Bengaluru
FC 219 on placeholder elicited comments from a few regulars. I am beholden to them.
Tarun Kunzru said: “As pointed out Pras, placeholder in a queue or a line can often be frowned upon as 'beating the system' or 'plain hogging'. But ‘replace holder’ (replacement) for someone on leave or indisposed is seen as genuine support and a legitimate way of ensuring continuity.”
Lakshmi Raman: “I liked this. Today I learnt the term 'placeholder' and the range of meanings (dictionary and practical) it is used to cover. I recall travelling by bus in Tamilnadu where I often saw handkerchiefs, bags and, on occasion, even a small child shoved in through the window of the bus to serve as placeholders. Safe journey back home, Prasanna.”
Krupa Murthy, my irrepressible cousin, says: “Just brilliant Prasanna! There are place holders for any situation but not for the ‘BREW’ coming from THEE!!!!!!!! Awaiting your arrival- you and you only and a PROXY is unthinkable.”
My dear friend Ashvini, known for his penmanship, shared his real-life experience which made me chuckle many times. So would you. Please read on:
“The summer of 1970 at Rex Theatre on Brigade Road Bangalore (sadly, it’s no longer there) was nothing short of cinematic. I’m not just talking about Ben-Hur on the big screen. Jaggu and I were eager to catch the movie, but the blistering sun and the seemingly endless ticket queue had him ready to throw in the towel. Just when my cousin suggested we retreat and try another day, my eyes landed on two girls in the queue. With the confidence of youth and a dose of audacity, I declared to Jaggu, “Watch me charm them into getting us tickets.”
But when the intermission lights flickered on, I checked the tickets and found our seats were, in fact, correct. Then I spotted the two giggling Samaritans—sitting comfortably way behind us! They had pulled off the ultimate cinematic turnabout! Needless to say, Jaggu hasn’t let me forget this ‘placeholder’ debacle for over fifty years. Every chance he gets, he reminds me of my charm that landed us in the front row with necks craned upward. But even so, the memory remains a treasured ‘placeholder’ in my youthful escapades!”
So, with my most winning smile, I approached the girls and asked if they could help us out. To my delight, they agreed after a brief conference between themselves. “Success!” I thought, as we retreated to the shade, assured that our newfound “placeholders” would secure our entry. When we finally strolled into the darkened theatre, Ben-Hur had already begun. The usher guided us to our seats, flashlight in hand, and as we settled in, I couldn’t help but feel something was amiss. Instead of the charming company of our ticket-buying heroines, we were surrounded by chattering students. Worse yet, we were in the dreaded front row, where every action on the screen felt like a close-up of a gladiator’s sandal. I reassured Jaggu, “There must be some mistake,” confident that we’d been seated incorrectly.
💬 Excuse Me
A term many times used in a day in a variety of situations, by all of us, comes in handy for me today. I have not been able to unblock my mind, yet.
Having stayed in the US for close to 15 weeks, the body clock had re-calibrated itself to an extent which made it very challenging for us to reset it. Jet lag hit me on the third day like a ton of bricks. I was determined not to lie down and surrender to it and yet my head lolled the moment I sat down. So, excuse me as I have not been able to think straight.
The loss of a cousin is always painful. As I was struggling with the jet lag, I got news of the ‘fading away’ of my dear cousin in Mysore on the 16th of October. I say fading because he just breathed his last in the company of his daughters while watching the TV. He was in his eighties but still, how could he abruptly decide to meet his maker? Of course, I was very sad. He was older than me and was a role model to me in more ways than one. He was immensely popular for his Jags Therapy. People in Mysore and other places within and outside of India benefited a lot from his treatment which he gave unconditionally. No, not exactly. On one condition. That he will not be paid for it. A munificent man who touched countless lives, bringing solace, relief and healing to patients and their families. RIP Jags. Come back, any which way your maker ordains, to cure the sick and the infirm. They need you and your healing touch.
So, dear readers, please excuse me for not being able to live up to your expectations.
The idiom ‘excuse me’ has many connotations. Each connotation has an overarching politeness.
If I have to seek someone’s attention I could say ‘hello!” or ‘hi’ but ‘excuse me’ has a nice touch to it. A commonplace example is a seat vacant next to a person seated, say in an airport lounge. I will be considered rude if I use any other attention-seeking expression other than ‘excuse me’. Similarly, if I were to stop someone on the street to ask for directions, excuse me is the perfect opening. When uttered in a hailing tone ‘Excuse me’ is to seek the attention of a gathering.
“Excuse me, may I give my views?” is a polite interruption often used when a person feels he is being ignored, which happens in certain instances. Some can be sarcastic and say “excused” when you say excuse me. In the army, an officer may say “You are excused” to dismiss or ask a person to leave.
The idiom could be an expression of indignation to challenge a person to repeat or dare to repeat what he just said. Say, in the course of a conversation, I find something said rather foolish and remarked so, the offended person would turn to me and would say “Excuse me, what did you just say? You think I am a fool?” A sarcastic response could be “what’s there to think?”
OMG! that’s how arguments get heated.
As an expression of indignation excuse me is effectively used when someone asks you to do something disregarding the fact that you are busy with something else. “Excuse me, can’t you see I am busy?” is the oft-heard refrain.
The idiom is handy for expressing polite disagreement. If I am holding forth on a topic and expressing certain views I don’t expect someone to butt in and say “What utter rubbish, I don’t agree with you”. If that person dropped the rubbish and said “Excuse me, I don’t agree with what you just said”, he is more likely to be invited to share his views.
This idiom is not to be sneezed at as it comes in handy when you sneeze. Also when there’s an uncontrolled acknowledgement of good food, the burp. Sure, you can say excuse me for coughing or even laughing at something only to realise that it was not the done thing.
“Excuse me, can you repeat that, please?” is a polite way of asking someone to repeat what he just said. It can also be used as a challenge, asking someone to repeat something that sounded insulting. The idiom is handy when you want to leave the table or a room to answer a call but not so if you leave when you feel insulted.
I dedicate this post to Shri. Padmanabha, a former bureaucrat, a nonagenarian, and a regular reader of my post. He quietly called it a day, when I was away in the US. He was a voracious reader and many evenings spent with him were intellectually stimulating. He was a repository of vast knowledge on diverse subjects. With his passing, we have lost a walking encyclopedia. He read all my posts and until his vision was impaired, he used to post his comments. He abhorred any form of excuses and would say that they are lame crutches. RIP Padmanabha Sir.
I may be using a lame crutch when I say “Excuse me, please allow me to end this post here. My apologies if it is a poor substitute for a post.”
According to University of Florida researchers, excuses can be beneficial if the result is a sheltered self-esteem. I will take it.
Until next week, take care & be safe. Ciao.
We also utter "excuse me" when we are seated in a row to have our lunch or dinner during a wedding feast, finish all the courses earlier and need to get up - for washing hands- before the person seated next finishes his last course since getting up abruptly without uttering a word would be considered to be rude and without etiquette.
I usually read FC first thing Sunday morning when I awake. But I finished a training program yesterday and this morning was still snoring when the sun was up and shining!
Excuse me, I was not an early bird this morning. I like all the examples in which 'excuse me' is used in India. It is also a connector to starting or building a relationship 'Excuse me, but haven't we met before at XXX?' or 'Excuse me, I remember your face but have forgotten your name.' The bridge between people and sometimes, the bridge between hearts.