The Value of Silence: A Blogger's Dilemma

Whenever I am told to write anything I cannot help remembering a story included in my school syllabus. Thus the story runs. One day a man goes to a forest and finds a human skull lying on the ground. In a perverse mood of humour the man asks the skull what it is doing there, and much to his shock, the skull replies, “Talking brought me here.” The man runs to the king and reports that he has found a talking skull. The king sends two soldiers with him to see if what he says is true. The soldiers are also given the secret order that in case the man proves a liar, he is to be killed on the spot. Now, when he reaches the spot, the skull refuses to answer back in spite of the repeated queries of the man. He is beheaded. When the soldiers have left, the skull asks the man’s severed head what it is doing there. And it replies, “Talking brought me here.”
So, talking has always been a dangerous thing. And my personal experiences have taught me that blessed are those who can keep their mouth shut even in the most provoking circumstances. In this respect I can tell you what I heard from one of the senior teachers of a local college. There was some kind of meeting once on the college premises where distinguished guests were invited, including the formidable political figures. One of such political veterans had the temerity to say, while commenting on the miserable condition of education in our country, that he doubted there were lecturers, even in the English Department in that college, who could speak English. Now, there were people who could challenge him on the spot and prove the reality to be otherwise. But, their prudence prevented them from doing so. Therefore, if the senior teachers choose to use silence as a defence mechanism, it is not advisable for a part-time lecturer to be much outspoken. To blog or not to blog, that is the question!