‘Think in Kannada, write in English…most of us are like that': When Sudha Murty spoke about her writing style
In a candid and charming exchange, acclaimed author and philanthropist Sudha Murty once explained to Shashi Tharoor why she deliberately uses simple English in her books.
'I have only one complaint with what you said,' Shashi Tharoor began with a playful smile. 'You know that Saraswati is also the goddess of dictionaries. What have you got against dictionaries?' he quipped, in comparison with his famously rich and ornate vocabulary.
Sudha went on to share her lived experience of interacting with readers across India. 'Actually, I realised one thing. In India, people do speak English, but out of 100 people, 10 to 20 percent—whatever you do—they don't understand English. I come across many people like that.'
She acknowledged that a small section of the population, including intellectuals like Ramachandra Guha and Tharoor himself, command an exceptional level of English. 'About 10–20 percent people are extremely good in English, with their vocabulary, like you, Ram Guha, and many more people. If I have to read yours, I require a new dictionary,' she laughed. 'Because it's so beautiful—sentences, such good words!'
But Sudha emphasised that the majority of Indian readers fall somewhere in the middle. 'Fifty, sixty percent of the people in India—they're like us. We speak colloquial languaged. We understand English, we will be able to read.'
Her most powerful insight came in the simplest words: 'I am fine, you are fine here, everything is okay, okay—that kind of English. Think in Kannada, write in English. Most of us are like that.'
For Murty, the goal isn't to impress with vocabulary, but to connect with readers. Her writing reflects how millions of Indians use English every day—not perfectly, but effectively, naturally, and with heart. In her hands, English becomes not a language of exclusion, but of inclusion.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, reveals ‘every flight has snags' but airlines have ‘habit' of ignoring safety issues
While dissecting the recent Air India Flight 171 crash, YouTuber Gaurav Taneja ruled out several theories that are being floated online. He had initially suggested that the only way a Boeing 787 could crash in the way that Flight 171 did is if it experienced a dual engine failure. In a recent video, he seemed to point in the direction of pilot error, as he suggested that one of the pilots might have killed the wrong engine after takeoff, assuming that one had already died on the runway. In the same video, he ruled out bad weather, stating the data that is publicly available about the conditions on the fateful day of June 12. Taneja also spoke about safety standards in Indian aviation. Some years ago, he blew the whistle on practices that he perceived to be unsafe at Air Asia, and was fired from his position. Taneja is a graduate of IIT Kharagpur, and worked as a commercial pilot for a decade before becoming a full-time YouTuber. In his new video about the Air India Flight 171 crash, which claimed 270 lives, he said, 'In the event of bad weather, the aircraft warns the pilots to either delay takeoff or abort takeoff… A 787 has two radars, one on the left and one on the right. For dispatch, it is necessary for at least one to be functional.' Also read – 'Pilots know something that public doesn't' about Air India 171 crash, says Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast: 'They are refusing to fly' Taneja then explained the concept of Minimum Equipment List (MEL). 'If the aircraft has 100 pieces of equipment, the rulebook says that it can function even if 30 of them have failed. For instance, an aircraft can fly safely with even one functional weather radar. This is made to operationally assist the airline. Let's go with the theory than one engine failed on the ground and the other failed after takeoff… This theory makes a little sense. But this is extremely rare. I've been researching for so many days, and it still doesn't make full sense,' he said. Taneja then moved on to the MCAS, a system that was introduced by Boeing some years ago, and was discovered to be the cause behind two 737 Max aircraft crashing. Subsequently, the entire fleet was grounded. 'Boeing was in a close battle with Airbus, and Airbus took the lead after the launch of the A320. To compete with them, Boeing unveiled the 737 Max, and decided that pilots can safely fly the aircraft with just a two-hour iPad training. They neglected to inform pilots about the MCAS system, which automatically deployed if an aircraft's nose tilted up abnormally. But pilots didn't know, and their aircraft was automatically pointing downwards because of the MCAS. This resulted in two crashes. Perhaps a different software issue could have caused the Air India crash?' Moving on to safety standards, he said, 'A pilot told me that aircraft are in 'a pathetic state'. Remember I told you about the MELs, and that a plane can fly with even one working radar? These snags are quite common. Every flight has snags. But they have a habit of overlooking these snags. The on-ground engineer will tell you that they are giving a temporary okay, they know and the airline knows that the snag will appear during the flight. Every snag that happens, a live report goes to the company. The company knows everything. The company is okaying these snags despite knowing about them, and leaving it to the pilot to deal with these snags during the flight.' Read more – 'An act of sabotage is an act of terrorism against India': Gaurav Taneja says he'll 'lose his mind' if this Air India 171 theory is true Making it clear that he wants to avoid legal trouble and that he is purely presenting theories, he continued, 'It's a sad state of affairs… 90 MELs per sector are common. They get three-page-long MEL lists; most of them have to do with issues like seats not reclining, in-flight entertainment not working, someone's remote not working… It is the pilot's job to go through that three-page MEL list and figure out what the real issues could be… It is not possible for any pilot to go through all these pages.' He cited internal politics between the departments as one of the reasons why this responsibility is handed over to pilots… It's understandable if an airline wants to hide the truth about internal issues with an aircraft, but at least they package the outside really well. If an airline can't even conceal superficial faults, imagine what's happening on the inside.' Previously, Taneja had cited MELs as a major issue, and had praised pilots for standing up and refusing to fly allegedly unsafe aircraft in the aftermath of the crash. Several flights have been cancelled in the days since the crash. On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered immediate action against three senior Air India officials following 'serious and repeated violations,' the Hindustan Times reported.
