The Saturday Book Review: Tharoorosaurus Is A Book For All Ages To Possess, Enjoy The World Of Words
The Saturday Book Review
Title: Tharoorosaurus!
Author: Shashi Tharoor
Publisher: Penguin Viking
ISBN: 978-0-670-09260-4
TNA Rating: *****
‘Words are what shape ideas and reflect thought, and the more words you know, the more precisely and effectively are you able to express your thoughts and ideas’ So says Shashi Tharoor in his latest Blockbuster ‘Tharoorosaurus!’
The way words could be put together, their origins and the letters of which they were made became a childhood pastime with his father. Which he naturally nurtured as he went on in life. Shashi Tharoor, Former Under Secretary General of the United Nations, now a full time Politician and an Author shot into fame with the word ‘Farrago’ which he used in one of his tweets in 2017.
Subsequently, words like ‘rodomontade’ ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’ had people scurrying for cover. Made interesting family Dining table conversations and competitions in Pronunciations over cocktails.
Shashi is the man to watch for words. Known for his wit and verbal prowess his articulate speeches are an educational delight irrespective of the subject he chooses to talk on. I have often personally seen students sitting with Dictionaries and notebooks while hearing him speak on TV.
A student once asked him for a new word, in view of his reputation as a ’fount of exotic vocabulary’ to which Tharoor dropped a simple reply the word ‘Read’.
He further went on to say ‘that’s the only way I have acquired the vocabulary. People think I am some sort of a nut case who studies dictionaries all day long…I have barely opened a dictionary in my life’
‘I have read extensively…I had some advantages over all of you..I lived in India without television, without computers, without playstation, without mobile phones….all I had was books’.
His usage of words in sentences are magical and a delight to hear.In fact his huge fan following so used to his ‘words out of the hat’ syndrome, got flummoxed when due to a typographical autocorrect error a word ‘than ghoonghat’ in reference to the movie ‘Padmavati’ was wrongly typed as ‘thang hoong hats ’took it as the actual word and lost a few hairs flipping the Wikipedia and dictionaries
From the Wizard of words , the book shares 53 examples from his vocabulary : unusual words from every letter of the alphabet.You don’t have to be a linguaphile to enjoy the fun facts and interesting anecdotes behind the words.
Tharoorosaurus is a book to possess, enjoy and ignite the passion into the world of words. For all ages
(The author of this book review is a Lucknow-based businessman and Co-Chairman PHD Chambers of Commerce and the Founder Chair of Confederation of Indian Industry-Young Indians.)
This Book Is Available @ Universal Booksellers
universallko@gmail.com