Author: Binoo K. John
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 214
ISBN/UPC (if available): 014310327X
Description
‘Backsides have a frontal position in Indian-English. In cluttered, crowded alleys there can be seen the notice “Entry from backside”, a usage not exactly meant as a come-hither line to gays.’
From the early days of the Raj, the Indian version of English has been on a growth trajectory that has led to the evolution of what is, for all practical purposes, a language of its own. A hybrid form of English stalks the land, flaunting its illegitimacy, brashness and popularity.
The rise of Indian-English runs parallel to tectonic changes in social aspirations. English, says the author, is the Porsche on the porch of the arriviste. There can be no social advancement without the glittering sword of English in your hands. This compendium is thus a journey through a sub-genre that has evolved against all odds. It entertains as well as educates while weaving together a history of verbal patterns that reflect social and cultural trends.
‘A wonderfully charming and informative book… Savour the sorry and soaring love affair between India and English’ —Tarun J. Tejpal
Reviews:
‘Lovely, witty, acutely observed book with some marvelous descriptions of place and people.’’
-Alexander Frater, author of chasing the Monsoon, on Under a
Cloud: Life in Cherrapunji, the Wettest Place on Earth
‘Beautifully written informative and witty.’
-Khushwant Singh on The Curry Coast: Travels in Malabar 500
Years after Vasco da Gama
‘Binoo K. John in search of the wettest place on earth is a quirky itinerant… Under a cloud is one of the finest pieces of Indian travel writing ever.’
-India Today
Contents
The Writing on The Wall
Here a Quack, There a Quack
The Lure of English
Missives and Other Public Nuisances
Looking to Gandhi and Nehru
Glossaries and how-To’s: Rapidex,
Hobson-Jobson, Hanklyn - Janklyn
Hatter, Trotter and Other
Written mater
‘Tell Me something, Meri Jaan’
Epistolary Epilogue
Select Bibliography