love actually

no this is not about the 2003 romantic comedy. actually it is all about the most favourite word of english speaking indians and specially software fraternity. it is a very useful word. my roommate was talking to someone over the phone; i counted three scores of ‘actually’s in 10 minutes of his talk. i have a love-hate relationship with this word. i mostly use it when i am in panic. when something goes wrong and i get a call to explain something i am not sure, i almost involuntarily start with ‘actually’. the other day my manager called to inform about a havoc caused due to recent change in design. ‘actually that was done by mr.x, not me.’ ‘where is he now?’ ‘actually he is on leave’. and my manager put down the phone with a thud. i don’t particularly love to use this word when i am in control of my senses. the funny part is that i have heard people using this magic word at the start of every sentence…literally. a few days back; i overheard this girl who sits near me; she went like this,

‘actually we are going to paris this friday’
pause
‘actually if you should have told this before. we have bookings now.’
pause
‘actually………….uuh…….can i call you after one hour’
pause
‘actually i can’t promise anything now. actually we are group of 10 people naa..so it will be difficult actually.’

what was that? i don’t know. but it was getting funnier every passing second. the most devout users of this word are those who are new to telephonic conference calls. the hesitation and fear gives way to ‘actually’ after ‘actually’. we were taught in the behavioural training to use this word sparingly and never out of context. i almost died laughing once when i heard someone introducing herself as ‘actually my name is xxx. i am from xxx project.’ to put it in other terms it is as if saying ‘genuinely my name is xxx.’ who dare claim that your name is not xxx? we honestly believe you are xxx. the other most popular use of ‘actually’ is when we call some customer care or booking office. i have observed myself that 8 out of 10 times i start off the chat with ‘actually’. once my friend called some customer care and started with ‘actually’. i couldn’t control myself and started to laugh. he got so suspicious that he stopped talking and asked what was wrong with me. ‘i said nothing i remembered a bad joke i heard 10 years back’ i said. i am always on a hunt for some fun listening to people using this word.

there is no dispute that ‘actually’ is actually our comfort word. may be it gives some degree of confidence and may be sometimes an element authenticity to the talk. i am not sure why we can’t live without it. you love it or hate it; ‘actually’ enjoys a huge fan base and definitely it is one of our favourite words.