[Reader-list] Calictionary

[Mainak Ray]

> MIND YOUR LANGUAGE  By Barry O' Brien 
> There were no charpokas, peepreys or haatis on the
> streets Wednesday before
> last. Except for a few mamas and mastaans, almost
> everybody stayed home
> because it was a hartal. Bouncy break-dancers and
> slow-moving langras also
> had a rest day. Near Howrah and other vantage entry
> points, CITU sergeants
> saw to it that local trains could get no further.
> Decibel levels fell
> drastically, due to the absence of the rattle of
> Calcutta's bone-shakers and
> the barking of minibus conductors. There were no
> cries of "Aastey ladies",
> "Hilakey Chalo" and "Electrikey Chalao". If you've
> lost me and you're
> reaching for a  Calictionary, stay right where you
> are, you'll find it on
> this page. Calcuttans on the street, more than any
> other city, have a term
> or a phrase of their own for everything under its
> scorching sun. No city can
> match it for orginality and spontaneity when you
> talk of a roadside lexicon.
> No other citizen in the world has the entensity, the
> assion and the sense of
> humour that the Calcuttan has. With his turn of
> phrase he is an Oscar Wilde,
> Bernard Shaw and Sukumar Ray rolled into one ? 
> Expressive, Explosive and alway Exclusive. For the
> uninitiated Calcuttan,
> here's a handy thesaurus of innovative street
> jargon; for the hardcore
> Calcuttan, it could serve as a ready reckoner.
> Mama policeman. Now you know why you need to stay
> away from your
> "Mamr-bari"! 
> Peepreys: auto-rickshaws who are multiplying in
> hundreds and bugging one and
> all 
> Charpokas: Maruti 800s 
> Matchbox: Calcutta's first generation mini-buses
> that left you hunchbacked
> and stiff-necked. 
> Haati: double-decker buses with a 'trunk' in which
> the driver sits; an
> almost extinct species 
> Langras: three-legged tempos that limp along and
> handicap other drivers. 
> Shahi Minars: speedbreakers. Erecting them has
> become a trend, generally
> after someone has been killed on the spot. 
> Electikey  Chalao: a bus conductor's coded jargon,
> telling his driver to
> speed-break-speed-break in order to jerk passengers
> further in, since they
> are all crowding near the entrance.
> Hechkee  tulchen kano: a passenger's retort to the
> above. 
> Dada, Fevicol naa ordinary?: question asked by a
> 'standing commuter'(usually
> on a local train) to a 'sitting' one, wanting to
> know how far he is going.
> If the answer is 'ordinary', the 'standing' commuter
> will stay right there
> waiting to pounce on his seat; if the answer is
> "fevicol", he will move away
> to try his luck with another passenger.
> Dada, kee khelchen? Test naa One day: The bus
> equivalent of above. 
> Dada, istri korey dilen?: what you tell a passenger
> who in his hurry to get
> off, stamps hard on your toes. 
> Dada, je akebarey daak-ticket hoye shetey galen:
> sarcastic comment targeting
> Romeos who refuse to budge from the vicinity of the
> ladies seats, invariably
> getting 'stuck', just like a stamp on an envelope 
> Sandow maashi: a tongue-in-cheek conductor's term
> describing a not-so-young
> lady wearing a sleeveless blouse, a la Govinda.
> Half-ladies : a skinny, boyish girl in jeans and
> T-shirt; the conductor is
> in a dilemma! 
> Dadar kee double ticket naa kee: a passenger's
> caustic remark to a grossly
> overweight fellow passenger who is hogging the seat.
> Dada, kon ration-er chaal khaan: this is another
> version of the rude comment
> above. 
> Aierey, forsha korey dilo: a helpless pickpocket
> victim's exasperated
> exclamation. 
> Dada, engine-er tuning-ta thik karaan:
> below-the-belt advice to a fellow
> passenger who is snoring loud enough to drive the
> pigs to market.
> Kaar badi-tey aaj moolor char-chari ranna hoyechey,
> dada: a subtle comment
> directed to whom it may concern, in a crowded bus,
> post a 'sudden whiff in
> the air
> 


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