Lalitha ji, Nice to get your feedback. My day is rewarded if you all enjoyed the piece.
Sundaram On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 9:58 AM, Lalitha Subramaniam <[email protected] > wrote: > No no not at all anna . Laughed so much today reading the 2nd one . Thanks > so much . > LalithaSubramaniam > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: sundaram v.v. <[email protected]> > Date: Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 10:15 PM > Subject: Lost in Translation? > To: [email protected], [email protected] > > > * > * > > Sivasubramanian ji, your reference to translation reminds me of *two*jokes: > one on translation per se, and the other starting from it. Here they > are. > > > (1) A foreign dignitary was on a visit to India. He addressed a packed > crowd and a local guy translated it into Hindi. To emphasize a particular > point, the visitor narrated a joke. The chap translated it and the crowd > went into peels of laughter. > > > Later the dignitary asked the translator: “How come it took me five minutes > to narrate the joke, and you translated it in two seconds, and the audience > laughed so much?” > > > “Easy, Sir.” I told them, “The visitor has narrated a joke, please laugh.” > > > > > (2) *WC Story: *I heard this about forty years ago. I hope my memory > serves me right to recapitulate it in the spirit I read it: > > > Fascinated by Switzerland as a tourist, an English lady decided to settle > down there permanently. She selected a small village to buy a house. The > villagers spoke French; only one person could speak English. He took her > around a house, and explained its features. She was impressed. > > > Back in London, she realized she had missed checking the bathroom facility. > So she wrote back: > > > “Sir, is there a WC?” > > > The poor villager did not know what WC (water closet) stood for. So he went > to a Priest who was more conversant with English. He too did not know. > Together they went to the Church Library in the basement. The Church > dictionary said: WC - Wayside Chapel. Then the villager wrote back. > > > “Madam, > > > “Yes, there is a WC. It is four miles away. It opens only on Sundays. It is > vast, and can accommodate 600 people at a time. Normally it is crowded. So I > suggest you reach early; otherwise you may have to perform standing. > > > “There is a band in attendance, which makes it all the more enjoyable. The > acoustics are so good that even the slightest sound in the WC can be heard > in a radius of five miles. It is so enchanting that people bring their lunch > along and make a day of it as picnic. My daughter met her husband only in > this very WC. They spent hours there. > > > “I was very regular. But because of my arthritis, I now go only once in two > months. > > > “We look forward to your early move.” > > > *Have I lost the joke in translation?* > > * > * > > V.V. Sundaram > > Phoenic > > 20 October 2011 > >
