Not an original piece of writing

A few days ago, I read a poem on a friend’s Facebook wall. It was not an original post, my friend had found it somewhere. The poem was brilliant and ordinary at the same time, because it was a fantastic idea expressed in rather commonplace words. I have made an attempt to rewrite the poem. Let me share it with you and bow to its unknown creator.

Woman

I was born because she was there to hold me within herself, my mother. 

When I was an infant, there was another woman to play with me, my sister. 

When I went to school, there was a woman to show the way, my teacher. 

When I needed shelter, there was a woman to make a home for me, my wife. 

When I was down, there was a woman to gently hold my hand, my daughter. 

When I die, she will be there to take me in, Mother Earth. 

… 

If you are a man, value every woman. 

If you are a woman, be proud to be one.

A note to my students #?: English Vinglish

To make your car tyres last longer, you change their positions periodically – front to back, left to right etc. When I got this done this morning, the mechanic wrote out a bill in a neat legible hand: 

Tyre rotasan – Rs.100

I couldn’t immediately figure out what he meant. But when I did, I felt the bill conveys two important messages. 

Firstly, He didn’t write out the bill in his own language. This means, he belongs to the one third of the world population that prefer to conduct business in English. 

Secondly and quite sensibly, he doesn’t give a damn about the rules of English spelling (or grammar, I am sure). But he has the confidence to communicate in a language that has become the lingua franca of world business. 

And I had to note with a tinge of regret that he uses the English language with a lot more freedom than I do. What is more, he has the ability to create new language like some of the best writers of all times. 

The bill also told me that in the long run, English is going to cover a lot more space in our lives, but English teachers like me will be out of job. Amen!