"Uska bumper thik hai (Her bumper is fine), " looking placidly at me, the nurse assured me. "What ?!" was my incredulous reaction. She repeated it for my benefit. Seeing my bewildered expression, she pointed to gran's rear and said it once again. "Ah. Oh." Realisation dawned, and when she left the room, i burst into peals of laughter, much to gran's annoyance, (how dare we make fun of her 'bumper'). I tried to explain that she meant pamper, only her south indian accent was the culprit. "Try to make sense of her instructions, 'Gaana nai gaane ka '!" Gran retorted. Before i could ask gran why on earth was she singing, she shook her head and said, "She meant 'khaana nai khaane ka'. I was supposed to have a fasting blood sugar test !"
Once in Mumbai, seeing a commotion on the streets, i saw that a Bengali was on the verge of being beaten up, by a gang of taxi drivers. Protesting loudly he kept trying to explain to a bewildered public, " Oorie baba, bahot gondogol hai ! Hum Bhorli bola, to ye bola nai jaega. Hum usko ' Bhai,' pucha to ye saala, humko bola, bhai bolo ya mai baap! Nai jaega to nai jaega. " Back and forth i turned as interpreter, trying to placate both and explaining that he wanted to go to Worli, not Borivli, That he was asking the taxi driver, 'Why', not Bhai, he wouldn't go. "Arrey sahab ! To aisa bolne ka na." Shooing the still protesting bong into his cab, he screeched off.
My jeejaji was on a business trip with a Punjabi, who always had an eye out for good looking girls. Stopping at a restaurant for lunch, they ordered a fish curry, rice. Eyeing the lone, girl on the adjacent table, he commented, "Hot kudi, no ( Kudi means girl in punjabi) ? " The next minute, he was hauled up from behind by her irate, six footer Sikh husband, who demanded to know what he had just said. Fortunately for him my quick thinking bro in law, did the rescue act, assuring him that he was talking of the curry on their table, which lay steaming on the table.
As for Mumbai.When i first got here, many seasons passed before i got used to the famed bumbaiya hindi. "Kitna kanda daalu baidey main ?" asked my maid. Seeing my bemused expression, my husband helpfully told her "Ek." Kanda was piyaz, baida was eggs, according to the hindi I didn't know. I once surreptiously called hubby dear to ask him what the cabbie meant when he said, "Jaldi, baitho, madam. Patli gali se khisakna padega, wrong lane main ghus gaya. "
Waiting for a train at V T station, i overheard a Bihari talking on his cell phone. "Ticketwa, batwa main daal diyan hai. Pahonch ke cell maar dijiyo."
Taking the cake was the irate Parsi, whose car was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. "Arrey mua! Ullu ka Pattha, kai ko reverse maarta hai. Kidhar ko ghusaaega gaari ! Arrey, koi is ko le ke jao re. Khaali ,peeli kai ko dimaag out kar raela hai.!"
Greek anyone ? It's easier.
Once in Mumbai, seeing a commotion on the streets, i saw that a Bengali was on the verge of being beaten up, by a gang of taxi drivers. Protesting loudly he kept trying to explain to a bewildered public, " Oorie baba, bahot gondogol hai ! Hum Bhorli bola, to ye bola nai jaega. Hum usko ' Bhai,' pucha to ye saala, humko bola, bhai bolo ya mai baap! Nai jaega to nai jaega. " Back and forth i turned as interpreter, trying to placate both and explaining that he wanted to go to Worli, not Borivli, That he was asking the taxi driver, 'Why', not Bhai, he wouldn't go. "Arrey sahab ! To aisa bolne ka na." Shooing the still protesting bong into his cab, he screeched off.
My jeejaji was on a business trip with a Punjabi, who always had an eye out for good looking girls. Stopping at a restaurant for lunch, they ordered a fish curry, rice. Eyeing the lone, girl on the adjacent table, he commented, "Hot kudi, no ( Kudi means girl in punjabi) ? " The next minute, he was hauled up from behind by her irate, six footer Sikh husband, who demanded to know what he had just said. Fortunately for him my quick thinking bro in law, did the rescue act, assuring him that he was talking of the curry on their table, which lay steaming on the table.
As for Mumbai.When i first got here, many seasons passed before i got used to the famed bumbaiya hindi. "Kitna kanda daalu baidey main ?" asked my maid. Seeing my bemused expression, my husband helpfully told her "Ek." Kanda was piyaz, baida was eggs, according to the hindi I didn't know. I once surreptiously called hubby dear to ask him what the cabbie meant when he said, "Jaldi, baitho, madam. Patli gali se khisakna padega, wrong lane main ghus gaya. "
Waiting for a train at V T station, i overheard a Bihari talking on his cell phone. "Ticketwa, batwa main daal diyan hai. Pahonch ke cell maar dijiyo."
Taking the cake was the irate Parsi, whose car was stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. "Arrey mua! Ullu ka Pattha, kai ko reverse maarta hai. Kidhar ko ghusaaega gaari ! Arrey, koi is ko le ke jao re. Khaali ,peeli kai ko dimaag out kar raela hai.!"
Greek anyone ? It's easier.
bole toh, bilkul hij sahi lekhela hai!
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