I still remember the thrill I felt when I first learnt to spell my name. I was seated opposite my father's work desk . It was a plain room then. This desk and two wooden chairs were all there was in the name of furniture. There was often a bundle of papers stacked on the table. My sister and I were in Kindergarten, four years of age. Until we were eight he gladly helped us finish our homework. That is just what we were doing in his room that afternoon. I'm not sure if it was a part of our homework but we both decided to learn how to spell our names. Dad taught us to always focus on the sounds. I’d like to call them not sounds but the music produced by words. Within a few minutes my sister was beaming for she managed to spell her complete name correctly. Now, it was my turn. I tried focusing on the sounds produced by the English alphabet, formed a picture of my name in my head and blurted it out. Bingo! I was right. I am sure my face must have glowed then. Next I had to try spelling my last name. Now that felt slightly tricky and I made a slight mistake. I was a bit disappointed but kids I believe have great bounce back muscles so before I knew I was my former enthusiastic self for I managed to learn the correct spelling within minutes. That was the last time I ever spelled my last name wrong. It's interesting how kids have this instinctive ability to celebrate every little victory, every achievement of theirs. Rewards don't matter. At least to me they didn't. For the joy that comes from having learnt something new or the high you get from the same is reward enough. Going to school seemed fun (well that did change once I stepped in high school but we’ll keep that for later) and learning new words was even better! To learn something new is always a challenge, you have to keep at it so as to attain mastery. But one thing’s for sure, it was certainly the kind of challenge I liked and still do. Maybe that’s why every word lover (i.e. a reader, a voracious reader not just someone who reads gossip magazines, chicklits and steamy romance novels or a decent work of fiction or non fiction once in a while!) and wordsmith (i.e. a writer, someone who isn’t necessarily famous but one conversation with him and you know he has it, that understanding, dedication and passion for the craft) inspires a sense of awe, admiration and respect from me. Friendship with such people, I believe, can be nothing short of a matter of sheer pleasure and joy!
Have words ever called you, teased you or played with you? Or in a different scenario have they ever baffled, tormented or frustrated you by building a wall around themselves, one that stared you right in the face and mocked at you thus adding to your sense of irritation? This made you wonder if these creatures would ever be willing to befriend you. If they’d ever care to so much as look at you let alone whisper mesmerizing tales that you could share with the world! Have they ever lulled you to a state of joy, the kind that settles like a sweet mist on your eyelids, makes you loose awareness of your body, makes you twist your lips upwards into a gentle curve and ends up invoking a peaceful slumber? Oh yes I am also aware of how complex or weary texts could put one to sleep but it isn’t that I speak of at the moment. Plus it is mostly the case with people who don’t harbor a love for the written word. I can tell for I have observed a few myself. However, not for a moment would I like you to believe that I haven’t been there!
So, let’s continue with my interesting inquiry. Tell me o fellow wanderer have these little black shapes of different sizes and styles called words ever enchanted you or filled you with a sense of thrill once you decoded their meaning and thus saw the picture they were trying to paint for you? Have you ever found yourself a misfit unless you were in the company of words? Ever felt a call to this world which I believe in itself is a mystery, an enigma? And did this happy discovery add to your sense of intrigue for what I’d like to call The Word Land? Did it also scare you for you couldn’t help wondering if you really deserved to be a part of this world or were worthy enough of it only to realize later that it wasn’t the words but you who couldn’t resist judging herself, thanks to the past conditioning? If anything, the words were accepting and non judgemental even loving and often filled me with wonder at their beautiful nature! The scenario I must admit is still the same today. I continue to get excited as a kid upon coming across the homes of these beloved friends , the one’s they were kind enough to invite me to when I’d be in need of some comfort , acceptance , answers or inspiration. Yes, their homes, of varying styles and colours, either small or feathery light or wide with glittery embossments, sometimes plain and monumental but almost always filled with an intoxicating fragrance, the kind that can’t be matched by any incense – Books!
The questions I have asked you above pertain to the states I have experienced at different stages of my life. Rest assured that it wasn’t always a love- love relation I had with these creatures. I choose to call them creatures because for me they breathe and have a life of their own, they have sat at the tongues of the best of leaders of the past and the present as well as the scoundrels that were and that remain! They have kissed the minds of innumerable souls across centuries and oceans, have been around for ages and thus possess much knowledge and wisdom. Owing to it all I can’t help but hold a sense of deep reverence in my heart for them, a strange fondness. Humans may cease to exist, words shall not. I doubt they’d ever loose their grandeur and charm. I feel they’ll always be around, even centuries later, as they have been in the past, witnessing the glory of the universe!
I sat with an intention to talk about my first feat as a learner of the English language. Little did I expect to end on a note alluding to the mystery of death and existence! Perhaps this is yet another reason why I enjoy the company of words. They can take you if they wish to places unexpected, unexplored, unheard and unseen! They are my friends and they shall always be.
W.C. - 1169
