Tongue Tornado!

From sticking out one’s tongue in defiance to carelessly spoken words that can cause a lifetime’s regret, the tongue can be the source of real trouble!

DRAUPADI called Karna "a charioteer's son" rejecting him at her swayamvar. She lived to regret her words and lusted for the man through her life; Karna never forgave her that slight. Later, at her Palace of Illusions, drunk on her husbands' success, Draupadi laughed at Duryodhana as he stumbled and fell, saying "Son of a blind man would be blind himself". That slight led to her disrobing, which led to the battle of Mahabharata.

Words uttered in haste, without consideration, often lead one to big trouble. Wrongful acts are often easier to forgive or forget, but hurtful words keep playing on the mind and heart. A lashing of the tongue can sometimes be more severe than physical hurt. Words uttered irresponsibly cannot be taken back and often have the power to change our lives. Look at how a few words spoken under influence of drugs and alcohol put paid to the upward rise of one of the world's most talented designers, John Galliano.

Just three words uttered together "Talaq, talaq, talaq" can sever marital ties forever; no wonder Islam warns proponents to utter the words only after serious consideration and family consultation. Not just anger, even words uttered in humour can have the potential for disaster. Recently a man jokingly typed "talaq, talaq, talaq" thrice in a skype chat with his wife. In a fix when he realized the significance of what he had done, he sought clarification. A ruling issued by Darul Uloom Deobandi, one of Islam's leading authorities on religious law, clarified that his divorce was real and the woman would have to remarry another man, and be with her second husband for a year before she could divorce him to remarry her first husband.

In a free-wheeling conversation, a senior colleague known for his philosophical world views said, "You know, the tongue is the source of all trouble - it makes you say things you never meant to say! Then consider taste, which also resides in the tongue. The tongue makes you overeat, which results not just in being overweight, but in innumerable health problems as well!"

Golden words indeed, and they set me thinking. Remember all doctors ask you to poke your tongue out for diagnostic purposes? The texture and colour of the tongue can apparently give a doctor a good indication of your general health condition. The same tongue poked out without the doctor's suggestion can be construed in many different manners. In movies of yore, the heroine would poke out her little pinky at the hero in a flirtatious gesture before running away just beyond reach. A nervous flick of the tongue to hastily moisten dry lips can be a very seductive gesture calculated to drive a man wild! Children use poking of the tongue as a derisive or challenging gesture, often accompanied by showing the thumb too.

I remember a group family picnic at Surajkund as a child. Wandering away from our parents, we were accosted by some beer swiveling aggressive youngsters who got a kick out of scaring us with shouts and lewd gestures. We ran away from them, but just as we were almost on safe ground, one of the kids in the group turned around, thrust out his tongue and showed a thumb (today's equivalent would be showing the finger) to them. This enraged the guys and they ran towards us throwing their bottles in our direction. Thankfully we had reached the area where our parents sat and those were the days when just the sight of adults was still enough to scare away even drunk young men! Indeed, by disciplining this one bag of muscles, the tongue, one can claim to have achieved control over a major part of one's life!

Many are the emotions the tongue achieves for us. Surprise and regret are also depicted by a poking out of the tongue and biting it. Ever wondered why Goddess Kali is always portrayed with her red tongue thrust out and dancing on Lord Shiva's body? According to the Markandeya Purana, in her form as Goddess Durga, when

Ka l i ' s a n ge r aga i n s t t h e d e m o n s S a m b h u a n d N i s h a m b u couldn't be controlled and she kept on her path of destruction, the Gods enlisted the help of her consort Lord Shiva. Shiva lay down amongst the demons on whose bodies Durga was dancing. When she realized that she was dancing on her husband Shiva's body, stunned, Durga thrust out her tongue in surprise and regret and remained frozen. That is the way the Goddess is depicted always now.

Of course the tongue, an essential tool in speech for humans, is also responsible for many pleasures. Sweet-tongued talk has the power of healing and pleasuring as nothing else does. Silver tongued are those people who with smartalecky talk can worm their way into hearts or through tough situations. Indeed, we are often warned about people who talk too sweetly! For every John Galliano who paved the path to his destruction with the help of an irresponsible tongue, there are many who sweet-talk their path up fanstastic careers.

Coming to animal tongues, a serpentine

tongue depicts deceit and untruthfulness, as a serpent's tongue is forked. Human tongues have just one tip, which signifies the unity of truthful speech. It testifies to the fact that there is one truth, but many lies. If a dog's laving tongue is an indication of its loyalty and love for us, we use the poor buffalo's tongue as a delicacy to be savoured. Considered an exotic meat high on nutritional value, buffalo's tongue has also been used by native American Indians as a fly-swatters, or hollowed out for baby shoes!

Coming back to more 'palatable' uses of the tongue, tongue-in-cheek humour is widely appreciated while a slip of the tongue can cause acute embarrassment at times. And then of course, tongue twisters have forever been a source of joy. To wind up, let's try out this traditional one…