I thought of writing this piece while reading this brilliant book Bound Together by Nayan Chanda. In his book Nayan writes that the word ‘globalization’ was introduced in the Webster’s dictionary only in 1961 and was first used in 1979. And it was not until the nineties that its usage gained popularity. The word was at its peak in 2001.This made me wonder if words, like clothes, were fashionable.
In the last few years, I have come across a few words which I liked immediately. Blame my vocabulary for not knowing them before (until you accept my argument) and now I hear and read about them, more often than I would like to.
Think about the word cliché. I heard this word for the first time about 7-8 years ago. I was immediately attracted to it. Everything about it was so sexy. The way it sounds. The way it is written with that diphthong. Its complexity. Now given the fact that clichés are best avoided, the word cliché is itself become clichéd.
Another word that comes to my mind is judgmental, “Don’t be judgmental”, or when someone says, “I am not judgmental.” It sounded heavy and profound and I was immediately drawn towards it. I wanted to know what the fuck did being judgmental mean anyway. And why did people not want to be judgmental? If this drift continued then what would happen to justice in our country? No one would ever want to judge since no one wanted to be judgmental and the resultant crisis will be that justice will not be served which means it will be denied. You still with me?
When I understood what being judgmental meant, I immediately thought of Pammi aunty. She was so judgmental. And also my boss who was always judgemental, especially towards me! And what about my wife? And then it stuck. What was I doing anyways deliberating on who was judgmental?
So tell me now. Do you concur that you have heard words such as judgmental and cliché more in the last five years as opposed to the previous five?
How about compatible? “I don’t think we are compatible.” I am not sure if couples are separating more now-a-days because this word is getting used more often than necessary or because of compatibility. See?
Can you think of more?
P.S: OK, OK - I had promised to write one piece every month. And today is 31st!
