Time and again, the most learned head of the state in world, our respected prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is accused of 'deafening silence'.
The silence of Sardar Singh manifests itself in various forms like silence on the 2G scam , silence on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue , silence on the Batla encounter case.
Jokes are getting viral on the web, some about a ringtone called Manmohan Singh, that is actually an alias for the 'silent mode', a text editor, with 'Manmohan' font, that is never visible, a funeral of Dr. Singh, whence people would be asked to put their TV on 'mute' as an obituary.
However, let us not forget that 'silence' is a virtue of the Greats.
Etymology of the word 'Laconic' (which is used in literature to refer to a very concise statement), comes from a Greek legend.
When Philip II of Macedon proclaimed before the Spartans: "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city."
The Spartans, known for their silence and less talk only replied with one word - 'If'
Subsequently both Philip and Alexander avoided Sparta entirely.
And now, a sanskrit two liner, on this topic probably from the पन्चतन्त्र:
नि:सारस्य पदार्थस्य प्रायेणाडम्बरो महान्।
न सुवर्णे ध्वनिस्ताद्रुक् याद्रुक्कन्स्ये प्रजायते।
The translation goes like this:
A copper or a steel vessel makes a lot of noize when hit or fallen down. However, such is not the case with golden vessel, which does not make any sound.
A person without any substance and without any knowledge invariably makes a lot of noize, but the learned one, the real 'Pundit', the one with the real shine, the one with real value, speaks rarely (makes no sound).
Linguistics:
नि:सारस्य पदार्थस्य : A hollow substance, metophorically used for a senseless person.
प्रायेण अडम्बरो : A superficial show.
सुवर्ण : Gold
ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति:!
The silence of Sardar Singh manifests itself in various forms like silence on the 2G scam , silence on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue , silence on the Batla encounter case.
Jokes are getting viral on the web, some about a ringtone called Manmohan Singh, that is actually an alias for the 'silent mode', a text editor, with 'Manmohan' font, that is never visible, a funeral of Dr. Singh, whence people would be asked to put their TV on 'mute' as an obituary.
However, let us not forget that 'silence' is a virtue of the Greats.
Etymology of the word 'Laconic' (which is used in literature to refer to a very concise statement), comes from a Greek legend.
When Philip II of Macedon proclaimed before the Spartans: "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city."
The Spartans, known for their silence and less talk only replied with one word - 'If'
Subsequently both Philip and Alexander avoided Sparta entirely.
And now, a sanskrit two liner, on this topic probably from the पन्चतन्त्र:
नि:सारस्य पदार्थस्य प्रायेणाडम्बरो महान्।
न सुवर्णे ध्वनिस्ताद्रुक् याद्रुक्कन्स्ये प्रजायते।
The translation goes like this:
A copper or a steel vessel makes a lot of noize when hit or fallen down. However, such is not the case with golden vessel, which does not make any sound.
A person without any substance and without any knowledge invariably makes a lot of noize, but the learned one, the real 'Pundit', the one with the real shine, the one with real value, speaks rarely (makes no sound).
Linguistics:
नि:सारस्य पदार्थस्य : A hollow substance, metophorically used for a senseless person.
प्रायेण अडम्बरो : A superficial show.
सुवर्ण : Gold
ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति:!
