THE IMPACT OF WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORDS
It is said that written words are buried in books but spoken
words have wings. Written words have little or no value for those who cannot
read or do not like to read and therefore they remain buried in books only.
From the time humans invented and started writing, trillions of books and
magazines have been published and stored in the libraries. Trillions of copies
of these were printed and sold and possibly read too. Possibly because there is
no way to find out how many of these books were actually read and how many were
bought to adore the libraries of the so called ‘book lovers’. There are people
out there who would buy a book or painting just because it is fashionable to
have it in your library or on your walls.
On the contrary spoken words have much greater reach. Who
can forget the spoken words of Tilak’s- ‘Freedom is my birth right’, Netaji’s-
‘you give me your blood I will give you freedom’, - Martin Luther King’s ‘I
have a dream’, Vivekanand’s -‘brothers and sisters of America’ or Nehru’s -‘tryst
with destiny’. Spoken words have wings to fly and reach all over the universe.
Spoken words are few in numbers and easy to understand. Spoken words leave an ever lasting impact in
our life. Illiterate people and people with disabilities like dumbness or
blindness can listen to these words or ask someone close by the meaning of
those words even if the language is not familiar.
It is not that written words leave no impact. In fact there
are thousands of quotable quotes taken from books of fiction poetry, plays and learning
that impact our daily life. But this became possible because some people took
the trouble of spreading that knowledge amongst the masses in one form or the
other. Otherwise these words would have remained buried in the confines of the
pages on which they were written or printed. Shakespeare’s plays became popular
because they were enacted on stage. This holds good for all play writers whose
plays became popular because they were enacted on stage by competent actors. Same
is the case with religious books like Gita, Ramayana, Bible and Quran.
It therefore looks that spoken words have more impact than
written words.
Respected grandfather, spoken words necessarily have great impact on mind that's why orators & Actors gain more popularity than the writers who are silently serving the masses .
ReplyDeleteRegards.
Dear Sunita,
ReplyDeleteKabir was unlettered and hence could not write but those who heard him spread his 'dohas' by word of mouth till someone thought of bringing them at one place in form of book. It only suggests that spoken words can spread through word of mouth more effectively than in form of a book. Above all there is no cost involved.
Dear Sunita,
ReplyDeleteKabir was unlettered and hence could not write but those who heard him spread his 'dohas' by word of mouth till someone thought of bringing them at one place in form of book. It only suggests that spoken words can spread through word of mouth more effectively than in form of a book. Above all there is no cost involved.
Yes Sunita dear, spoken words can spread faster by word of mouth. The 'dohas' Kabir were spread by word of mouth only till someone thought of putting them in book form. Kabir was unlettered but his experience manifested in his 'dohas'. Moreover, listening is cost effective than reading.
ReplyDelete