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.

Cliches and Cliched Comments

Some cliches and my even more cliched comments :)

This is a "landmark'' XYZ. What is? Is it really?Is there a "watermark"also?

My "blood boils''. Then how come you have not evaporated?

"Stock sinks" on Supreme Court judgement. Was it swimming till now?

Australia " hammer India" (this happened yesterday on the cricket field).  What else could they have used? A chain-saw?

XYZ gets a 'clean chit'. What happened to all the dirty ones? Were they washed or not?

"9/11, 7/11" and all other branded dates. Are we glorifying things that happened on those by branding them?

"Black Tuesday" to commemorate the stock market fall. If you invested in stocks, you can afford to lose the money.

You are "looking fabulous" . Hmm..

Favourite Phrases of Teachers

We forget the courses, but still remember catch-phrases used by the teachers who taught us, as far back as high school. Why, I don't really know, you know- incidentally, 'you know' is also one.

We had a Hindi teacher in school who always began a discussion of some verses from poems with "Bahut sundar kaha hai kavi ne" (the poet has beautifully described....)

Another English teacher was famous for his unique way of presenting Keats' Ode to a Nightingale with the "littul birdae" and the important passages from Julius Caesar, not to mention the poem Ulysses which exhorted us to 'drink life to the lees'.

The Chemistry teacher in school was very strict and what we mostly remembered was his threats-       "I'll cut your tail, I say" being a constant one.

The Maths teacher was generally recognised by her pronunciation of 'which' as 'huch' ( luckily not hooch), and that was a great distraction when the theorems went over our heads. Incidentally, a mathematical romance of many dimensions called "Flatland" is highly recommended for readers who are into that sort of thing. Amazon has it, I think.

A Marketing prof. in IIMB was famous for a dramatic pause following a serious discussion of something, and then the inevitable question, " Is that the only kaas (cause)?"

Another OM (we called this POM for a very good reason that I shall explain another time) prof. had this habit of mumbling, and rocking the chair he held on to, standing behind it and holding on most of the time.

Memorable stuff all.

Takia Kalaam

I think it is known as a takia kalaam in Urdu..something that is repeated in dialogue or verse. Many of us have a tendency to use a word or phrase very often when we speak. Teachers are particularly susceptible, but not the only culprits. Some of these phrases are-

You know, whatever, Getting it? (this was used by our bio teacher in school), You know what I mean, Am I right? (used by a friend) and similar ones.

One that students in the north (or from the north) use a lot is Matlab (not the software). This is used anywhere, at the beginning, end or at a pause in a sentence.

Students are usually quick at picking up these along with traits or mannerisms peculiar to people, and farewell parties at many B schools are filled with fun imitations of profs. We had one who said Makting instead of Marketing, and we still use this among friends. Some of us had actually adapted a song with various profs and courses figuring in it.

We also have regional accents that are tickle-inducing. One I remember is someone asking Bos gaya kya, meaning bus gaya kya (Oriya version), and getting an answer that Boss had gone (Mallu version from the guy answering). Well, well..

Fave Dialogues

People usually have one or more favourite phrases they keep using. Some of these I have encountered over the years-

She is like Lakshmi/Saraswati..

When I was in ..(London, Timbuktu, or Tikamgarh..take your pick..my choice is Harihar where I worked with Kirloskar a long time)

Hamare yahan aisa nahin hota hai..or the reverse, hamare yahan to ais hi hota hai.

You know...

Why you want to do like that?

Please.....not for asking permission or requesting, but as an expression of exasperation!

Whatever...this is one I use a lot too.

and the facebook/SMS favourite...Lol!