Dear Bhalomanush,
More than five decades ago The Statesman broke into a rash of letters to the editor led by my father. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of preserving them. The most common ones that we get to see now are rather unimaginative as they have been around for eons without metamorphosis. Examples:
1. দেখবি আর জ্বলবি, লুচির মত ফুলবি
2. দেখলে হবে? খরচা আছে!
3. बुरी नज़र वाले तेरा मुह काला
4. बुल्बुलकी जिंदगी कलियों के डाल पर, ड्राइवरका जिंदगी गाड़ी की चाल पर
5. देखो, मगर प्यार से
I remember some imaginative ones from the past that I can’t see any more.
6. আলাপী বুড়ির গাড়ি (whether আলাপী was the old lady’s given name or whether she was truly gregarious shall never be known)
7. দেখনহাসি, চড়লে মজা, ভাড়া পেলেই চলব সোজা (this I’d seen behind an old Hindustan Bedford that was being used as a hearse when I saw it)
8. ৮০তে ৮০ও না (behind a truck that had the number 8080)
9. ছুঁয়ো না ভাই, লজ্জা করে, ইঁদুরছানা পাছে ধরে (this one easily takes the cherry on the cake).
Dear Bhalomanush,
More than five decades ago The Statesman broke into a rash of letters to the editor led by my father. Unfortunately, I didn’t think of preserving them. The most common ones that we get to see now are rather unimaginative as they have been around for eons without metamorphosis. Examples:
1. দেখবি আর জ্বলবি, লুচির মত ফুলবি
2. দেখলে হবে? খরচা আছে!
3. बुरी नज़र वाले तेरा मुह काला
4. बुल्बुलकी जिंदगी कलियों के डाल पर, ड्राइवरका जिंदगी गाड़ी की चाल पर
5. देखो, मगर प्यार से
I remember some imaginative ones from the past that I can’t see any more.
6. আলাপী বুড়ির গাড়ি (whether আলাপী was the old lady’s given name or whether she was truly gregarious shall never be known)
7. দেখনহাসি, চড়লে মজা, ভাড়া পেলেই চলব সোজা (this I’d seen behind an old Hindustan Bedford that was being used as a hearse when I saw it)
8. ৮০তে ৮০ও না (behind a truck that had the number 8080)
9. ছুঁয়ো না ভাই, লজ্জা করে, ইঁদুরছানা পাছে ধরে (this one easily takes the cherry on the cake).