I love words and numbers; would love to just lose myself in a world of words and numbers.
Some words mean so much. Though it’s one’s mother tongue that touches your heart, we have got used to English or rather Latin & Greek words for all learning.
The words synergy, symbiosis , convergence or the Zulu word Ubuntu mean much more than what a dictionary can indicate. Dictionary is good enough only to understand words like chair, table or wine. These special words challenge the normal linear thinking of one plus one adding up to two. These words indicate phenomena where 1+1 may not be just 2 but, 10, 100 or 1000 and 1000-1 need not be 999 but 900, 100 or even 0.
The numbers themselves are fascinating in that there is a world of difference between 01 and 10, that we just take for granted. Binary numbers in synergy with information technology takes the numbers to a totally different level. It is just two numbers 0 and 1 that are used to depict any sound, picture or text . Today all thoughts are expressed in 0s and 1s be it on WhatsApp , Instagram or a complete movie.
Recently I started a personal project of converting Tamil books available in the public domain to more readable and user-friendly formats. By format here, I mean the layout as in normal English and also file format as in information technology. The idea did not kindle the kind of excitement even among voracious readers and writers as I myself experienced. Now it looks obvious; all bibliophiles are not computer buffs and a person of either category may not be a lover of languages (C++ or php doesn’t count as language)
I love reading. I love Tamil . And I love Information technology.
It is the convergence of all three in a project that, I suppose , is exciting!
The very idea of grappling with technology to render the Tamil script, displayed on different devices, to give a feel of reading a Tamil book, is so fascinating. How many people are aware of the complexities posed by Tamil script when two or three characters arranged in different ways , vertically or horizontally, together can mean , to what most people used to Roman script , as just one character or one sound?
Talking of convergence, it is convergence of three that is special. In geometry, two parallel lines do not meet, (or converge at infinity). All non parallel lines meet at some point.
It is only when three lines converge at a point, the magic happens in geometry. In a triangle, the three medians meet at a point and it becomes centroid, perpendicular bisector of sides meet and circumcentre happens , and angular bisectors meet at the incentre.
That’s digression..
I just can’t understand people saying that a language is only for communication. If that be so, long back we would have settled for an artificial language that would have been more efficient , easier to learn and universal.
Whatever be, The confluence or convergence of Tamil, Computers and Books is pure bliss !
Interesting and profound, Murali. Now, this is what I was trying to say. Remember I said you are sitting on a pyramid. You are sitting on that kind of a lofty confluence. Obviously, you can’t expect too many people at that level. I certainly can’t claim to be one of them. I am sitting far away from the confluence and still trying to get you. Almost like sitting in Venkatesa Murthy Sir’s Maths class those days.
You are unique. So is your subject and writing.
Waiting to read more of your outpouring.
while browsing through books to be uploaded one gets to read a lot.
“வான் குருவியின் கூடு வல்லரக்குத் தொல்கரையான்
தேன்சிலம்பி யாவர்க்கும் செய்யரிதால் – யாம் பெரிதும்
வல்லோமே என்று வலிமைசொல வேண்டாம் காண்
எல்லார்க்கும் ஒவ்வொன்று எளிது”
something is easy for everyone.
Good afternoon Murali, your last three lines summarises your bliss. Bliss brings in that contentment, not easily attained otherwise.
As Bhaskar commented so aptly, interesting and profound! 👌😇