The power of words

I discovered quite early in life the magic and power of words, thanks to the support and encouragement of my family. Growing up in the 1960s in a joint-family home and being the youngest, but one, in a line of siblings and cousins, there was no dearth of mentors to learn from and seek guidance from.

Of my older siblings, I shared the closest bond with my eldest brother, seven years my senior. He was an avid reader, and I quickly learnt to share his fondness for books and the written word. He used to subscribe to the Reader’s Digest, and each month we would both eagerly await Peter Funk’s popular feature, It Pays to Increase Your Word Power.

It involved picking the right word, fitting in meaning to a given word, from a choice of four other words. With red herrings strewn liberally along the way, it was a stimulating brain teaser. My brother usually managed a score of 18 out of 20. I was lucky if I got 10 correct, which over time increased to a respectable 15 or 16.

Another favourite learning tool was the crossword page from the daily newspaper. I would sit beside my brother as he matched wits with the crossword setter. I felt a sense of pride when, after a little practice, I managed to crack the jumbled letters of the anagrams or helped my brother solve a particularly tantalising clue. 

Learning was always fun when it was in the form of a competitive game, and for this I was thankful to an older cousin who introduced me to “Scrabble.” This word game was invented and patented in 1948 by the collaborative efforts of two Americans, Alfred Butts and James Brunot, and by the 1960s, Scrabble had become a household word in India.

My cousin had acquired the game along with a pocket version of the Oxford English Dictionary. She would set up the board for us to play, usually after dinner and sometimes well into the night, until my mother reminded me that I would need to rise early, the next day being a school day. 

My most prized possession was a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus that I received as a gift for my eighteenth birthday. This proved to be a veritable gold mine for expanding my knowledge of words and exploring the various connotations behind word meanings.

The fascination with words has stayed with me throughout my life and played an invaluable role in enhancing my critical thinking, my mastery over language, and my ability to effectively communicate. I hope that I have been able, in my turn, to pass on this legacy to succeeding generations as well.