Awesome? I hope not!

 Awesome? I hope not!

I hope all of you celebrated Diwali with your family and friends- you lighted diyas, candles and strings of shining tiny electric lights, ate your favourite mithai, symbolically fired some crackers, shared your blessings with the others, exchanged thoughtful gifts and prayed to Goddess Lakshmi to visit your house.

Did you have a great time? Did Diwali bring happiness and satisfaction for everyone? Did it reignite old memories?

Will the festival qualify as ‘awesome’ for you?

Let me tell you why I am asking this. I do not consider myself a language prude, but sometimes the wrong/strange use of some words annoys me and awesome is among the most dreadful ones on this list.

Yes, you read it right, awesome is now the cliche used inappropriately in almost all situations unworthy of any measure of awesomeness.

The dictionary explains awesome as something inspiring awe, something extremely impressive or daunting.

Awesome is what generates among one dread mingled with respectful fear. That would mean it should be reserved for use for something which is meaningful/profound or happens rarely, or is a spectacular natural phenomenon and not for mundane everyday things/situations as it has degenerated into.

dictionary.com says

The earliest use of awesome comes in the late 16th century, and the word had the meaning of “filled with awe.” The problem with saying that this is the same meaning that kids today should intend when they say the word is that awe had a somewhat different meaning back then; it generally referred to feelings of severe fear or dread. So, people in the 17th century who were saying that something was awesome did not necessarily mean “that is a thing of great beauty”; chances are, they might have meant “that is a thing that sends shivers of terror down my spine.”

This began to change in the middle of the 20th century, as the word broadened to mean “very impressive.” By 1977 people were already complaining about this – a woman named Lynne Bronstein wrote to the Los Angeles Times asking “Has anyone besides myself noticed the current rage for the term ‘awesome’?” Bronstein took a dim view of the fact that “now everything is ‘awesome,’” and asked “aren’t we overdoing it a little?”

All of us have seen, heard, read and known awesome, and the impact it has had on our minds. If I saw a plane crash-landing and going up in flames, the scene would forever be etched into my memory, most probably giving me nightmares for a long time too. That is the right time an ‘awesome’ should spring out of my throat. But going by the present-day use of the word, my reaction would, without no doubt, sound inhuman and crazy.

Perhaps people who sprinkle their language with ‘awesome’ are not sure if the subject they are referring to, is astounding, exceptional, incredible, staggering, stunning, majestic, unbelievable, or extraordinary, not to forget memorable, unforgettable, or awe-inspiring. Awesome is not versatile, it robs one of their expression of an expansive range of emotions.

Awesome is the modern two-syllable stamp of approval for trivial but good, rather better than good experience/exposure/encounter. Awesome is the lazy, or shall I say shallow substitute for an adjective for an expensive dress, a huge house, first class air-travel, stay in a resort, a noisy party with friends, getting a cab within two minutes, a meal, children’s achievements.

To me staring down the glass bottom of a boat at a coral reef was an awesome experience, so were watching the thousands of wildebeest migrating without GPS, the depth of the Dashbashi Gorge.

Without realising it, I suck in my breath, am stunned when I see, hear, feel it, whether it is a scene or somebody’s work, action or achievement, or the sheer magnitude of something, and no other word can describe it, it is awesome.

The fury of the flooded Godavari breaking all barriers to gush through miles and miles of land taking everything with it, is awesome.

The total solar eclipse which stuns the birds into silence during daytime, is awesome.

Sunita Williams’ achievement is awesome and her Diwali greetings to the earthlings from space, more so.

Arunima Sinha, the first amputee to climb Mount Everest is awesome, as also all the sportspersons who despite being physically challenged, have the courage to prepare for and compete in Paralympics. (Hunter Woodhall is my favourite example.)

Use of stem cells for cancer treatment is awesome.

The yet unknown reach and impact of artificial intelligence is awesome.

Volunteering for a cause close to one’s heart is awesome.

The Hindu epic Mahabharat which tells us the whole story of the Kurukshetra war between cousins, is awesome.

I am delighted to meet the people I like, am happy they are doing well, but if they said they are feeling awesome, I would be worried.

So, your new stilettoes or car, the action movie you saw, that cake you ate, a Diwali gift, Amazon’s festival sale, God forbid, they certify as awesome.

Now if you tell me that this post was awesome, I would understand that I have written something which has been overwhelming or kicked in a feeling of fear, respect in you. Awful, isn’t it?                                                                                   - Anupama S Mani