A Little More Conversation

Khaleej Times (LIFE) / 13 April 2013

 

I love watching interviews and discussions on TV. The feverish exchange of views and the verbal volleys many times serve as great exercise to the intellect, and they offer panoramic views of the various takes people have about the business of life.

 Agreed, a number of these debates slip into the realm of the absurd, thanks to people who are bursting with thoughts to purge, and are tightly closed to ideas from outside. However, there are also people who can disarm you with their wisdom and flair, and keep you glued to a discussion on a subject of the remotest personal interest to you. I am not sure if the art of speaking (sense) is acquired, or if one is inherently endowed with it, but some people can make conversation extremely delightful and engaging.

Being in the company of people can throw up myriad possibilities for conversation. There is the mindless banter between friends, which has a merit of its own. It is like watching slapstick movies that have no use for the brain, but can unwind you to the point of going bonkers with fun. Then there is the silly, yet high on emotion gossip among the incurable lot among us women — hand it to us, we excel in it — that offers a gratification of a unique nature that only we women can appreciate. It is like watching TV soaps — high strung and hyperbolic, yet greatly appetising.

Discussions at the dinner table with family can be somber or buoyant, depending on whether you are talking about exams or a holiday. Sometimes it is just business as usual. They can remind of you of proceedings in the parliament — sometimes sober, sometimes animated and at times staid.

At parties where the wine does most of the talking, things are a bit sketchy, with no clear distinction of who babbled what and when. It is almost like watching a commercial break - colourful and assorted, but too cacophonous to make much sense.

Ever been in the company of people so full of themselves that they spill a bit of their lives each time they exhale? Turn the ignition on with a question and watch the Harley Davidson vroom at full throttle. All you need to do is punctuate the barrage with some more questions, and switch yourself off till the radio station goes off air. At the other end are folks who can make you feel like a question paper in the hands of a dullard who can’t answer in more than a few laboured words.

There are also the intimidating kinds, people sitting on high horses who can make you feel so diminutive that you wish you could vanish from their sight. They are brilliant all right, but their brilliance pales you into insignificance and knocks you out of existence. Being in their midst can make you feel like reading the medical encyclopedia — full of highbrow stuff you can barely ingest or digest.

And then there is the crème de la crème — discoursers who wear words like a well-tailored suit. Dapper in their manner, crisp in articulation, scholarly in their thought, diverse in their interests and surprisingly unassuming, they make you an equal partner in dialogue. They engage you in conversation, taking your views, offering theirs, never once allowing their authority and sophistication to circumscribe your identity. Listening to them is like exploring Wikipedia, picking up nuggets of insight and information as you navigate. Talking to them is like posting your thoughts on your Facebook timeline.

It is a rare combination, and rarer still is the chance to cross path with such people. When you do, as it might happen once in a blue moon, you feel as if you have witnessed a fine symphony of human faculties. These are prized acquaintances that we will cherish long after life has moved on to newer territories.