The raj of Swaraj
Tweeting Our Love For The Minister Who Gave Love And Made Us Laugh
Loveena Garg, GT Network
When someone like Sushma Swaraj passes away and we try to remember all the good she did for us, it is not tears that wet our eyes rather smiles that grace our faces. Sushma Swaraj was a woman of many firsts- youngest cabinet minister and first full-time woman foreign minister to name a few. However, it was her reign on the microblogging site Twitter that often made news. From queries pertaining to visas to bizarre requests, she addressed it all in her signature style. We bring you some tweets by her that are worth remembering.
“Media - Pl avoid the headline: ‘Sushma skips Oath Ceremony”
In 2016, she was unable to attend the swearing-in of ministers and tweeted about the same. That she also took a subtle dig at media with the aforementioned tweet was the talk of the day. When journalist Barkha Dutt taunted by tweeting ‘tweets are rather killer’, ‘…and so are the headlines’ was Swaraj’s reply!
“There is no problem. After becoming Foreign Minister, I have learnt to follow English of all accents and grammar.”
A resident of Punjab was mocked by Twitterati for his broken English while asking for help from her to bring his sick friend back to India. Swaraj came to his defence, leaving the bashers feeling embarrassed.
“The computer is guilty of separating you. But don’t worry. We will send you both in the same batch.”
When a man requested her to let him take the Mansarovar Yatra with his wife who had been allotted a different batch from him, this was her reply. While we can conclude that she was all the things good in the world, no one said that good things cannot be witty. Bad computer!
“Brother I cannot help you in matters of a refrigerator. I am very busy with human beings in distress.”
Majority of India is full of wise people. The rest is filled with not so wise ones. A man found it okay to cry about his refrigerator on Twitter. He also thought it would be a good idea to tag a minister in his rants. You know what they say about responding to stupidity with sass. That’s exactly what Sushma Swaraj did.
“I am so sorry. Please take your car to a workshop.”
Also, from that other part we were just talking about came a man who tweeted about the problems he was facing with his Volkswagen. In his defense, it was a brand-new car that gave up on him! Surely minister also means mechanic. Sushma Swaraj could not resist replying to him. We can only imagine her deadpan face while writing this.
“I will have to consult the volcano there.”
I do swear in the name of God to help Indians against natural calamities. Sounds outrageous, right? Apparently, a man going on a trip to Bali had no idea that ministers do not promise protection against ‘God’s act’ for he tweeted at Sushma Swaraj asking whether it was safe to travel at that moment. Honestly this one was just asking for it!
That’s not all our foreign minister was famous for, but this is definitely one of the reasons why you’ll be sorely missed by everyone, our ‘Twitter minister.’
The stolen dictionary
The Tale Of The Words Who Went Overseas
Avi Prabhakar, AIS Vas 6, XII E
Hindi was tired; it was tired of always being overshadowed by its foreign cousin – English. One day, exasperated, Hindi decided to take the matter in her own hands. She accused English of always looking down on her and stealing her bright ideas. As expected, English dismissed the accusations. Hindi remained tight lipped, but presented English with the following list.
JUGGERNAUT /dʒʌɡənɔːt/ Noun
A huge, powerful and overwhelming force. The word has its roots in “Jagannath” which means ‘king of the world’.
LOOT/luːt/ Noun
Stealing valuable things during a time of riot or war generally by raiders. Also, derived from the same Hindi word, which is a homophone of its English counterpart.
SHAMPOO /ʃamˈpuː/ Noun
Sure, it’s a liquid preparation for washing hair but very few know that it actually originates from ‘champoo’ which means head massage in India.
BUNGALOW /ˈbʌŋɡələʊ/ Noun
A low house having only one storey or, in some cases, upper rooms set in the roof, typically with dormer windows. Everyone knows that it is derived from the word “bungla” which means a big house.
JUNGLE /dʒʌŋɡ(ə)l/ Noun
This borrowed word means an area of land overgrown with dense forest and tangled vegetation. It also is the residence of wild animals that typically live in the tropics.
Mahout/məˈhout/ Noun
The original word being ‘Mahavat’, this means the person who rides the elephant. Looks like there wasn’t much effort done to change the word.
Cheetah /ˈCHētə/ Noun
The long legged cat from Africa, which is known for its speed, owes India for its name. The name which originates from the Hindi word, ‘Cita’ means speckled or variegated just like the animal’s yellow and white fur coat decorated with black spots.
Guru /go͝oro͞o/ Noun
This is something which has been taken directly from the Hindi language and has been used the exact same way for the exact same effect.
Chit/tʃɪt/ Noun
Taking its origins from ‘chitthi’, this word means a small piece of paper. While the original word meant a letter, chit is used for pieces of paper we pass around in class.
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