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Holypol IN newspapers, "middles" provide a relief of sorts from the incessantly somber intellectual analytical articles that make things insufferably serious for most of us who would like to have a glimpse of the lighter side of life. Worse, most of the stuff is seldom less than thousand words long and looks longer to the unsuspecting, uninitiated reader who, perchance, happens to go through it. So, the clever op-ed editors use middles in the same manner as Bollywood movies of yore had used comic interludes to keep the viewers interested in the teary saga of tragedy queens and kings.
In this volume one comes across a wide range of situations, moods, persons and places. In the very first piece, Holypol, Deswal takes a dig at his profession where some cops wear uniforms with rather long pockets. Doting on balcony treats the ubiquitous aesthetic/ architectural adjunct that facilitates ventilation as a strategic listening post to know what’s happening in one’s neighbor’s house; it also has been described as time-tested meeting place for lovers a la Romeo and Juliet, where kisses are discreetly exchanged. Did you do it is a sardonic take on scoop hunting journalists who would go to any length to get a "story"; mercifully paparazzi haven’t yet grown roots in our country. When would the school start takes a concerned look at the way teenagers spend their time during the holidays. Their attempts at enjoying thrilling rides, etc., soon end up in a frenetic attempt at completing the long ignored schoolwork as holidays reach their last legs. Easier said than done cautions against taking any job lightly—even if it is retrieving a soap-cake that slips from your hand just as you have applied it to your face – eyes and all! Aptly, the pièce de résistance comes in the last. In Dating advice to Vijender, one learns how Bipasha Basu’s offer to date the Olympian pugilist had scandalised the Haryana folks. Deswal gives him tips on how to avoid provoking such reactions and go on dates too! One can go on talking
about the various topics dealt in this volume. Deswal is known for his
wit, of course. A wit that has its roots in the rural ethos of Haryana
happily amalgamated with an urbane sophistication. A tough call, but
that’s Deswal!
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The
fact that these are strategically placed between the main opinion
article and the Letters to the Editor column, with edits on the
left, tells you something about the importance of middles in the
popularity stakes. Therefore, a middle writer has to be adept at
conveying his thoughts in a few words in the most attractive manner.
No wonder, writing middles is considered an art that requires a
certain attitude: one has to be an expert in brevity. Of course,
brevity could be the Shakespearean "soul of wit" or the less
demanding but equally alluring—what the late US writer Dorothy
Parker had described as—"soul of lingerie".