Generally, it’s just about knowledge.

It’s at times a scary term. General Knowledge (G.K) isn’t always about winning quizzes or getting through IAS exams or facing interviews, debates and group discussions. It’s very, oh so very essential for chit-chatting, a word very similar to the infamous gossiping. Everything, from the limited edition Mont Blanc Gandhi pens to Sania Mirza’s latest beau, comes under G.K.

Just think, without speaking about things other than our family or our society, how lifeless our conservations will be? What can two elderly, retired men talk about when they settle down at their neighborhood park bench? How can they keep conversing without finding fault, atleast once, with Mayawati’s garland of money or Pranab Mukherjee’s Budget (though they might get little of it)?

I’m a G.Kish person. I adore facts, just the facts. I wouldn’t read a 19 page long story about how tribals are being ill-treated in our country word by word (I bet most of the readers don’t) I’d just see where, when, why and how. And thus I’d get the basic picture of that particular story. That’s how you develop your G.K. There’s no need to mug up quiz books or yearbooks to develop your intelligence through G.K. Just skim magazines of every kind - political, fashion, travel, lifestyle, cuisine, movies and of course, the newspapers.

You need to refresh your mind each day to develop that kind of thirst so that it becomes a habit. You know what I’m talking about - ‘Reading’…

If a magician can conjure a rabbit out of a supposed empty hat, clever folks can conjure up several ideas out of a single or a rather bland fact. The media is, obviously, the leading player in this field.

Picture this- about a year ago, there was the well known clash between the Marans and the Karunanidhi & sons clan. It was mainly due to some defamatory articles in the Maran owned Tamil daily ‘Dhinakaran’. One was the poll where Tamil people were asked to choose the next political heir of Karunanidhi. Most of the votes went to Stalin while Azhagiri and Kanimozhi were left far behind. It resulted in Azhagiri seeking vengeance through the violence in Madurai, where the newspaper office was attacked with 3 employees killed. The other was an article about a zoo-kempt orangutan’s birthday celebrations on the same day when Stalin celebrated his 57^th birthday. It might have been a co-incidence if not for the other media (or rivals of that newspaper). It became quite a big issue resulting in the stepping down of Dayanidhi Maran as Union Minister (never mind he is one today). And you know the rest of the story of how the two black sheep  got back  to their beloved heard. Well, it was Jayalalitha’s cup of tea for a while…

Ahem, we’ll get back to what we were speaking. Some people cannot finish a joke, some people cannot stop finishing a joke. And that’s my problem, I can’t stop elaborating each fact I know.

My friend once pointed to a nano car passing by and said to us, “See gals, that’s a nano. Just costs around a lakh”. And this genius here in my shoes couldn’t just stop the urge and began, “Yeah. It’s a nano. Must be the basic thing, looks like it. If you need the additional features like the A.C, you’ve got to pay some 25,000 more. This car was a great launch pad for Tata motors in the international car segment, as it is the cheapest one till date giving other car-makers a run for their money and of course, along with the much touted Jaguar and Jaguar is nothing but….” Get it? I just found myself being stared at by a dozen familiar eyes which all meant, “Won’t you ever stop?”

So I’m here saying this. If you’re absolutely rubbish in thinking analytically or solving things systematically, gaining intelligence through G.K is your call.

Just talk about every stuff they show on the news and you are crowned intelligent or atleast, smart. And well, if you are wondering who’s Sania Mirza’s latest beau, it’s Shoaib Malik former Captain of Pakistan’s cricket team.