Letter to The EDITOR: Naveen Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik, the most low-profile iconic politician of contemporary politics, is always known for his composure and clean image, unlike some of his counterparts, who need no introduction. All throughout his tenure as CM of Odisha, he was never found to have indulged in any dirty anti-national political activities. He seems to be the right ancestor of the famed Patnaik dynasty, who never betrayed his voters or the nation. Keeping a very low profile, he has always contributed to the nation’s causes. The rise of Indian hockey is a pointer in this direction. Very interestingly, he is hardly seen in any national print or electronic media. May God bless him!

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Overloaded trucks damage roads

Through the column of your esteemed daily, I would like to express my concern about the deteriorating condition of the Rowta Station road that connects Rowta Charali with Bhanuchowk. The road is extremely bad and has become a cause of inconvenience and danger for daily commuters.

The reason for the poor condition of the road is the heavy-loaded trucks that carry sand from the Dhansiri River. These trucks are overloaded and often exceed the weight limit that the road can handle. This has resulted in the road becoming damaged and filled with potholes, making it difficult for vehicles to pass through safely. Moreover, the dust generated by these trucks has also become a health hazard for the residents living in the vicinity. The dust not only causes respiratory problems but also settles on houses and properties, making it difficult for people to maintain hygiene.

I urge the authorities concerned to take immediate action to repair the Rowta Station road and to ensure that heavy-loaded trucks are regulated to prevent further damage to the road. It is the responsibility of the government to provide basic infrastructure to its citizens, and a good road network is a vital component of that. I hope that the authorities will take swift action to address this issue and ensure that the people of Rowta can travel safely and without any inconvenience.

Amlan Kakati,

Cotton University.

The English language

During the 16th and 17th centuries, both Queen Elizabeth and William Shakespeare were instrumental in influencing the English language’s path of progress. Significantly, the Bible was one of the major translated and printed books to circulate during their time, which brought the church’s language to the commoner. During their period, Latin was still considered a language of the educated and the crème de la crème, and therefore, numerous texts needed to be translated from Latin into English to reach out to a mass audience. In fact, some words came straight from Latin, such as focus, lens, nausea, and genius, while words like horrid, frugal, arbit, and atmosphere were altered. Interestingly, the suffixes ‘ize’ and ‘ism’ were also added to the English language during their period.

If there was one person who changed and took the English language to dizzying heights, it was unquestionably Shakespeare. His works contributed significantly to the standardization of the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary of this beautiful language. Through his immense ability to create original words, Shakespeare is said to have invented some 2,000 words. A few examples: eyeballs, homicide, brittle, lonely, gloomy, and majestic. Further, Shakespeare coined some phrases that are still in use today. They are: ‘out of thin air’, ‘as luck would have it’, and ‘fool’s paradise.’ Prior to and during Shakespeare’s time, the grammar and rules of English were not standardized.

But once Shakespeare’s plays became popular, they helped contribute to the standardization of the English language, with many Shakespearean words and phrases becoming embedded in the language, particularly through projects such as Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language, which quoted Shakespeare more than any other writer. As for the growth of English in India, the British East India Company introduced the English language to our country in the 17th century. As a result of British colonialism, English was considered the governing language and is still in vogue due to India’s heterogeneous languages. And today, India has approximately 125 million English speakers!

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

(siva19kumar@gmail.com.)