This time only just about only only

On August 23 this year browsing The Guardian on the internet I read the words ldquoIndia is only the fourth country to pull off a controlled landing on the moonrsquos surface after the US China and the former Soviet UnionrdquoThe world stood up and applauded this landmark moment for India Because the landing was on the moonrsquos south pole a rugged unexplored region whose ice could provide water oxygen and fuel for future missions to Mars it was also a giant leap for space explorationI have an inner fusspot who like Grammarly likes to make niggling observations about inconsequential details This time it quietly asked what was the great need to include the word only Why couldnrsquot The Guardian have stated the plain fact namely that India is the fourth country to land a craft on the moon and left it at that Why go out on a limb and add onlyI checked how many other reports had phrased it this way Itrsquos a long list that includes The Hindu the Indian Express The Week Fox News Financial Times Yahoo News and several othersAlso read Mumbai Motorist knocks down old woman almost gets away posing as kind passerbyAt first read it sounded condescending The reports seemed to be saying No India wasnrsquot the first country to reach the moon that was the USA It wasnrsquot the second that was the USSR It wasnrsquot even the third that was China India was only the fourth Tut tut Not a big deal Should have tried harderOr did they mean to cue that there is more ahead this is merely the beginning India is only the fourth The fifth sixth and seventh are on their wayBut Russia became number two in 1976 without any such verbal shading China when it touched down on the moon on 14 December 2013 was not described as only the third country to reach the moonWhat was different about IndiaSince the honour of the motherland was involved I dug in and began to research everything known about the charlatan word onlyAs an Indian I have a long and dishonourable relationship with only When I ask nosy questions that are none of my business I am just asking only If I am already on my way I am coming only Likewise if contrary to your suspicions I am hard at work I am working only When I finally see the precise garment I was searching for I want that shirt onlyAs the world knows by now we are like that only But to my surprise the world is also like that only at least as far as the word only goes This mild fourletter word is twisted and subverted to mean itself and its opposite and then some It is used to minimise and condone just as often it is deployed to bestow speciality and gloryDonrsquot shoot me Irsquom only the piano player sang Elton John demolishing with one word the instrument the artiste and the songBut the toastmaster can elevate and exalt in one phrase the seasonrsquos star attractionmdashtoday Olivia Rodrigomdashas the one and onlyOnly can also be snarky If you met the superstar of Jawan and didnrsquot recognise him a condescending voice might tell you that he is ldquoonly the most stupendous actor India has ever seenrdquoI posted my only anxieties on Facebook and reaped a rainbow of responsesMy friend and author Maureen Myant didnrsquot think it was a putdown ldquoIt means India is one of only four countries to land on the moonrdquoSalil Tripathi author and editor thought it was straightforward ldquoOnly four countries have landed crafts on the moon and India is the fourth Though it can be read as a putdown I donrsquot think that isthe intentrdquoArjun Janah old school chum opined ldquoThe phrasing is a bit compressed and awkward especially perhaps to our eyes It might perhaps be better worded India is among only four countries to have landed a spacecraft on the moonrdquoI donrsquot think Indiarsquos moonshot needs to be ranked and compared to be a triumphAnd perhaps we could agree that only is as slippery as an eel It hates being easily understoodClever wordplay can subtly imply that what you did was grander than it really was crowning you a winner even when you were the one knocked out cold You could have gone on an allnight bender and been thoroughly spifflicated but whether yoursquore indicted or exonerated depends on whether you are described as only tipsy slightly inebriated or blind rolling drunkSince Russia was clearly no match for the USA as far as moonshots went a joke used to circulate back in those Cold War days about who was better at golfJohn F Kennedy US President was invitedmdashso goes the jokemdashby Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev for a round of golf which Kennedy won handily The American press cheered and applauded their handsome young leader for taking down their archnemesis yet againThe Russian press saw the game differently ldquoOur glorious Premier Khrushchev came triumphantly second The US President unfortunately only came next to lastrdquoThat word againYou can reach C Y Gopinath at cygopigmailcomSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper