Live & Learn with Shivraj Parshad

It all began with his South Indianisms, and now  Manjunath Gangadhar  is getting more specific with the use of unique English lingo in Bangalore. This is special, since Manju always finds the time for Good Morning Grammar despite being really with his new venture Smartsustain.in What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode, depending on who you address. Send in your voice messages o...

There are some words in the English language that can be palindromes. What are they? Our Wednesday guest Nilova Roy Chaudhury decided to send us this clip while watching her Labrador Butter eat a banana . Listen to this veteran journalist  walk us through those grammar intricacies. What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode, depending on who you address. Send in your voice message...

The casual thanks can often be misconstrued as dismissive or snarky as opposed to the proper Thank you! Our Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain, characteristically takes on these Tricky words and tells us why it doesn't hurt to make just that little extra effort. What do you think? Listen till the end. YOU too can have your say on any episode . Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475...

Now this is a very tricky question for non-native Hindi or Urdu speakers. What determines gender of certain words or terms? In this special Good Morning Grammar episode, Rajesh Joshi a freelance or as he put it 'azaad' journalist, is candid about his explanation for the correct usage of gender in both languages. This ex BBC journalist also throws up differences in regional usage of gende...

We have covered 'Would' 'Should' and so on, but what about referring to the future with a little 'Will or Shall?'  This Friday , Malini Kumar, returns with another clip from the U.A.E. What fun , as she takes on talking about the future. What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode, depending on who you address. Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp a...

The English language has certain words, that can either confuse you or be misused and have you look silly. This Thursday we bring back, Padmasini a retail trainer from Bangalore. And she gets theatrical as she walks us through some examples and anecdotes. What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode, depending on who you address. Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-962547...

It's International Podcast Day! So we decided to have a little fun with that impish 'apostrophe'? Our Wednesday expert Preeti Singh (and fellow podcaster) makes it sound so easy, with concrete examples and a simple explanation for why apostrophes are important, as they can change the meaning of certain words . What do you think? Listen till the end. YOU too can have your say on any...

Our Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain, characteristically takes on Tricky words she encounters in every day communication. This week it is the plea to 'respond urgently'. As Pallavi points out that usage is not quite correct.   What do you think? Listen till the end. YOU too can have your say on any episode . Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475442 or email; Shivraj@brevis....

Do you often hear people confusing For with Since ? Well an old friend and content expert decided to clear the air on their usage. Diya Koshy from Bangalore sent us this short and snappy lesson for our Monday Musings. You can see she means business when she breaks it down step by step and leaves us with some really critical grammar hacks. Tell us what you think? Send in a voice messages on WhatsAp...

What happens to gender, when we use Hinglish or the mix of Hindi and English with greater frequency? Now that is a very interesting question, given that Hindi is a gendered language and English isn't. Our Friday special guest Puja Talwar speaks to actress Rasika Dugal  (starring in web series A Suitable Boy, Mirzapur and Made in Heaven) who raises the question and leaves us with the thought,...

In his third Good Morning Grammar episode, Rajesh Joshi a freelance or as he put it 'azaad' journalist, extends his critique of the nuance and mannerisms of the Hindi language being hijacked by English phrases and words. Or rather their literal translation. This ex BBC journalist leaves us with the thought that while Hinglish is okay, we need to choose which of the two, we want to levera...

Social media seems to have become a cover for many folks to use pejorative terms with great ease and not think about the consequences. So, last week when someone tagged our Wednesday expert Preeti Singh on a post using the label Grammar Nazi, she and I were livid. This week's episode is lifted (with permission) from Preeti's Good Comms podcast episode last week, where she makes it clear...

Why do we try and add an affirmative or additional word to words that already drive home the point? This Tuesday our expert Pallavi Narain decided to take on words beginning with 're' like repeat, reverse etc. and argues that we really don't need to add an 'again'.  What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode . Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91...

Have you ever looked at your old school essays and wondered how they ever passed muster? Redundant pairs 'each and every', 'first and foremost' 'advance planning' etc etc. Yet, in official emails and business communication they continue to creep in. So, this Monday, we brought back communication and editing specialist Nidhi Vikram Choudhury to addressed the issue.  So...

So far we thought Good Morning Grammar only had a following in India. But it seems the diaspora wants to also jump in. This Friday , we have a clip from Malini Kumar, working at a healthcare firm in the U.A.E. What fun , the wrong use of words and Indianisms is clearly a pain point even there.  What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode . Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at...

Do you want something or really need it bad? How do you avoid using these words interchangeably when asking someone for something? This Thursday we bring back   Diya Koshy from Bangalore. who in her trademark theatrical style breaks it down for us. You see she tells us not to lose our pretty little heads over such a simple distinction. Tell us what you think. Send in a voice messages on WhatsApp a...

Oh! This can be sometimes quite confusing. When do you use an 'is' as opposed to 'are'. Well our Wednesday expert Preeti Singh makes it sound so easy, with concrete examples and a simple explanation for why this podcast focuses on the 'subject' and 'noun'. Want to know what that is? Listen to the end. YOU too can have your say on any episode, depending on wh...

Typically, lawyers spend a lot of time poring over the arrangement of words, phrases etc that go into making a sentence. That is because they are looking for discrepancies in meaning. Which is why our Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain decided to do a quick overview of the tricky issue of syntax and what to watch out for.   Want to know what that is? Listen to the end. YOU too can have your say on any...

In his follow up Hindi Good Morning Grammar episode, Rajesh Joshi a freelance or as he put it 'azaad' journalist carries on with his criticism of Hindi news channels and how they are destroying the nuance and mannerisms of the language. This ex BBC journalist leaves us with the thought that Hindi grammar may get totally eroded if we are not careful. What do you think? Send in a voice mes...

Our Friday special guest Puja Talwar decided to end one of her shows with a question about grammar peeves thrown at actor Abhay Deol, listen in to what he has to say! A special thanks to entertainment editor and writer Puja for this celebrity soundbite. What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode . Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475442 or email; Shivraj@brevis.i...

Have you every wondered why people say 'Repeat again' or '6 a.m. in the morning' and many other examples of redundancies? This is what we call 'tautology' and what really gets our Thursday expert, Padmasini a retail trainer from Bangalore, theatrical as she walks us through simplifying communication. What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode, dependi...

This  Wednesday our Word specialist  Preeti Singh takes us back to her Punjabi roots with a new take on 'the' versus 'thee' and 'a' versus 'an'. What she calls Pinglish (English with Punjabi words). What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episode, depending on who you address. Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475442 or email; Sh...

This is an episode for all those harried parents out there trying during the pandemic to get their kids to do as they're told. So when they don't listen is our response as caregivers. 'Don't Answer Back or Don't Talk Back?' All very Tricky but then again our Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain doesn't shy away from taking on those precarious grammar conundrums. So much...

Welcome to our inaugural Hindi Good Morning Grammar episode, where Rajesh Joshi a freelance or as he put it 'azaad' journalist talks us through the nuance and mannerisms of the language with Kara vs Kiya. There's more; a statutory warning by this ex BBC journalist not to get your Hindi grammar tips from hysterical TV channel anchors and debates. What do you think? Send in a voice me...

It's Friday and its all about our listeners. So we were very excited to receive another episode Manjunath Gangadhar in Bangalore, this time on the use of the Indianism 'cousin brother and cousin sister' . This is special, since Manju and ex-colleague of the host Shivraj Parshad is really busy with his new venture Smartsustain.in Yet he found the time to send us an episode and promis...