The Flourishing Fourth

A couple of friends need special mention for their contributions in my life when it comes to reading and learning new words. The friend, who first got me into reading, reads anything underneath the sun, and encourages everybody to read as much as they can to build an enviable vocabulary. She believes reading carves out a good human being out of every reader, and endows him/ her with priceless knowledge. I’ll be indebted to her as long as any book entices me to dive between its covers, which I hope, and guess is as long as I breathe!

Another friend of mine and her husband are professionals at Google. The husband’s passion for photography is extraordinary. His work was featured in Gizmodo, and he went to the extent of taking flying lessons to gratify his aspirations of capturing aerial views. Often he posts rare glimpses that he was fortunate to incarcerate in his frames from drones, planes that he flew himself, and from his ventures to remote corners of the world with his companions from National Geographic. The frames, for sure, are breathtaking, but what amps up their uniqueness is his articulate account of anecdotes, experiences, descriptions, and information. And, it is from these accounts that I had picked up words like ‘ensconce’, ‘pique’, ‘apparition’, ‘sojourn’, etc during the initial stages of my conscientious work on my own vocabulary. His way of expression, along with my friend’s expansive vocabulary, was one of the many reasons that triggered my interest in this sphere.

Other than photography, he is keen on cricket and in one of his posts, where he aired out his opinion in Facebook, he had written: “They have made all the right choices by dropping prima donnas like ...” (not quoting the entire sentence for privacy and security reasons)

Back then, I used to learn any new word that came my way. But this word drew my attention for two reasons. Apart from alluding to a vainglorious, conceited, mercurial, and temperamental person, this noun has another meaning that couldn’t be more different, and these are the nuances of English that I love exploring! I quickly learnt about leading soprano or the chief female singer in an opera. And then, who but the eminent author Jeffrey Archer, added a different dimension to this word! It’s been months that I’ve completed the novel, but thanks to his art of writing, I can vividly remember a coffee-milk complexioned Priya, resplendent in red, watching Fonteyn in Swan Lake with the British Sebastian at Royal Opera House. The sixth volume of Clifton Chronicle – Cometh the Hour – describes Seb, mesmerised by the virtuosity of the prima ballerina.

Chapter 16:

From the moment the curtain rose and the little swans fluttered out on to the stage, Seb was transported into another world. He was captivated by the dancers’ skills and artistry, and just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, the prima ballerina made her entrance, and he knew he would be returning again and again.

But whether he would, we couldn’t have known. Priya sacrificed her life selflessly for her love a couple of chapters later. Piques your interest, doesn’t it? Go ahead and dive into the beautiful tapestry of events that Archer has sewn so elegantly with members of a well-knit family.

If you come across words like prima donna, prima ballerina, prima facie, do share here.

A constant mentor in my journey is Wes who anchors Interactive English on YouTube. His lessons are illuminating and informative. Wes leaves no stone unturned to convey the importance of vocabulary in English, and often comes up with interesting lessons to propagate several fascinating words. Let’s check quid pro quo. Wes had explained the meaning quite well, but what made it indelible was its fantastic use by Dan Brown in Angels and Demons, a thriller that depicts a feud between Illuminati and the Church in the backdrop of Rome and the Vatican City. Between the horrific murders and conspiracies of the church, the age-old tussle between science and religion claims a dramatic climax that only Dan Brown could have related with his gamut of words and collocations that keep pace with your pounding heart. I do believe he is an avant-garde when it comes to collocation (Ever thought of a sumptuous room? He did!).

Tom Hanks as the suave Robert Langdon and Ayelet Zurer as the smart and beautiful Vittoria Vetra hurtled through the roads of Italy, solving riddling conundrums to chalk out the Path of Illuminati in an attempt to outstrip Hassasin and forestall the murders of cardinals. ‘Quid pro quo’ was used by the Hassasin when he ominously informed Langdon and Vetra that the murders of the cardinals had been planned and the wheels had been already set on the motion to kill them every hour on the hour from 8 pm. Then at midnight, a plan had been choreographed to detonate a new form of incendiary that would wipe out the Vatican City in an unprecedented concussion generated by the deadly newfound weapon. Here is the conversation that marks the race of Langdon and Vetra with the inexorable ticking of time till midnight and the ordeals they faced throughout the novel.

Chapter 41:

‘After the brandings, the scientists were murdered, and their bodies were dropped in public locations around Rome as a warning to other scientists not to join the Illuminati.’

‘Yes. So we shall do the same. Quid pro quo. Consider its symbolic retribution for our slain brothers. Your four cardinals will die, one every hour starting at eight. By midnight the whole world will be enthralled.’

One can learn plenty of words, but contexts such as these render them unforgettable. More commonplace synonyms for this beautiful word are revenge, reprisal,  retribution, retaliation, an eye an eye, counteraccusation, recrimination, a tooth for a tooth, and the list can go on. 

Here is another word that I learnt from Wes but remembered in the context of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons:  catch-22.

Chapter 46:

‘Exactly. Word of Galileo’s brotherhood started to spread in the 1630s, and scientists from around the world made secret pilgrimages to Rome hoping to join the Illuminati … eager for a chance to look through the master’s telescope and hear the master’s ideas. Unfortunately, though, because of the Illuminati’s secrecy, scientists arriving in Rome never knew where to go for the meetings or to whom they could safely speak. The Illuminati wanted new blood, but they could not afford to risk their secrecy by making their whereabouts known.’

Vittoria frowned. ‘Sounds like a situazione senza soluzione.’

‘Exactly. A catch-22, as we would say.’

I often use this phrase to describe air-conditioning, an indispensable offshoot of our advances in every sphere. We condition the air at home to get respite from the heat outside and in turn leave immense carbon footprints that cause global warming! Now think of all the offices, restaurants, malls, and other establishments that increase the carbon footprint manifolds and there is no solution, or should I say the problem and solution are synonymous with the old aphorism - ‘chicken and egg problem’.

Finally, I'll wrap up this post with one nuance to explore: Google and guillotine are eponyms while Harry Potter is an eponymous character.