What I Like About Facebook

Of course, there's a lot of criticism of it. But I want to look at the positives.

If you invest time, it is rewarding. It's like live Market Research (a subject I like, and teach). On any given day, you get to know what a range of opinions on any topic are- extremes are there in good number, but moderates too express themselves- if you look closely.

It's a great pictorial ride-through the lives of people you like (mostly).

(Pic from a recent outing in Sri Lanka)


It gives you instant feedback on many things- silences, likes, comments, all have a story to tell.

It gets you back in touch. Random conversations on Messenger included, but meetings have also happened many a time solely due to FB- which otherwise may not have. Ex-students, ex-colleagues, and sometimes, forgotten classmates. Or new-found friends-of which there are lots.

You can innovate- I have tried, sometimes with success.

It is flexible, in the sense you can stay on it or away from it depending on your other priorities. At least, I think I can (!), though it may not seem so obvious.

All in all, it has a thumbs-up from me.

Characters I Would Like to Meet

Mr. Walker, or The Phantom. I think I'd get along well wiith him, what with his mysterious ways of dealing with the various people in his life-friends and foes. Not to mention living in a skull cave. Sounds like fun!

Lille Lotta. She could throw punches like no one else could. Dishoom!

Casper, the friendly ghost. He was cute. I would keep him as a pet.

Richie Rich. I'd like to meet him just to get served by Cadbury, the butler.

Thomson and Thompson. I want to know the differences between them, apart from the spelling..

Captain Haddock. Billions of bule blistering barnacles...

Tirsingrao. He was my childhood hero, a rustic, mustachioed guy who drove an Eveready Half-ton. From a Marathi series for kids.

Faster Fene, a character who was a mix of Enid Blyton's Fatty, and Huckleberry Finn.

Mandrake the Magician. Living in Xanadu, and gesturing hypnotically to achieve things, ..what a way to do things.

Words That Resonate With You

There is a woman in the Oscar Wilde play "The Importance of Being Earnest" who is in love with the word 'Earnest' and therefore wants to marry only a person with that name, because the word evokes "vibrations" that Jack, for instance, does not have. This got me thinking about words that resonate with me. This is not a definitive list. Also, my theory is that it depends on who is saying the word, for it to resonate- or not.

Nineteen to the dozen- this is phrase that someone I knew used often, and it had a nice ring to it.

Paushtik bonda- this was food at Uncle's, a low-fi establishment on the IIMB campus long time ago, and kept body and soul together when we were 'fed up' of the food in the mess (why do they call it the mess? So appropriate). The words resonated, and conjured up images of desirable food.

Chai- this resonates as no other substitute for it would. Not tea, which sounds like a coloniser's word. Say Adrak-wali chai, and the resonance goes up manifold. Particularly at this time of the year.

Like/matlab- these are general words used as substitutes for other words that may not be on your tongue at that given moment. Excellent to keep a sentence going, or even start a sentence with, matlab...facebook has given a totally new dimension to the word 'like', of course..

Cat- Like the proverbial one, this word refuses to go away. My first fling with this was in an exam by that name (acronym) I wrote in 1983, and ever since, I am involved in conducting it, or involved with (teaching) students who have been through it. Therefore the resonance with this word. In Indore, we even have a CAT road leading to our campus.

Baba- Used by my daughters, this does have a lovely ring to it. Except when I annoy them; then it takes on an ominous ring..