Articulation

Being articulate might be a virtue. But at times it might get very irritating as well. A simple statement might do all the work but some people will be elaborative and will form ten sentences against one single simple statement. 

Imagine you are busy in office at around 11 in the morning – a lot of things to do and then your virtuous colleague starts all over again.

 He/she will actually describe what all can happen over a cup of coffee and you thought that it is just the caption of the famous coffee brand. 

The simple statement would have been to have a coffee with him/her together when you get over the task at hand.

Once I was on a tour to Puri with my mother. The plan for the day was to start from our hotel walk towards Shree Shree Jagannath Mandir and on the way have our breakfast. 

We did not decide where to stop and have our breakfast – that is the excitement I personally enjoy. Planning is so boring. You know you are hungry and want to have some food. 

Depending upon the time of the day it might be breakfast, lunch, tiffin, brunch or dinner. You find the best possible food available at the time and enjoy. 

It need not be a very big multi-cuisine restaurant; it might be a simple yet warm place where you find all walks of life. The people working in such places mostly show warmth and are cordial though busy.

We found a very simple old type of sweet shop who were selling samosas, kachoris and jalebis which are very popular in the morning hours of the day. 

These are also my favourite and we decided to embark into the shop. From the time we entered the shop, the shop owner was continuously talking. 

In the beginning, I was busy observing the shop. I always spend time to scan through such places – it’s a kind of joy. 

The inside was a bit dark than the bright sun outside. There were old wooden table and benches which have tested the rough of time. We took one. The shop seemed very popular among the locals.

After I rolled my eyes all over the continuous talk of the shop owner caught my attention. Obviously, he was speaking in Oriya. 

It is very similar to Bengali and being a Bengali myself I could easily make out what he was talking. He has boys working for him and in such shops, you don’t expect a smart boy working. 

The boy seemed to be dull since his master was articulating all the things he has to do step by step. Where the potato has been kept.

How the potatoes are to be pealed after they are boiled. And they should not be boiled too much and after how many minutes the boiling vessel is to be taken out of the desi challah; how the potatoes are to be cut into small cubical pieces so forth and so on.

I was astonished. After many years now I realise it is nothing strange and neither the boy was dull.

After working in the industry I feel that the man was only reading out the step by step process for preparing samosas. 

In the industry also, you will find volumes of such instructions written for people to read, understand and do as it is. No brains to be applied.

But industries are not a place to find bliss and neither such articulation gives you so. If someone asks you to follow such articulation be sure you are being strolled.

Only a free bird and a free mind are bliss.

Debangshu Chatterjee