ABC WEDNESDAY

The post is about the letter C.....

The letter ‘C’ conjures up so many word images. Some denote abstractions and some objectify.  Spontaneously the word Care takes center stage in my consciousness. Sweetly it has merged itself into the semantic parameters of our oceanic emotional reservoir. How a mother cares and nourishes her child to steer him into the right direction, to help him make something of his life and to imbibe in him wisdom and righteousness! We care for our parents and siblings and the people whom we respect and admire for their qualities of head and heart. Can we ignore the tender care given by a caregiver to an elderly person who is sick and unable to look after himself?

We care for our country and our patriotism comes to the fore, when something derails its upward movement. We are prepared to embrace dangers for upholding the integrity and sovereignty of our country. We care for the sacredness of our constitution, laws and regulations, which govern our lives.

There is another manifestation of our caring attitude, the way we care for our pets and love them like members of the family.

  'C' also brings into focus the immensely popular grain ‘Corn’ for its versatility, its fiber rich properties and its sunny looks.  Can you beat its taste in Corn tortillas, corn flakes, grill roasted corncob and baby corn embellishing healthy salad palette. Then there is frozen corn, steamed or sautéed, seasoned with mild spices and finely chopped onions and garnished with sprigs of fresh coriander. We all love munching  popcorn watching a movie at home or in the theater. In the west the milch cattle is fed corn for enhancing yield and to fowl for fattening.

  'Cute’ is a word used ad nauseam in polite conversations with numerous connotations. In fact, it is a word in fashion .  It signifies glamor. It is an abstract noun and a concept with a wide semantic field. Moreover, it has intriguing implications. A chubby rosy-cheeked baby is called cute so is an ordinary looking baby of a neighbor or of a friend  referred to likewise. You keep hearing  generalities like ‘cute looks,  cute dress,  cute garden, a patio  and the décor of a house can also be termed cute and  scores of other things on which this word marks its footprints.  Amusingly I recall a time, which is history now, when my hubby who has a generous heart otherwise, but used to  get choked if  ever he attempted to utter an endearing word for me,  had a slip of the tongue and called me cute once, in an unguarded moment of course.

A grave issue, which grabs headlines repeatedly, has association with the word ‘Cattle’.  I mean stray cattle menace in India.  Reams and reams of paper has been blackened to highlight the issue, but it rages on unabated. Imagine how frequently we confront helplessly and hopelessly the meandering cows and bulls in the middle of the inner roads or highways or them chewing cud sprawling on road berms. The number of road casualties and injuries due to this free for all is any body’s guess.

An amusing reference to this word just intruded the hemisphere of my grey cells that of a union minister referring to the economy class in air travelling as ‘cattle class.’ However, this unsavory phrase cost him his cabinet birth temporarily. And then who in our country the phrase’ dumb driven cattle’ is used for?  It is too insipid to be qualified here. You are welcome to hazard a guess. 

Bear with me for a passing reference to the word ‘Croon.’ I don the avatar of a bathroom crooner both in extreme winters and in humid summers. You know why?  To con shivering cold and stifling heat respectively. In winter I take up crooning my favorite song, "dunian me agar aye hain to jeena hi parega" etc. etc.  I croon like a broken record when I have to do the dumbest thing and to drown the outrage I automatically serenade "yeh zindgi usiki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya.” I know you know the rest.

 The beads of the C string are many and colorful but let the above suffice for now.

Friends,what do you think of this experience of mine?
images: courtesy Google