PERMANENTLY TEMPORARY AND TEMPORARILY PERMANENT

 FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:

  

 

PERMANENTLY TEMPORARY AND TEMPORARILY PERMANENT

 

This piece is not intended to be a serious one and can be taken lightly, and is a funny one. Don’t give too much weight or consideration to the content.

 

In fact, I often used these two phrases as a joke in different contexts in the office while on service. I just thought of scripting something about them.

 

Permanently temporary and temporarily permanent - although the phrases are oxymorons, it's true, as often one can see this happening in human life.

 

Life itself has both characteristics. The phrase ‘Permanently temporary’ is necessarily a paradox as it carries words that are contradictory to each other and poles apart in meaning. However, in some specific contexts, the phrase is used, like in the case of a contract worker not part of the establishment, the status of a migrant, and perhaps to describe the situation where workers are employed on temporary contracts for long periods but terminable at any time, thus facing vulnerability and lack of security.

 

A temporary fix that lasts for a long time is an example. Think of a band-aid holding a wound together for a few days, preventing infection. This is temporary because it will be replaced after a while, but it is also permanent in the sense that different band-aid pieces will continue to hold the wound one after another, like in the case of a relay race, until the wound is completely healed and there is no further need for dressing

 

A child might be called by a nickname until they are a bit older, and get a formal, permanent name officially registered. In some cases, they would continue to be called by their nicknames by their parents and loved ones almost permanently, even after they have become grown-ups.

 

A recurring event can also be called so. For example, seasonal changes like winter and summer are permanent in that they always occur, but only for a limited time each year. Another example is a fleeting moment like a beautiful sunset, which is permanent in the sense that it happens every evening, albeit for a while each day.

 

The relationships between persons are permanent, of course, as long as they are alive. They would continue to be called so even after passing away, as can be seen in the revenue records and historical documentation. They carry both connotations.

 

The other day, one of my friends mentioned a matrimonial advertisement in which the girl’s parents sought a "Well-settled groom", least realizing that there is nothing like that. This can be taken as a typical example. The term being ambiguous would mean different things to different people at different times. On this, different persons would have different wavelengths. After all, nothing is permanent. Can anyone give a definite definition?

  

Confusion worse confounded, isn’t it? Okay, let me stop here!!!

  

 

(R.SAMPATH)

21/4/2025