Odd Words and Terms

The Indian lexicon is full of words which are popularly used in local conversation in various parts of the country. Some such words-

Howla- this is not a howler in the English sense, but a fool. Howla hai kya? (Are you stupid? ...Loosely) is almost a term of endearment in Hyderabad.

Vela..Velapanti is what a vela does, like Heropanti is what a Hero does. Velagiri or velapanti is another term for idling or doing nothing useful. Maybe close to self-actualisation, in Maslownic terms.

Adda- this is the quintessential Bengali addiction- chatting endlessly over chai or a rosogulla, about anything under the Sun. That usually narrows it down to politics, football, and politics.

Dada. This has different meanings depending on where you are. In Marathi or Bangali, it means big brother. But in the badlands of U.P or Bihar it may translate to one who does dadagiri, as in the local goon.

To, Kya chal raha hai? is a conversation opener in Hindi, cleverly appropriated by Fogg in its current ad campaign. Roughly the equivalent of How Do You Do in English, or What's Up, Dude in Americanese.

Po, da is a Tamil term used often, which I assume translates to Go, yaar..in Hinglish.

Matlab is not the software, but like, any term, like,..used by, like,..anytime by a Hindi-speaker or, like.. Delhiwali or thereabouts.


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