Triumph of the Tongue!

While a sleepy me was wondering what to write about some part of my brain made another weird connection. I began wondering about evolution of "talking" as an activity. Until not so long ago, taciturnity was an indication of intellectualism. "Talking" as an activity has had negative connotations. I was quite surprised when I realized even Bible had a thing or two to say about talking. "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whosoever restraints his lips is prudent""And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, straining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by the hell" We are not unaware of the proverbs "Empty vessels make more noise"; "Speech is silver silence is gold"; "A still tongue makes wise head" Even the poets have had their bit to say "Rahiman Jihwa Bawari, Kahi gai sarag patalAapu to kahi bhitar bhayi jooti khaat kapal"As a race we seemed to have been very vary of speaking. The act of talking was considered to be a fool's/devil's job. A person who talks was considered to be lacking in substance. This can also be seen in the imagery of the accepted intellectuals. Most of their pictures were in thinking pose rather than speaking pose. A man/woman of few words was considered to be one of worth. Tongue is portrayed as the villain which brings peril. From that era to today has been quite a paradigm shift. Today the world is led by the speakers. Irrespective of the substance, speech is the king. It is peculiar how starting from a speech hating era we have reached today where talking or expressing oneself has become the most important skill in one's life. After years of being ostracized finally tongue has taken an upper hand, today we have public speaking classes, communication skill development classes and what not. Today talking as an activity has become so important that those who do not indulge in it are looked with contempt. Quite opposite to the past, today if one doesn't speak it is equated to lack of substance and cowardice. In today's narrative we hear "However great one's ideas might be if one cannot really express it, it is of no use". Continuing with the narrative we have reached a time when one has to justify the silence. The whole debate on introverts Vs. extroverts is nothing but an attempt to justify not-talking. In a way this shift from non-talking mode to a talking mode is also an indication of how we also might have lost the comfort with silence. Today so much is happening around us all the time that probably we cannot comprehend the silence. Over a period of years the act of talking has developed from an extra to the protagonist of the story. It wouldn't be a hyperbole if one says it is quite a story of triumph of the tongue.