Adventures in Discovery
Years ago, I had a friend in school who could write with both hands. It amazed me, for I could write with only one. It amazed me, too, to find that there were creatures, like alligators, that lived comfortably both on land and in water. It took me a little more time to notice that people do two or more things, perhaps not simultaneously but sequentially, quite competently. The same person can cook well and play excellent bridge or be a high jump champion and play piano like a pro. But is there a link? How does one transition, and how easily and enjoyably, from one activity to another? I have an interest in languages and learned a number of them. I have tried my hand at writing in three of them and translated from another three. Bengali, my mother tongue, and English, my acquired love, are the two closest to my heart. I continue to write professionally in both of them, and that led to a strange discovery. To meet a deadline or in anticipation of one, I sometimes write two or three ...