CAMPAIGN TO CHAMPAGNE!

When people with political aspirations decide to take part in an election, they spend a lot of their time visiting villages, towns and cities in their attempt to woo the electorate.

The few weeks/months they spend on the road zipping from one place to another, trying to garner support by interacting with people, is generally referred to as campaign. Like the Generals in the past, our ‘men in white’ (candidate) devise strategies to emerge victorious in their war. The word campaign comes from the French ‘campagne’ meaning ‘countryside’ or ‘open country’. In the past, campaigns between armies took place on an open field; today, when a candidate campaigns, like the soldier, he is ever present on the field, braving the elements. The French word ‘campagne’ is, in fact, derived from the Latin campus meaning ‘field’; with the passage of time, it began to refer to the ‘field’ on which an educational institution was situated.

After a gruelling campaign, when the ballots have been cast and counted, and the candidate emerges victorious, he eats, drinks and makes merry with his inner circle of friends who were instrumental in helping him get over the finish line. Bottles of champagne are sometimes popped open, and the contents greedily consumed. You may wonder why I am talking about the fizzy stuff, when the focus of attention should be on candidate and campaign. Don’t the words campaign and champagne sound rather similar? They should, for they are derived from campagne, meaning ‘countryside or open fields’. The French added the letter ‘h’ to campagne and began calling the open fields and hills in the region of northwest France, ‘Champagne’. Soon, the wine that came from the many orchards in this place began to be called champagne as well. Bottoms up!