Jalebi uncoiled: No re-morse for inventing a code

Sudhirendar Sharma

Dr. Sudhirendar SharmaFor many in India, July 15 may not hold any significance. And, why should it? After all, something that has been long ‘dead’ will only be declared ‘dead’ early next week. For a vast majority, telegram as the quickest means of communication of the bygone era has long retired into history. Morse or remorse, the choice is yours!But those who got least out of Samuel Morse’s ‘code’ then and hence don’t regret its historic demise now, have been the ‘love birds’. Imitating bird sounds have remained an exclusive communication code for those in love. When and where to meet was embedded in the ‘code’ which, for the unsuspecting parents, signaled the auspicious presence of some bird in their backyard.
The long arm of commerce has vitiated teenage romance (at least in India)! Electronic tunes have been the poor imitation of human ingenuity.
Sneaking to a secluded place had to follow as a consequence. What could be a better place than the backyard of a temple or a church? Aptly captured on celluloid (click temple/church) , the cinematic expression accorded some-sort-of social recognition to the act. Neither did the parents suspect nor would the priest complain! As places of worship, these offered perfect escape to be divine in love.
By any comparison, malls and multiplexes have been the poorest replacements. No wonder, love is anything but banal.
Sharing written words between love birds was the ultimate surreptitious act. Since many hands were engaged in ferrying their love bites, risk of messages being read or trapped loomed large. It was then that writing ‘text in reverse’ was invented. The recipient could only read the text by holding the page against a mirror. As a youngster this blogger would offer his services in exchange for a candy those days.
I can still write fluently in reverse and have no remorse for inventing an indigenous ‘code’.
(Dr. Sudhirendar Sharma is author (development journalist), academic (offers lectures), advisor (provides consultancy) and activist (providing knowledge backup) rolled into one, based in New Delhi.)

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