Friday 30 March 2012

گورا مارے تو بیچارہ پاگل ، مسلم مارے تو دہشتگرد

جس امریکی فوجی نے ١٦ افغانوں کو قتل کیا ہے اس کو پاگل کرار دینے کی کوششیں زوروں پر ہیں - کیا امریکہ اور یوروپ کے لوگوں کے لئے یہ خیال کرنا بھی مشکل ہے کہ ان میں سے کویی ہتھیارہ یا دہشتگرد ہو سکتا ہے ؟ یا پھر یہ اس بات کا نیا نمونہ ہے کہ دہشتگرد ایک عیسیٰ لفظ ہے جو صرف مسلموں کے لئے استمعال کیا جاتا ہے ؟

جواب مشکل نہیں ہے 

 ناروے کہ اندرس بروک ایک پاگل تھا ، امریکہ کہ رابرٹ بیلس کہ دماغ خراب ہو گیا تھا ، لکن عرب ملکوں میں رہنے والے جیسے انسان نہیں ہے، جیسے انکا دماغ خراب نہیں ہوتا... لکن انکے لئے صرف ایک ہی لفظ استمعال ہوتا ہے : دہشتگرد !


Wednesday 28 March 2012

My first French poem - Je vous remercie mon Dieu

Yesterday I read my first piece of literature in French. It's a poem by Ivorian author Bernard B. Dadié. In the poem Dadié thanks the god for making his skin black.

I don't know what circumstances the poem was written under. So I am not competent to make a critical remark. Still I would have liked more if the poem was about the skies, stars or dreams.

I came across a verse on French Wikipedia and then found the complete poem here. I have translated it with the help of Wiktionary (English and French versions), all the while hoping that I wasn't doing a disastrous job. (^_^)



Je vous remercie mon Dieu
I thank you my god

Bernard Binlin Dadié

Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m'avoir créé Noir,
d'avoir fait de moi
la somme de toutes les douleurs,
mis sur ma tête,
le Monde.
J'ai la livrée du Centaure
Et je porte le Monde depuis le premier matin.

I thank you my god, for making me a black,
for making me
the sum of all pains,
putting on my head
the world.
I took the world to the Centaur
And I have carried the world since the first morning.

Le blanc est une couleur de circonstance
Le noir, la couleur de tous les jours
Et je porte le Monde depuis le premier soir.

White is a colour that depends on the situation
Black is the colour of every day
And I have carried the world since the first evening.

Je suis content
de la forme de ma tête
faite pour porter le Monde,
Satisfait
de la forme de mon nez
Qui doit humer tout le vent du Monde,
Heureux
de la forme de mes jambes
Prêtes à courir toutes les étapes du Monde.

I am contend
with the shape of my head
been shaped like this on account of carrying the world,
Satisfied
with the shape of my nose
that had to smell all the scents of the world,
Happy
at the shape of my legs
ready to run on all the steps of the world.

Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m'avoir créé Noir,
d'avoir fait de moi,
la somme de toutes les douleurs.
Trente-six épées ont transpercé mon coeur.
Trente-six brasiers ont brûlé mon corps.
Et mon sang sur tous les calvaires a rougi la neige,
Et mon sang à tous les levants a rougi la nature.

I thank you my god, for having created me black
for having made me
the sum of all pains.
Thirty-six swords have pierced my heart.
Thirty-six brasiers have burned my body.
And the cavalry reddened the snow with my blood,
And my blood made the east red.

Je suis quand même
Content de porter le Monde,
Content de mes bras courts
               de mes bras longs
                          de l'épaisseur de mes lèvres.

I am even
Content at carrying the world,
Content at my short arms
                at my long arms
                        at my thick lips.

Je vous remercie mon Dieu, de m'avoir créé Noir,
Je porte le Monde depuis l'aube des temps
Et mon rire sur le Monde,
               dans la nuit
                          crée le jour.

I thank you my god, for having created me black,
I carry the world since the beginning of time
And my laugh on the world,
                 during night
                      created the day.

