The Maanga in The Larking

Writing 'The Maanga' is more difficult than I anticipated.

Let me back up a little and explain: I had a staccato email conversation with Nilu a day ago, full of brilliant one-liners and repartee. He asked me to write 'The Maanga', so I asked him if he will write 'The Larking.' After dazzling each other with our wit, it was agreed that I would talk about English in the Desi Blogosphere.

Right away, there is a snag. I am a newcomer to blogging. The blogs I read are few. I spend most of my time online doing crosswords and then reading news and dealing with my mail.

I knew there was this thing called blogging, of course. I heard that term some three years ago, but it meant nothing to me. Who wants to read the journals of other people and their innermost thoughts, I remember thinking.

Then, this January, I was searching for a Kannnadasan lyric and somehow I ended up at a site called Teakada. There was a wickedly funny summing up of the year 2005. So I read more. And more. And then I noticed the links. I clicked on them and discovered that there are clever people, witty people, thoughtful people, brilliant people - all writing regularly, regaling the world with information, analyses and witty essays.

I was gobsmacked that there were so many Indians, all over the world, writing about so many things. I wanted more. I wanted to add my voice, too.

The standard of English is like the curate's egg, though. Many people don’t bother punctuating correctly. Some don't seem to know the difference between 'lose' and 'loose' or 'their' and 'they're'. For every erudite essay, there were half a dozen incoherent blogs. For every brilliant observation, there were a dozen inane blathers.

The younger generation writes with energy, yes and with immediacy. They indulge in profanities, they write in slang but they still make sense. Most of the time. Why would I want to read about somebody's ingrown toenails if they can't make it a riveting essay?

There are bloggers who write one sentence blogs. They provide links, but I think it is a cop-out. Where is your take on it then, Sir, Madam or Thing? Are you a traffic warden?

There are blogs with specific target readerships. (Gosh, I feel so clued-in using terms like that) Madrasis writing about Madras for example: you can't really take umbrage to a phrase like jolluvittufying (translation: drooling) if you know the blogger's readers are knowledgeable with the slang. Ditto all regional languages.

So there are styles, categories and audiences. There are voices. 'Immense joy comes' is instantly recognisable as Amit. 'PUKE' says it is Nilu. Flippin' Writing is Chandru. 'The mind boggles', I say.

There are breathless airhead chick rants done by entirely too clever young women. There are thoughtful essays posted by studious young men. There are food odysseys and cookery blogs. There are spoofs and reviews.

There is a lot of profanity. There is a lot of vitriol. But I always felt that however valid a point might be, its impact is lost if it is made in slipshod fashion. Bad grammar and worse language detract, don't add to your point. Bad punctuation doesn't help either.

I always hear my typing instructor hissing "Two spaces after a period, one after a comma," when I read some blogs.

Admittedly, English is a second language to most Indian bloggers. Still, is some care and use of spell-check too much to ask? I make mistakes too, and when I notice it, even after I post, I correct them and republish because I care about that sort of thing.

Of course, it is a free world and people can blog as they want, and if I wince more than twice or have to cringe as I read, I can always exit the blog and never return.

Cheers!