Live & Learn with Shivraj Parshad

Our Thursday , expert Vivek Mansukhani gets theatrical as he takes on commonly mispronounced words. Listen carefully as this actor, producer, theater director and educator gives you the nuances of speaking correctly.  Tell us if you agree. You too can feature on an episode of Theatrical Thursdays with Vivek. Send in a voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475442 or email; Shivraj@brevis.in and ask...

Now you cannot escape the watchful eye of our Tricky Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain. But no, this isn't an episode about any of her students ducking classes. She says they never do. This episode comes after a request from a listener Nitin Narain who wants to know the difference between getting Injured and getting Hurt. As you can see Pallavi doesn't shy away from taking on those precariou...

You know your podcast is going places when an old friend and content expert decides they want to clear the air on the vexed question of interchangeably using 'Who vs Whom'. Diya Koshy from Bangalore decided to send us this clarification 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 u...

Fridays are meant to be Fun !  So this Friday we decided to give you something to think about and implement over the weekend - voice modulation. Nothing kills a good presentation or keynote speech like a flat monotone. So how does one modulate better, what are the tricks of the trade? We decided to turn to soft skills trainer and communication coach Suman Kher for answers. Suman is a formidable co...

Gonna, Wanna, Lemme, Watch-ya - Slang that you definitely should not be using in formal settings - when you speak or write. Our Thursday , expert Vivek Mansukhani gets theatrical as he demolishes each one. Tell us if you agree. You too can feature on an episode of Theatrical Thursdays with Vivek. Send in a voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475442 or email; Shivraj@brevis.in and ask him a quest...

A pretty confusing thing for most people is when to use 'that' or 'which' in a sentence. This  Wednesday our Word specialist  Preeti Singh decides to break it down for us quite literally clause by clause. 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; Shivraj@brevis.i...

Do you itch that scratch or scratch that itch. Do you go out finding or looking for something? All very Tricky  but then again our Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain doesn't shy away from taking on those precarious grammar conundrums. So much so, that when I ask this educator a wicked question, about that 7 year itch, she has a clever repartee. Want to know what that is? Listen to the end.  YOU to...

Here for Hair, Hair for Hear, Paver for Power, Devulepmint for Development: Oh! the list could go on and on. And since Mondays can often be so dreadful, we enlisted someone fun to set the darn record straight on correct pronunciation. Foreign correspondent, editor and journalist mentor Padma Rao puts on her teacher hat to help us understand the correct way. You can see she means business but is al...

Linguists have found English to be one of the weirdest of languages. Often for non-native speakers, it's tough getting around the fact that just one word can mean different things at the same time! Which is why we were really excited when our Friday Fun guest Nilova Roy Chaudhury finally decided to take the plunge and send us a clip on the issue. Listen to this veteran journalist (sometimes j...

Indianisms are here to stay, but are they acceptable? 'Passing out of ....', 'Kindly revert'  'Out of station'   'Do one thing' 'Prepone' . Our Thursday , expert Vivek Mansukhani gets theatrical on us as demolishes each one and explains why sometimes when we are talking to other English speakers around the world, these are not acceptable. Tell us i...

TBH, SMH, GOAT, LIT, TEA .....Confused much? Well don't be they are apparently all the rage on the internet. What our Wednesday special guest Puja Talwar says is millennial slang and has crept into the work she does as an entertainment editor and writer. The question Puja asks is whether these words will ever enter a future dictionary. What do you think? YOU too can have your say on any episo...

Often in this podcast we have spoken about not completing your sentences, which makes for poor grammar. Similarly our Tricky Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain takes on the issue of comparisons and argues that if you do not complete your thought when comparing one person's abilities with another's, then you will not have clarity on what you are referring to. What do you think? YOU too can hav...

What is the correct response to the oft repeated question: 'How are you?' Is it 'doing good' or 'doing well '? This Monday, we bring back communication and editing specialist Nidhi Vikram Choudhury to addressed the vexed question.  So this Good Morning Grammar kindred spirit, takes it on in her trademark precise and direct manner. You can tell she is a perfectionist....