Monday 19 March 2012

Ask expatriates to contribute to Indian language Wikipedias

An Indian esperantist Giridhar Rao reports (in Esperanto) a suggestion that came out during the visit of a Wikipedia Foundation member to Delhi for a meeting. There the host(?) suggested asking expatriate Indians to contribute to Wikipedia in Indian languages other than English. The person who suggested this thinks they will be suitable to ameliorate local language Wikipedias because of their "nostalgia" and the diligence they show learning their "mother tongue."

Those attending the meeting also discussed the problems they have to face in finding young Indians who can "read and write fluently in Indian languages." Looking for reasons they appear to come to the conclusion that the use of English as a medium of instruction is at the root of the problem. This, a Tamil Wikipedia contributor said, creates a situation in which students are "neither good at expressing themselves in the local language nor in English."

He is right. This is indeed the situation in India. Most youngsters can't even recite the alphabet of their local language in order, their grip on the script is weak, they increasingly always write in Roman characters and invariably all of them are "fluent" in English but have some "hesitation" expressing themselves (= have poor English).

The problem is there but the solution is not to go to the NRIs crying for HELP! There has to be a right diagnosis if we are to weed out the problem. They should understand that:
  1. An average Indian doesn't speak even one language fluently is an indication of the dismal state of our antiquated, inefficient and ineffective education system. It is not because of teaching local languages as a subject and using English as the medium of instruction. We can learn from Singapore. And, 
  2. Spending scare resources on attracting NRIs at the expense of raising awareness at home isn't going to be a productive strategy.
In the next post I will try to analyse why Indians don't contribute to the Wikipedia, and perhaps propose some "indigenous" solutions! 

Saturday 17 March 2012

Hindi / Punjabi derogatory terms and swear words

Dear Dmitri,

This post is in response to your comment. I am glad at least someone is reading! 

So here we go: 

Being a freeter (past few months) and with very little social interaction here, I don't think I am the right person to compile a list of Hindi and Punjabi derogatory terms and swear words. Still I will try. After all I have spend more than two decades here and despite my best attempts I can't unlearn these words which I picked up at different times. 

Here is a list of the words I know with their English translations. (This is by no means an exhaustive list.)

Abbreviations used:

H - Hindi = Urdu = Hindustani
Pb. - Punjabi
Sr. - source
cr. - corruption
b. - benign
s. - slightly offensive
o. - offensive

