well well well...'twas promised by a higher up in India Today that this'd become a column in the mag - Etymologically Yours...but a very similar editorial appeared in a mag of the group under the name of a believer in 555...anyways, posting it here for the fun of it
The other day, on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, I came across this signboard: "Trace Passers will be prosecuted" at the entrance of some old dilapidated bunglow. One knows of trespassers who make a thoroughfare out of a no-thoroughfare. One also knows of tress passers, which could either be a babe making passes with her tresses, or a dude who could be making passes at cute tresses. Trace passers, however, sent me on a hunt for the origin of the original trespasser. Tres comes from Latin trans which means beyond; while pass is pass, that is go by. "Entering unlawfully", the current meaning is first recorded in Scottish forest laws of 1290. The phrase trespass is also used euphemistically for "to die", an obvious association with "go beyond".
If we pass on to other part of the phrase, that is pass, we'll pass out because it'll open up a Pandora's box. Passing the buck to pass therefore is not a good idea, but we can pass out a few interesting facts about the phrases related with the word. Pass-fail as a grading system comes into being as late as 1959, while make a pass, that is "offer an amorous advance" was first used in 1928, most probably from a sporting sense. Impasse from the negation ("im") of passé and was first used by Voltaire as a euphemism for cul de sac. Cul de sac literally means the "arse/ass of a bag" but used for a street with one inlet/oulet with a dead end. Cul that sounds very classy, is considered a vulgar slang in French.
Having said all this I have already "traced past" , either to the delight or the chagrin of the author of the signboard. My day was however made with a girl flaunting these words on her tee: Stresspassers will be prosecuted. Highly recommended as office uniform!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
People of the world, Google has not declared the results of the Wordmaster Challenge. So I post my entry here for you to judge. Wotsay?
It is absurd and weird that men are better than horses because of their horse sense. What if the horses imagine an impossible scene of making men 'had been; what if they put on their thinking hats, and go inside a box to analyze phenomena, to experiment, to create? Their inquisitive faculties, incisive observations, and horse power and energy might just rein in all the luck, and give them the right direction. You never know! When they come out of the box, they might just say ' Eureka'! Archimedes had discovered the principle of floating, they might discover principles of emoting, doting, gloating all of which are vanishing from the human race. Swift had written about this in Gulliver's Travels . Hyounyms were master horses, Yahoos were slave men. You don't think it's practical? Did anyone think that a djinn called Google would be possible? Now we know why Google overrides Yahoo. The horse power may cause men-o-pause. It's time to give up?
Time to think out of the box?
What do you think of this innovation?
I think it rocks.
I have put on all my thinking hats and socks!
It is absurd and weird that men are better than horses because of their horse sense. What if the horses imagine an impossible scene of making men 'had been; what if they put on their thinking hats, and go inside a box to analyze phenomena, to experiment, to create? Their inquisitive faculties, incisive observations, and horse power and energy might just rein in all the luck, and give them the right direction. You never know! When they come out of the box, they might just say ' Eureka'! Archimedes had discovered the principle of floating, they might discover principles of emoting, doting, gloating all of which are vanishing from the human race. Swift had written about this in Gulliver's Travels . Hyounyms were master horses, Yahoos were slave men. You don't think it's practical? Did anyone think that a djinn called Google would be possible? Now we know why Google overrides Yahoo. The horse power may cause men-o-pause. It's time to give up?
Time to think out of the box?
What do you think of this innovation?
I think it rocks.
I have put on all my thinking hats and socks!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
if the lord of metaphor doesn't mind
a little mythical muse in my mind:
i cannot be an agamemnon
i can only be an achilles
i can only be a hector
a litter of power and glitter
cannot possibly be the vector
name is perhaps the only desire
that outshine
the vanquished and the victor.
until an arrow strikes the heel
and invites vultures to take the leap
i am an arrow
shot from nothingness to nothingness
penetrating the maze and the gaze.
the crowns
tumble down
on lists
but the fists
of the lone warriors
whistle through the mists
of time.
the wanderer's tale meanders
on the map like a river
forever.
a little mythical muse in my mind:
i cannot be an agamemnon
i can only be an achilles
i can only be a hector
a litter of power and glitter
cannot possibly be the vector
name is perhaps the only desire
that outshine
the vanquished and the victor.
until an arrow strikes the heel
and invites vultures to take the leap
i am an arrow
shot from nothingness to nothingness
penetrating the maze and the gaze.
the crowns
tumble down
on lists
but the fists
of the lone warriors
whistle through the mists
of time.
the wanderer's tale meanders
on the map like a river
forever.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
3 cheers for Bappi da. and 6 beers.
Early morning yesterday got this message, "Bappi da sings Mother India we are your Cheel-rain" from some enthusiastic friend celebrating the Independence day from dawn. Guys, heard that song? If you are a Bappi da fan, you're in my club. Will post my rendezvous with Dada when I find that article.
Neways, I, one of the Cheel-rain of Mother India, was stopped five times while returning from office on the night of the 14th, for Delhi was on high alert, like it always is. High alert, some mishap, and then "daring Delhi" or "Mast Mumbai". The standard media formula.
Let me ramble a bit. Just before leaving office, I got this mail chastising pseudo secularists, and saying India is the most tolerant country, for 85 per cent of the people are busy mollifying the 15 per cent. The direct implication is that only Hindus and Muslims make this country, the rest are just sauntering around. Anyways, the powerpoint presentation is amazingly designed, an archiver's delight. The mail hails "Dr Pravin bhai Togadia". Doctor and bhai together, not bad at all, the bhai who doctored Godhra 2002?
