Author: Binoo K. John
Publisher: Rupa
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: 217
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788129123770
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.
There is a strange beast that stalks the countryside. It is brash, it is aggressive, it defies all laws of grammar and common sense. It is the beast called Indian- English and it is everywhere.
From the litterateur of the Raj to the Nehruvian missivist and entrepreneurial quack of the last century to the Internet warrior and Bollywood lyricist of today, almost everyone has adopted English as his or her lingua-franca-and adapted, assaulted and recreated it to suit individual purposes. For, as this book argues, the belief runs strong that there can be no social advancement without wielding the glittering sword of English.
In Entry from Backside Only, Binoo K. John weaves together a charming history of the evolution of Indian-English and the changing social ambitions and aspirations that have shaped it. This is a delightful journey through the quirks and complexities of the subcontinents love affair with the language.
Praise for Binoo K. John's books:
‘With a journalist’s flair for combining information with easy readability, John provides sharp, cheeky insights into the early flowering of the language…’
= Manjula Padmanabhan in Outlook on Entry from Backside Only
‘Lovely, witty, acutely observed book with some marvelous descriptions of places and people.’
= Alexander Frater, author of Chasing the Monsoon, on Under a Cloud: Life in Cherrapunji,
‘Under a Cloud is one of the finest pieces of Indian travel writing ever.’
= Ravi Shankar in India Today
COMMENT:
“A wonderfully charming and informative book… Savor the Sorry and soaring love affair between India and English.”
= Tarun J. Tejpal
Contents
Contents
Foreword to the New Edition
1. The writing on the wall
2. The writing on the board
3. Here a Quack, there a quack: Classified written so fluently in broken English
4. The Lure of English
5. Missives and other Public Nuisances
6. Looking to Gandhi and Nehru
7. Glossaries and How-to’s : Rapidex, Hobson-Jobson, Hanklyn-Janklyn
8. Hatter, Trotter and Other written matter
9. “Tell me something, Meri Jaan”
10. Epistolary Epilogue : In which the immortal reader-cum writer gives it those ones
Selected Bibliography