Simplicity is perhaps the greatest way to keep a conversation limited to 140 characters. How else do you explain Twitterati
explaining the significance of Dussehra in a single tweet? Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the most iconic tweet this week: “Dussehra is a reminder of the consequences of fooling around with somebody else’s wife!!”
Meanwhile, other news...
Rakhi’s back, alright
An inane but highly entertaining format (for the average Joe) has brought Rakhi Sawant into the limelight. She doesn’t have to try hard, does she? Last week, she was on a chat show pleading with the anchor, “I’m removing my jacket, since I’m feeling hot looking at you.” And now the loudmouthed newsmonger has turned into a Citizen Kane of sorts in her new show Rakhi ka Insaaf. The drama unfolding on its sets has got Twitterati talking. @Lord_Ram tweeted: “Rakhi Sawant delivering justice is like Thakur from ‘Sholay’ participating in the CWG boxing event.” @gagarwal tweeted: “Read somewhere that next programme on Imagine TV would be called Rakhi ka Ilaaj.”
Race to broadcast
One of the top trending links in Mumbai this week was that of www.twalue.com, an application (app) which allows you to calculate the worth of your Twitter account. All you have to do is allow the app to link with your Twitter handle. On the basis of the number of followers you have, the number of people you are following, the rate at which you’re adding followers and other factors, the app is able to assess ‘the value of your Twitter
account over time’. The app valued my Twitter account at a modest $340. After these valuations, I wonder if there would be parties that are interested in buying Twitter accounts and tweeting whatever they feel like. Worth pondering about!
The untranslatables
Another link that was popular this week was of a story that gave 20 instances where other languages have found the right word and English simply fell speechless. For example, the Czech word ‘Litost’ was described by author Milan Kundera as, “I have looked in vain in other languages for an equivalent (to this word), though I find it difficult to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it.” The closest definition for the word is ‘a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s misery’.
Another word that caught my attention was the Brazilian-Portuguese ‘Cafune’, which means the act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair. But my favourite was the Scottish word ‘Tartle’ because the situation that it describes is one I’ve experienced often. It means ‘the act of hesitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name’.
Spotted a Twitter trending topic in Mumbai? Flag it off to www.twitter.com/arcopolc
