Brevity is the soul of wit

We speak too much. Every time anybody asks us any question we answer in the most complicated manner, we fill it with so many words that the other person ceases to understand the logic. Is it true, that simple means common and complex means esoteric? We all read, understand and appreciate quotes. They have so much to say, in so little words, yet when it comes to expressing ourselves we rely on endless gibberish. The most witty, crisp yet penetrating comments are always short. The other day I was reading a man’s review on Saawariya, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus. It summed up everything in just one line “ Sanjay Bhansali did the impossible, he made a boring ‘blue’ film”. I thought the effect this had on me was much more than thousand word reviews written by other critics. Why is it that we believe in complicating things? Writers of the yore used to believe in writing for the masses. Never did they use complicated words, yet they brought out the emotions beautifully, the characters were understated yet effective.
Pretense has become the order of the day, we have all sorts of rules with fancy names, pyramid rule, the five point theory , et al , essentially what they say is simple but of course they are garnished with the fanciest words and logic. Both students and teachers alike dig at them.
What the end result of all this is that people who know the art of simplicity are lost amidst all the chaos in the name of the complex. They are considered dumb, or plainly stupid, while self assuming Einstein(s) of the world enjoy endless admiration from dumb witted people who have no clue of what they heard or read.
One can only hope that some sanity is restored, the content is given its importance, and that people recognize substance over style. I hope against hope. May be some day the world will again be simple, we’ll again learn to smile and laugh freely, not have any pretensions. May be just may be…!