During the day, all that remained open was policemen's bleary eyes trying to nab the "security threat" and MNC eateries donning the Indian flag, mostly in the shape of kites. The flag that flies global. Children selling 10 flags for 5 bucks were shooed away at the red light by a cigar smoking biker wearing a tiranga bandana.
What's the point going back 49 years in time and remembering the blood that oozed out of independent India. In dependant? With two nations buying arms forever from the big daddies, and Yamuna getting drier and murkier? With the big daddy's nuclear secrets being sold out to petty non existent states by some cash strapped offiicial....These secrets are like those gossips which you whisper saying, "Don't tell it to anyone"...
What's the point?
Ventured out to the IIFT dhaba for some hot paranthas at night. IIFT and dhaba, another paradox, but our learning needs to be unlearned--it's a world of oxymorons and paradoxes, they are like shoe and feet. So my usual khaana peena at the dhaba is parantha and "colding" but yesterday I decided to experiment a little more. On the menu were "Sexy paneer", "Step Potato", "Step Tomato" etc etc. Now , "colding" is usual but the other three were intriguing to point of the peril of cat's life. Paneer can't be either sexy or an aphrodosiac, had so much of it in college, that i can only say testy rather than tasty things about it. Being a true potatophile I ordered "step potato", which could be what... potato dish made step by step, or in the shape of steps, or a step brother of potato like the brocoli-gobi equation. The imagination ran wild for 20 minutes, when it turned out to be "stuffed potato". I tipped the "bhaiyya" for being so truly Independent in writing his menu!
Early morning yesterday got this message, "Bappi da sings Mother India we are your Cheel-rain" from some enthusiastic friend celebrating the Independence day from dawn. Guys, heard that song? If you are a Bappi da fan, you're in my club. Will post my rendezvous with Dada when I find that article.
Neways, I, one of the Cheel-rain of Mother India, was stopped five times while returning from office on the night of the 14th, for Delhi was on high alert, like it always is. High alert, some mishap, and then "daring Delhi" or "Mast Mumbai". The standard media formula.
Let me ramble a bit. Just before leaving office, I got this mail chastising pseudo secularists, and saying India is the most tolerant country, for 85 per cent of the people are busy mollifying the 15 per cent. The direct implication is that only Hindus and Muslims make this country, the rest are just sauntering around. Anyways, the powerpoint presentation is amazingly designed, an archiver's delight. The mail hails "Dr Pravin bhai Togadia". Doctor and bhai together, not bad at all, the bhai who doctored Godhra 2002?
During the day, all that remained open was policemen's bleary eyes trying to nab the "security threat" and MNC eateries donning the Indian flag, mostly in the shape of kites. The flag that flies global. Children selling 10 flags for 5 bucks were shooed away at the red light by a cigar smoking biker wearing a tiranga bandana.
What's the point going back 49 years in time and remembering the blood that oozed out of independent India. In dependant? With two nations buying arms forever from the big daddies, and Yamuna getting drier and murkier? With the big daddy's nuclear secrets being sold out to petty non existent states by some cash strapped offiicial....These secrets are like those gossips which you whisper saying, "Don't tell it to anyone"...
What's the point?
Ventured out to the IIFT dhaba for some hot paranthas at night. IIFT and dhaba, another paradox, but our learning needs to be unlearned--it's a world of oxymorons and paradoxes, they are like shoe and feet. So my usual khaana peena at the dhaba is parantha and "colding" but yesterday I decided to experiment a little more. On the menu were "Sexy paneer", "Step Potato", "Step Tomato" etc etc. Now , "colding" is usual but the other three were intriguing to point of the peril of cat's life. Paneer can't be either sexy or an aphrodosiac, had so much of it in college, that i can only say testy rather than tasty things about it. Being a true potatophile I ordered "step potato", which could be what... potato dish made step by step, or in the shape of steps, or a step brother of potato like the brocoli-gobi equation. The imagination ran wild for 20 minutes, when it turned out to be "stuffed potato". I tipped the "bhaiyya" for being so truly Independent in writing his menu!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Thursday, August 10, 2006
i wonder why people blog. i have started because my friends persisted that i should start one, thinking it'd be a one-der-ful one, or atleast a thunderful one. but it is a rather disappointing beginning, for i write right now because i am stranded at the lucknow station waiting for my parents to arrive. we are meeting midway between bokaro and delhi, on an important mission! i hung around at the station trying to click pictures - of the woman clad in burkha asking for money, of the cold-drink-wala who was too happy reading the news about the ban of Coke and Pepsi in Kerala, of the tangas, the men filling their chillum etc etc, but when i saw the pictures i was taken aback. The same pictures that i rave and rant against - exotic, stereotypical India. This week's India Today has a boy clad in a white 'topi' with a woman in black burkha in the background - with the headline shouting that Muslims lag behind in all speheres of life, or something like that. Pretty immaterial. But when i saw the cover page sitting in an India Today office, it freaked me out for a couple of moments. You just need a 'topi' to identify and mark a community! And the material they have used is 2001 census. 5 years is pretty short to wake up, right? the Rightward turn of the world is more than amusing to me. What we see on this cover will have a sinister reflection across the border, and more beyond that. Time to catch up with my mission...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)