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Texas man suffers burns on 40 percent of his body after saving dog from house fire
A Texas man has endured a harrowing ordeal after suffering third-degree burns to nearly half of his body while saving his dog from a house fire. The blaze, which was caused by a fuel leak, occurred at Zain Cano's San Antonio home on May 22, as reported by The People. A Texas man was left hospitalised for a month after a gas leak caused a fire; he ran inside to rescue his dog.(Reddit) (Also read: 'Struggle with English, cut lines, litter': Texas-based founder slams Gujaratis) According to Cano's detailed post on Reddit, the incident began when he had been working on his motorcycle and failed to secure the fuel line. The leaked petrol seeped into the carpet and ignited, triggering the house fire. 'Luckily I was the only one home at the time,' he wrote. 'But I realised my dog was in the house and ran in to get him.' Though Cano initially managed to escape the fire with minimal injuries, he rushed back into the flames upon realising that his dog, Clarence, was still inside. That act of bravery cost him dearly. Third-degree burns and prolonged hospital stay By the time Cano emerged with Clarence, the fire had engulfed the house. His girlfriend, Jenna Carter, later revealed through a GoFundMe appeal that Cano suffered third-degree burns covering 40% of his body and required an extended hospital stay lasting over a month. 'He's going to need multiple weeks of continuous medical care and help from me,' Carter wrote. 'He has to use a walker and cannot use his hands.' She added that the couple is now homeless and seeking donations to secure a temporary, accessible place to live during Cano's recovery. Community support and ongoing challenges Carter's fundraising page describes the couple's urgent need for a 'stable environment' where Cano can heal. 'Anything that's able to be contributed will help immensely and go straight into finding an affordable, handicap-friendly place to stay to make this transition for Zain as painless and worry-free as possible,' she explained. Cano, meanwhile, continues to grapple with the emotional and physical toll of the incident. 'The recovery process has been literally the worst experience of my life,' he shared on Reddit. 'I feel horrible because my family is now homeless because of my mistake. We're staying at a motel for the time being but it's expensive, and I can't work and probably won't be able to for at least another month or more.'
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
TS ICET 2025 answer key releasing today at icet.tgche.ac.in; check steps to download and next steps
The Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE), formerly known as TSCHE, is set to release the Telangana Integrated Common Entrance Test (TS ICET or TG ICET) 2025 answer key today, June 21. Along with the provisional answer key, the council is also likely to publish the question papers and candidates' response sheets on the official website: . As per the council, candidates will be allowed to raise objections to the provisional key between June 22 and June 26 by paying a fee of ₹500 per question. If a challenge is found to be valid, the raised objection will be considered during result processing, and the fee will be refunded. The TS ICET 2025 result is scheduled to be announced on Monday, July 7, 2025. How to Download TS ICET Answer Key 2025 Visit the official website: Click on the link for the provisional answer key Log in using your credentials Live Events Submit the details and download the answer key for reference The entrance exam was held on June 8 and 9, with two shifts each day — the first shift from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM and the second shift from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM. Section A (Analytical Ability): Questions were available in English & Telugu or English & Urdu. Section B (Mathematical Ability): Provided in both English & Telugu and English & Urdu. Section C (Communication Ability): Questions were in English only. TS ICET 2025 was conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode for admissions into MBA and MCA programs at universities in Telangana and their affiliated institutions.
