It's Basic and Fundamental

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER

Yesterday, I visited a bank at Boring Road. There was a notice in Hindi and a sign that told customers not to use mobile phones within the bank premises. Even so, there were three people merrily chatting away on their phones, talking in loud voices. When I pointed out the sign to one fellow, he grinned and said ‘This is Bihar!’ The basic reason that Bihar is backward is because even the educated people do not respect rules. Respect for the rule of law is fundamental to progress in any society. And this brings us to today’s theme word: Basic.

Basic describes the art of something that all its other parts depend on. The basic structure of a skyscraper is its steel framework. Without it, the whole building would collapse. An author develops a story from one basic idea. The basic reason for going to school is to learn.
.
Fundamental can describe something like a foundation upon which other things can be built or added. One fundamental rule for drivers in India is to keep to the left side of the road. The constitution is the fundamental law of India. All law in India must conform to the spirit of the constitution. The right to live is a fundamental right.

First and primary mean before anything else. The first step in making tea is filling a kettle with water. Learning to read well is of primary importance. You have to finish primary school before you can go to a higher one. Red, blue and yellow are primary colours. From them other colours can be made.

A part that is necessary or essential to something cannot be taken away from it. Tracks are necessary to a railway train. The rudder is an essential part of an aeroplane. Wheels are essential to a car, but a CD player is inessential. The government supplies essential commodities [like rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene] to the poor at special prices.

Vital describes things that are basic to life or basic to staying alive. Food and water are vital to man. Breathing is a vital function.

[Send your feedback or questions to wordsmith.patna@gmail.com]



Learn-a-word

Old-fashioned

Opinions or ways of living that were common in the past, but are not the way most people think and believe now are old-fashioned. In those days, middle class Biharis thought love marriages were morally wrong, but this now seems very old-fashioned.
------
wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

DARENG PEILR ACMENE HADZAR

[Last week’s solution: Television, radio, cinema, internet]