“Historical blunder” – ঐতিহাসিক ভুল

Yesterday, I heard the news that the former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Sri Jyoti Basu passed away. Commentators found some of his policies controversial, but no one could deny that he was one of the most charismatic Indian politicians of the last century. On a personal note, for most of my life, he was also the only Chief Minister I knew.  So  it was only natural that yesterday, I was thinking about his long political career and the futile stand he took against the leadership of his party in 1996. It was a brave move and as one friend put it, he will be remembered perhaps, as “the best Prime Minister that we never had.”

People from all walks of life from Bollywood film-star Amitabh Bachchan to Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina paid their respects to the fallen stalwart. The news made a lot of headlines in all the Kolkata-based newspapers too.

However, in their emotional state, some people might have gone a bit over the top. Anandabazar reports some comments of the common people in the newspaper today.

The following comment from a worker at the Birbhum Circuit-House was a bit surprising:

“শৌচাগারে বালতি অপরিচ্ছন্ন। আমরা তাড়াতাড়ি পাল্টে দিই। উনি পরে খুব প্রশংসা করেন।”

(“The bucket in the bathroom was dirty. We changed it quickly. Later, he [Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu] was full of praise for us“).

My honest question is this: if you had one chance to give an account of your last respect to one of the stalwarts of your state to the largest-circulated daily newspaper, would you freely say there was a dirty bucket in the bathroom under your charge?

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Trivia quiz #1

Questions:

1. If you are suffering from logorrhea what is your ailment?

2. What Hindi (or Sanskrit) word does Mandarin, the official form of Chinese language with the most speakers in the world, originate from?

3. What was the first clinical use of cocaine?

4. What is a vyomanaut?

5. Every American President with a beard while in office has belonged to this political party. Which party am I talking about?

Answers:

1. You are excessively talkative and might often talk nonsense. We seem to know many people who suffer from logorrhea and hope the medical community finds a drug to cure this disease!

2. Surprisingly, the root word for Mandarin might actually be mantri.

3. Noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud used cocaine to treat morphine addiction. Needless to say this didn’t last very long as a form of treatment!

4. The Indian spacefarer who is the equivalent of an astronaut or cosmonaut. Reminds me of Captain Vyom!

5. The Republican Party


	


	



			
				


			

			
Milk + Horlicks = rich folks in Bengali films … দুধ + হরলিক্স = বড়লোকেরা খাবার!
		
	
	

		
These are two melodramatic scenes from two hit Bengali/Bangla films. The first one is from Chhoto Bou and the second is from Mangaldeep. Apart from the common actors, you’ll notice a common formula.


(ছেলেটা সত্যি খালি খাই-খাই করে…)




দুধ + হরলিক্স = বড়লোকেরা খাবার!



	


	



			
				


			
				


			

			
Amazing trivia #2 – এই সপ্তাহের আশ্চর্য তথ্য
		
	
	

		
This week’s trivia is completely pepper-related.


1. Did you know that black pepper is native to South India, but chili peppers originated in the Americas?


2. The Scoville scale measures the “hotness” of a chili pepper. It is named after Wilbur Scoville, an American who developed the scale.


3.  The hottest chili pepper in the world is the Bhut Jolokia pepper that grows in Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur.


4.  Indian defence scientists are creating a grenade using the Bhut Jolokia pepper.


5. There is a company that markets a weight-loss pill called Capsiplex made from hot peppers.


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Tora je ja bolish bhai, amar ghorar dim chai – তোরা যে যা বলিস ভাই আমার ঘোড়ার ডিম চাই!
		
	
	

		
Ashwadimba!The phrase “mare’s nest” is not used a lot these days. This is in contrast to the equivalent in Bengali, “asvadimba” (অশ্বডিম্ব) or “ghorar dim” (ঘোড়ার ডিম) which are both still commonly used to express disbelief at nonsense or fraud.


A more direct translation into English gives us something like “horse-egg.” Well, I   searched for the proverbial egg and found that it is a common motif in pysanka,  a type of Ukranian Easter egg decoration that relies on writing with wax. In parts of Eastern Europe, the horse is popular because it symbolizes both strength and prosperity.


In fact there are quite a few pictures of “horse-eggs” on the internet including one that is quite intricate.


With Christmas just around the corner, I’ve decided that I want a “ghorar dim,” and not just any will do. I want a stallion breaking out of an egg on a sweatshirt. If anyone wants to give one to me as a gift, I can tell you that you’ll find one online here.



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Botal se ek baat chali hai
		
	
	

		
A report in the Times of India states that in Delhi anyone over the age of 21 can serve drinks at bar and restaurants in the state due to new legislation, but they still cannot legally drink until they turn 25! I am not saying that the validity of this ludicrous law has any real-world implications, but it is amusing when you consider the fact that in India, anyone 18 or older can vote. In addition, women and men can get legally married at the ages of 18 and 21, respectively.


To read more about my thoughts on this ludicrous law check out my blog post on this topic.


© Bhalomanush. All content is copyright and may not be used without permission.