Comma Coma

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I am told that punctuation (like spelling) came to be standardized by the descendants of John Gutenberg with their Printing Machines. Punctuation is a known aid to reading, especially, aloud. After I write my pieces, I do read them aloud (silently) and fix the punctuation marks. Of course I defy all prescribed rules. It is enough if the meaning is clear and unambiguous.

Commas are known to be treacherous. Here are a few follies picked up from DC a couple of years back...like me, DC too doesn't care for rules... and that is what makes it interesting:

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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Missing Comma, Hey Ramadoss!

Deccan Chronicle news banner, Page 7, Hyderabad, Thursday, 26 February 2009: "..health minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday pressed for a National Alcoholic Policy to curb consumption of liquor in the Lok Sabha."

A comma after 'liquor'
Would suit our Speaker:
Binge Drinking
And Carousing
Can hardly keep our MPs sober!

Even sober, they crowd the Well,
And raise Cain and Hell;
Rather than booze
Let them snooze
Ramdoss should prescribe a sleeping pill!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

DC does it again!

....RAW, on Friday flown in a key terror suspect involved in the recent serial bomb blasts secretly, reports our correspondent. ...:DC Front Page News Item, Hyderabad, Saturday, 28th February 2009.

A comma after bomb blasts
Would prevent terrorists
Work in secret,
Perhaps regret;
And Assist RAW in its airlifts!

A comma here, a comma there
Deccan Chronicle couldn't care;
In English, a foreign tongue,
Unlike in our mother tongue
Punctuation is a Big Bugbear!

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As mentioned in the above stanza, Classical Telugu Poetry never had punctuation marks. This suited witty poets...they could read their poems aloud with emphases and pauses and gestures at different places in their poems and make them mean differently. Below is an example:

This famous poet of the 15th century, Shreenatha, graced the Courts of several Rulers of the time who were all at loggerheads with one another, and this landed him in tricky situations since all of them wanted to possess Srinatha exclusively and were jealous. He had to extricate himself out of sticky wickets by his grip over double entendre.

While he was working as a minister in the Court of Vemareddy, he was once invited by his neighborhood Ruler, Rao Singha, for a display of his prowess. He applied for CL and went there and was wined and dined on composing extempore the following verse in high praise of Rao Singhjee:

Sarvajnu naamadheyamu
Sharvunake Rao Singha Janapaluna ke
Yurvin chendunu takkoru
Sarvajnulanuta kukka samaja manute

He had read it aloud with a pause after the 'chendunu' in the third line; which meant a Glorification of his Host by raising him to the same level as Lord Shiv himself.

Shreenatha returned home to the Court of his Employer to find, as he suspected, that Vemareddy's spies had already appraised him of his Empolyee's treacherous literary act.

And Vemareddy was itching to crucify Shreenatha for his indecent betrayal. Upon which, Shreenatha laughed and said that he had actually deceived the poor illiterate fool, Rao Singha, by calling him a dog. And read aloud the verse he had composed, this time pausing after 'Sharvunake' rhetorically in the second line.

And everyone in the Court sniggered and laughed and Shreenatha received bouquets instead of brickbats.

Let me render the thing into English:

Omniscience belongs to Lord Shiv
And Rao Singha and Others
Claiming it is like Dog
Calling himself an Elephant

If you insert a comma after 'Rao Singha' in the second line, he is glorified into the exclusive position of Lord Shiv Himself.

On the other hand, if you insert the comma after 'Lord Shiv' in the first line, it means his demotion to the level of a very dog!

Beware of commas!


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