Words...

Words...

Simple words, entwined in a thread, in sentences... when the last ones rhyme... they become a poem.

When expressed explicitly, they become your feelings.

When they revolve in someone’s mind, unaware of their destination or the source, they become thoughts.

When written on a maple leaf and blown to someone’s beloved’s house, they become a voice of love.

When spoken in the memory of a person who left, remembering all his deeds, good or bad, they become a eulogy.

When engraved on a tombstone near a grave, they become memories.

When spoken as heartfelt promises to a soul mate in the altar with a wedding ring in hand, they become wedding vows.

When said to a person who needs to talk, they become a comforting conversation.

When they spread smiles among a group of friends, become the reason behind their laughter and joy.

When spoken by a father to his son, they become an advice. When spoken by a mother to her children, they become care.

And when spoken to a person you love, they become everything...

They come together and form a lot more than the terms that I could think of in last one minute when I had one question in my mind, “What can words do to us?” We all know these terms and somewhere or other, sometime in our lives; we have experienced them in each form that they may exist.

There is nothing that we do not know about words. We know it all... The question that stands tall in front of me and tries to scare me like a nightmare is that: are we doing justice to them for what they stand? Are we using them enough?

In our busy lives full of reports, conferences, travelling and later TV sets, these words form only the part of our life called ‘existence’ and not the part named ‘living’. We have forgotten about one of the major roles that these tiny living creatures, (Yes! I would say ‘living creatures’) play in the life we LIVE, with our loved ones, families, friends, and significant others.

There is a time in every relationship when these words become more important than ‘Anything Else’ that you do. Sometimes, they heal the deepest of wounds. Sometimes, they become the strongest of supports that one might need. And agree or not, sometimes in our life, we have used them and made them everything of the above. A prayer, a wish, a promise, a letter! We sang, we consoled, we expressed, we proposed. We wrote, we shared, we thought, we cursed and most important, we conversed.

But what has man turned them into now? Do we really use them often? Yes we may! Do we use them enough? We don’t know! Do we use them with appropriate people/ or people in need? Or do we use the right ones with the right people? We never knew that was even a question that can be asked.

Words, have now become a ‘one worded text’ which says ‘k..’, ‘hmm..’, what else?’, ‘nothing much!’ and the so called conversation ends there. Words have become an audio formality which two people sitting next to each other, have to complete with eyes still stuck on smart phones, TV sets, laptop screens, etc. How often have we said “We have nothing to talk” convinced that it is true, and not thinking even for a second ‘can it really be true’? How often have we spoken them (words) thinking about the one who is listening to them, and what does he/ she needs? How often have we spoken just to prove ourselves and not to cradle what we have between us? How often have we spoken them to someone who just needs to talk, rather than being satisfied with a 5 minutes call in 24 hours boasting a fact that ‘Yes! We called’?

It’s not that we do not use them enough, but certainly, not enough with the people who need them the most.

Pratishtha