The Finger Gets its Due

The finger is the unsung hero among all the body's organs, limbs, glands, muscles and bones put together. If there was a townhall of the human body's functional elements, the finger would be busy tying the loose ends together.

First, some etymology. Digit comes from Latin digitus (finger or toe) because numbers were counted on fingers, which then made its way into computing and now is omnipresent as digital media (come to think of it, even the MS Doc file should be digital media?!).

This should ideally hit you the way you feel when you wake up from a nightmare!

Every manmade thing that you see around you is the product of someone's fingers! Only Lord Ganesha could be spared - he could have used His trunk to write the vedas. Besides Gods, the manuscript of every single piece of literature and art was created with a plume, quill, pen, chalk, crayons, brush or pencil held firmly by fingers. You fill in or type out your CVs, applications, tender documents, presentations ... using, not your brain, not your heart, but your fingers!

True to form, the finger rears its head in the most unlikely of places.

Ungli mat kar (do not finger) is the sign of a true friend. It normally appears in the form of a timely WhatsApp ping seconds after you share your opinion in a meeting.

Tedi ungli se ghee nikalna (taking clarified butter with crooked finger) is a sign that you have mastered President Obama's advise of 'just learn to get stuff done'.

"Don't point your finger at me" is said when you remember that you yourself did so some time ago.

"I can't put my finger on it" means that you forgot to take notes and you don't remember what you were told to do minutes ago.

"I have my finger on the pulse" can only mean that you are nervous and you have messed up your data.

"Burnt my fingers" actually means that you lost all your money in the stock markets and you have been banned from trading or investing.

"Don't lay your finger on me" translates to "You asked for it".

You cross your fingers for good luck, you scratch an itch with your fingers, ...

The finger can make or break a career or even lead to diplomatic uproars - every cricket enthusiast knows this. Steve Bucknor was one of the most hated people in India for raising his index finger to Sachin Tendulkar.

How did World War I start? How else ... one maniac pulled the trigger with his finger! How did Uncle Sam exhort citizens to enlist? By pointing a forceful finger at them. How do you indicate that what you said is not what you meant? By using your fingers to quote-unquote! KFC has sold billions of dollars worth of chicken with the slogan - it's finger lickin good!

Every five years, the finger steps on the podium. The largest democracy in the world would not have been a democracy had it not been for the left index finger. Where else would you be inked to prove that you have voted. All Indians eat with their fingers - in fact, everyone in the world eats with fingers (holding the forks and spoons). There's much much more to it than you can count on your fingers!

You can only twiddle your toes, wrack your brains or warm your hearts; with your fingers, you can go places!

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