One of my most cherished experiences of training would remain the Languages Skills sessions that we conducted in two batches of Ranbaxy, Dewas. There were numerous lighter moments a few of which I can still recall:

Who is suffering?

During one of our discussions in the Managers Batch, a few participants lamented how they are suffering in their marriages (in lighter vein ofcourse). But one of our most active participants had disagreements, so he confidently said: “Oh no, I am not suffering at all.” Pat came the reply from the back: “Yes sir, SHE is suffering.”

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‘Understanding’ English

I was training the Executives batch on prepositions and explaining them the uses of ‘under’. Out of the blue, a participant asked, “So does the word ‘understanding’ have something to do with the logic behind ‘under’?”

Almost losing patience, I wrote the word ‘Handsome’ on the white board, adding, “Does the word ‘handsome’ have anything to do with ‘hands’ or ‘some’? For the same reason, ‘understanding’ has no relation with ‘under’.”

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Vows v/s Woes

We were helping the Managers do the Hindi-English translation based on a passage on Marriage. To add spice to the discussion, I explained to them how the two similar sounding words mean just the opposites especially in context with marriage. I said, “Vows stands for promises that you make in marriage. On the other hand, ‘woes’ stands for troubles that are also part of any normal marriage.” One of the particpant’s question: “So how would my wife know when I meant what?” All I could offer was: “Don’t worry Sir, your wife would definitely know!”