Derogatory names for religions and nationalities
  1. muslā (H, Pb) - a Muslim man, a follower of Islam (Sr: cr. of Muslim)
  2. muslī (H, Pb) - a Muslim woman (Sr: cr. of Muslim)
  3. kaṭuā (H, Pb) - a Muslim man (Sr: refers to circumcision Muslims undergo, literally 'cut' )
  4. cīnī-mīnī (H, Pb) - a Chinese person, or anyone with Chinese facial characteristics  (Sr: cr. of  Cīnī, 'Chinese')
  5. cinkaṇ (H, Pb) - a Chinese woman, or with Chinese facial characteristics  (Sr: cr. of  Cīnī)
  6. cinkī (H, Pb) - a Chinese woman, or  with Chinese facial characteristics  (Sr: cr. of  Cīnī)
  7. kāṃcū (H, Pb) - a Nepalese man
  8. kāṃcā (H, Pb) - a Nepalese man
  9. kāṃcū-mancū (H, Pb) - a Nepalese man
  10. habśī (H, Pb) - an African, or anyone with a dark skin (Sr. from Arabic, 'cannibal')
Depending on the tone of a speaker, these terms that can or cannot be derogatory
  1. bholpurī (Pb) - a descendant of refugees who migrated to India during the partition from Bahawalpur
  2. bhāpā (Pb) - a descendant of Sikh-Hindu refugees who came to India from Pakistan during partition. They are treated the same way, Jews are treated in Europe or North America. Everyone hates them but they are very successful. The Indian prime-minister is a bhapa.
  3. bāpū (Pb) - it means 'father' but educated people consider it uncultured and it's rarely heard in the cities
  4. gorā (H, Pb) - an Englishman, anyone with a fair skin
  5. bihārī (H, Pb) - a migrant worker (chiefly a manual labourer) from Bihar
  6. bhayīā (H, Pb) - a migrant worker (mainly who does manual work) from Uttar Pradesh
Swear words
  1. marjāna (H, Pb) (b) - used to express surprise. If your friend scares the hell out of you, you may smile at your reaction and say: Marjane! Why did you do that? 
  2. kuttā (H, Pb) (m) - between friends it denotes intimacy, otherwise you are literally calling another person a 'dog'
  3. kuttī (H, Pb) (m) - variant of  kuttā, used for women
  4. ulū kā paṭhā (H)/ulū dā paṭhā (Pb) (b) - silly, simpleton. It is not used for persons the speaker is unfamiliar to.
  5. bhaincod (H, Pb) (o) - sisterfucker
  6. māṃcod (H, Pb) (o) - motherfucker
  7. cūtiyā (H, Pb) (m) - sucker. However, it can be used amongst friends without offending the other person
  8. mamā/momā (H, Pb) (o) - breast
  9. mame/mome (H, Pb) (o) - bosom
These are also swear words but I don't know what they mean. They make no sense, at least to me. Nonetheless you can bet to hear them when the speaker is really pissed off for some reason.
  1. terī bhain dī lan (H, Pb) (o) - your sister's willy
  2. terī māṃ dī lan (H, Pb) (o) - your mother's willy
  3. māṃ dā loṛā (H, Pb) (o) - (you are a) dick of your mother
  4. bhain dā loṛā (H, Pb) (o) - (you are a) dick of your sister
Have never used a swear word so far (I am not joking or being snobbish!). So I don't have a long list. 

Saturday 10 March 2012

Lista del plus potente indianos

In februario 2012 The Indian EXPRESS publicava su nove lista del 100 indianos le plus potente. Le anno passate le Chef-judice de India S H Kapadia era le indiano le plus potente secundo le jornal. 

Esse anno le secretario general del plus popular partito politic in le pais - le Indian National Congress (INC), o simplemente, Congresso - Rahul Gandhi es le indiano le plus potente.

Le prime ministro indian Manmohan Singh non occupa le prime loco in le lista. Su rango es tertie. Le presidente del INC se trova in le secunde position.

Io non pote listar tote le nomines; io es multo pigre. Pro esso, a basso io lista solmente dece del plus potente indianos con su photographia, etate, occupation e su vice in le mesme lista in 2011.


DECE LE PLUS POTENTE INDIANOS
secundo
The Indian EXPRESS


1. Rahul Gandhi
Etate: 41
Occupation: Secretario General de Congresso
Vice in 2011: 12









2. Sonia Gandhi
Etate: 65
Occupation: Presidente de Congresso
Vice in 2011: 2








3. Manmohan Singh
Etate: 79
Occupation: Prime Ministro de India
Vice in 2011: 4







4. Mohan Bhagwat
Etate: 61
Occupation: Chef de Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Organisation National de Voluntarios)
Vice in 2011: 42









5. Sushma Swaraj
Etate: 60
Occupation: Chef de Opposition in Lok Sabha (Camera del Communes)
Vice in 2011: 3




6. Arun Jaitley
Etate: 59
Occupation: Chef de Opposition in Rajya Sabha (Camera del Representatives)
Vice in 2011: 13






7. Mamata Banerjee
Etate: 52
Occupation: Chef-ministro de Bengal Occidental
Vice in 2011: 7





8. Pranab Mukherjee
Etate: 76
Occupation: Ministro de Financia
Vice in 2011: 14






9. AK Antony
Etate: 71
Occupation: Ministro de Defensa
Vice in 2011: 10





10. P Chidambaram
Etate: 66
Occupation: Ministro de Affaires Domestic
Vice in 2011: 15