in the United States. It's their first meeting, the Indian guy has a long name with his entire family making an appearance on it, and the US person is struggling to get it right. Finally our guy spells it out, A for Apple, P for Paris, and so on. On reaching D, he says "D for Doordarshan" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the guy in the US has fallen off his chair, my colleague is not seeing it, coz she is laughing her head off and trying to breathe thorough all that muffling. What happened finally? After 3 to 4 failed attempts our guy said "D for Dog?" much to everyone's relief!

Cheers!

PS: Names have been changed to protect me from their wrath.

Update!

Thanks to all those who asked me about the blog. Life has been a bit on the not-so-easy side coz of some recent events - but I promise to get back soon!