It's Friday and its all about our listeners. So we were very excited to receive this clip on 'South Indianism' from Manjunath Gangadhar in Bangalore. 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 promises much more. Remember you too can feature on an episod...

Are you a giver or taker? It all sounds pretty transactional, but wait you could get them wrong. Our Thursday , expert Vivek Mansukhani gets theatrical on us as he demonstrates the distinction. Tell us if you agree. You too can feature on an episode of Theatrical Thursdays with Vivek. Send in a voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-9625475442 or email; Shivraj@brevis.in and ask him a question. If we l...

Is it Peaked or Piqued? Heartwarming or Hearttouching? The list can go on and on. This  Wednesday episode is thanks to a conversation we had on LinkedIn with an avid listener who remains confounded when she hears her seniors use these interchangeably. Our Words expert Preeti Singh decided to take on the challenge and in her trademark witty style draws distinctions. What do you think? YOU too can h...

Tricky Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain decides to 'spice' things up. Quite literally. In today's episode she looks at it's usage in culinary speak as well as every day conversation. 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.in . Let’s make our morning listening a little more int...

This Monday, meet communication and editing specialist Nidhi Vikram Choudhury .  Often, Nidhi tells us, she gets a lot of push back from colleagues and seniors in her firm, when she tries to correct their grammar. So this Good Morning Grammar kindred spirit, decided to base her musings on frequent Indianisms, like 'Basis our Discussion' . You can tell she is a perfectionist. What do you...

On another special Friday Fun episode, veteran journalist and writer Ranjona Banerj i sent us this clip from Dehra Dun. And she makes a moot point: What does it mean to 'drop' something, literally drop or announce a release? Confused much? Well this prolific writer, journalist and social commentator put it to the Twitter universe and has this insight on slang and its correct usage when y...

Three simple words we use all the time, but can get wrong: As , Because and Since. Our Theatrical Thursday, expert Vivek Mansukhani demonstrates how each has a different way of connecting something with its reason. It does sound technical but this actor, producer, theater director and educator breaks it down with examples. Tell us if you agree. You too can feature on an episode of Theatrical Thurs...

The debate over when to use a 'comma' and when to use a 'full stop' will never subside. Our Tricky Tuesday expert Pallavi Narain delves deeper into the issue of writing and reading aloud, to distinguish between the comma and full stop.   Listen to this educator and critical thinker,  walk you through how she explains to her students, these critical distinctions. You too can que...

It is the bane of every reader or copy editor's existence. Those long winded sentences that seem to tell you very little. And confuse you too! This Monday, Good Morning Grammar host Shivraj Parshad dons his Public Communication Coach again to give you some tough love and tricks to just opt for the active voice versus the obfuscating passive one. What do you think?  Send him your thoughts or e...

We have a special listener's clip from Bangalore. Avid reader and grammar purist Kalpana Rao. After binge watching many international shows, travelling and listening to Good Morning Grammar, Kaplana asks other listeners the million dollar question; why do we Indians have to acquire such a fake accent when we speak English? Let us know if you agree or not.  YOU too can have your say on any epi...

Have you ever referred to your 'backside' or someone 'eating your head'..Uh Oh! Our Theatrical Thursday, expert Vivek Mansukhani believes it could cost you many a laugh and asks you to insure your body by simply getting your grammar right. Listen to this actor, producer, theater director and educator. Tell us if you agree. You too can feature on an episode of Theatrical Thursda...

Have you ever been embarrassed when someone has asked about your 'hairs'? Or remarked on the 'fishes'? Oops! Our Wednesday expert Preeti Singh decided to take on the issue of problematic plurals and break down the complexity of English grammar, for us. What do YOU think?  You too can feature on an episode of Good Morning Grammar ! Send in your voice messages on WhatsApp at +91-...