New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- Like birds are meant to fly, we are meant to speak. Yet, we barely speak what is inside us. Most of the time, especially with strangers, we speak nonsense.

In my ideal world, people will not say, "So what do you do?" and look behind me for something more interesting, which there usually is. In my ideal world, I will ask people, "What's your uric acid level?" And they will tell me their level without surprise, and then I will ask for their whole lipid profile and the medication they might be taking. This is more interesting to me than what people normally say.

Okay, I am bad at small talk. People who say this usually say it with an undercurrent of pride, as though they are precious and the fact that they are bad at s...