What's a good word?

I honestly believe that there has to be some kind of universal language - Esperanto, for example? - that aspiring politicians must master before they make a foray into public life. Otherwise, much time will be wasted in trying to figure out what one is saying to the other. Additionally, more time-consuming and difficult will be the task of calming ruffled feathers at the drop of a Gandhi Topi!

Every time a public servant utters words which are new to the intended audience, sinister meanings are ascribed to them. Eyebrows are raised in anger. Accusations of slander are flung around. Motives of political vendetta are suspected. Soon it becomes grist to the mill for interpersonal, inter-party or inter-departmental face-offs.

Take the expression "spoilt brat". You and I are certainly no strangers to this description of a fellow human being. Perhaps, we have to deal with more than our share of them in our everyday lives! We do not panic at calling or being called spoilt brats. We do not take offence at this. After all it is a matter of perceptions, in the end. But does Mr.Gadkari think so? No. He thinks Manish Tiwari indulged in bad-mouthing him in the vilest possible words! Well, one can only hope that Gadkari saab brushes up a little on colloquial English before he pronounces judgements on the alleged mal-content of a word simply because he fails to appreciate its nuances!

This is reminiscent of the controversy that descended on Sashi Tharoor for having referred to economy class travel on international flights as "cattle class" travel. I had written about it on April 5 2010 in the post "It pays to increase your word power!" What a colossal drama was enacted by the law-makers and the media alike! All because of the lack of understanding of the connotations of certain words and expressions!

The "Headless Chicken" episode was no less an exercise in stupidity than the "cattle class" and "spoilt brat" cases!

It is not just a lack of mastery of the English language which leads to the wastage of time, money and commitment of the public servants. Molehills can be easily turned into monstrous mountains by the lack of appreciation of the vernacular, as well! Just recall the hilarious case of Nilotpal Basu. He was once stopped at the gate of Parliament House by the security guard who had failed to recognize him. Mr. Basu did not mind this at all. But when the guard called a superior and said that there was a "banda" at the gate calling himself Nilotpal Basu and was it alright to let him in, Basu babu flew into a terrible rage. He took extreme umbrage at being called a "banda" which, seemed to him, to be a bad word of the most heinous type! Well, it was a while, after much effort by a lot of people, that Mr. Basu was finally assuaged!

Therefoe, in the interest of the nation's progress and image, I contend that some kind of an universal languge be made compulsory for our public servants. No doubt, we, the general public, will lose out on a good laugh or two but the world will be spared the agony of the nonsesical dramas enacted from time to time due to language barriers.