Monsoon Days

temporal #49 I guess Dost Mittar #50 provided you with an example of ``Our Highness, the Ham`` vs. ``Your Lowness, the Tum``.

hamidm# 41

i usually laugh and agree with your posts, i also laughed and agreed with this one, however, as a Punjabi person i for sure don`t have the inferiority complex about my language as has been displayed in your post.

Urdu can be vulgar and nasty, just as Punjabi can be sweet, soft and pretty. I wish people (esp Upper Class Punjabi) would stop stereotyping the Punjabi language and its speakers.

I once had a young German teacher from Germany on exchange, she spoke Geerman so softly and nicely, removing my sterotype of this hard Hitler/Gestapo language. Likewise there are many Punjabi nari`s in many Punjabi pinds who speak Punjabi in a very soft, civil and attractive manner. Then there are also many paan eating women i have seen at KHI Airport (on my way to Punjab), speaking crude nasty Urdu ignoring the `paan thookna mannah haiN` signs all over (how disgusting that they actually have to have those signs up).

Its not the language its the way it is spoken. Lekin fer vi, thank God for the direct London - Lahore flight.

semi: yeahhh, it was divine! :D

Bina,u write good article.It reminds me of my child hood,making paper boats,collecting earth worms,making noise and runing around in rain for unknown reason.Monsoon,brshat relates always with romance.Perhaps tip,tip of rain drops are just like heart beat.
``brshat mai tum sa mala hum,hum sa mala tum``old indian song.

garamchamak

May be a typo. Following characters are neighbours of j: h u i k m n.

But not bad because garam is also a word. It means hot or warm (just in case there is a Chowkster who did not know that). In Gujarati there is a children`s rhyme:

Aawre Varsaad, Aawre Varsaad,
Unee Unee Rotli Ne Karelaa Nu Shaak

(Come Rain, Come Rain,
Hot Rotis and Karela Curry)

During rains in our home there was a custom to cook Pakoras. I think so Bengali eat Khichadi on a rainy day. They call it Khe.nchudee. Their Khichadi AFAIK is savoury with whole potatoes and whole Onions added. I wonder what Indians used to eat before new world gave us Potatoes and Tomatoes.

Hello 21st Century Bina,

`losing their rubber chappals in the growing puddles on the city streets` did it for me. The memories came flooding back, no pun intended.

And happy birthday!!! I will not ask for your age; I know how you women get. Any presents?

Here`s your weekly astral projection:

Romantic or business dealings with an older person can teach you some valuable lessons. Don`t assume just because this person belongs to a different generation they are naive. Actually, their wisdom and experience are decided assets. Put your own opinions aside and follow their lead. You may be astonished by all you learn. Try not to let your emotions show in public; the less you reveal, the more powerful you will be. (c)2003 RussellGrant.com

And here`s your yearly projection:

Cancer (22 June - 23 July)

Love and Romance: As the New Year appears, one of the best ways to find romance is to get out and join other people in recreational activities: leisure and pleasure leads to love! From taking in a class or course or belonging to a group or club - it doesn’t matter - do what you enjoy. Throughout the month of July, kindness, caring and compassion go hand in hand. This has all the makings of a summer that you’ll want to go on and on for ever. Late August or early September is a fine time for a celebration.

Family and Home: Alterations or refurbishments you undertake throughout the year really add a touch of class, glamour and refinement to your surroundings. Keep this in mind when choosing your colour schemes and designs. Pastel blues, peach and pinks set just the right tone if combined with white, creams or ivory hues. A family tiff could arise around Easter time, with you playing the role of peacemaker. All is forgiven, if not exactly forgotten, by mid-September: from this point on relationships are much more sweet and stable.

Your Money: Your financial year gets off to a bumper start with beneficent Jupiter traversing your solar house of wealth and worth. Up until the end of August, you are able to apply your creative genius and energies to their best advantage. A risk or two will not break the bank, but you may have to be a tad more cautious with cash as the nights draw in. Use this time wisely and, come the autumn, you’ll be in a very handsome position indeed. Late 2003 is splendid for splashing out on communications equipment, to land you slap-bang in modern times and living!

Take care and best wishes,
Umer M.

Bina:
Saalgirah mubarak , or if you like, janam din ki badhayee!
In my mind, the arrival of the monsoon is always associated with the fragrance of the earth when the first raindrops hit the parched earth. No flower smells like it and you have to be in the parched summer lands of North India/Pakistan to savour that smell which lasts only a day. Now I am in a land where people pray against and not for rain (unless you are a farmer!).
Romair, you are right about the old films` romantic association with rains. My favourite monsoon film song is ``rim jhim ke taraane leke aayee barsaat`` and my favourite film scene of rain is Madhubala in the film `chalti ka naam gaadi` with Kishore Kumar singing `ik ladki bheegi bhaagi si``.
For hamidm types, too, rains had a special message, like in:
sawan ke maheene mein
ik aag se seene mein
lagti hai tau pi leta hoon
do-chaar gharhi ji leta hoon

temporal#46
Not always. Hum tum, ik kamre mein.........conversely, one can also have `main aur aap`.

roohi:

on the main page of chowk...bottom left corner...click on the name under the i-log box...

sobia:

``wonderful article, i was literally thirsting for rain while reading it. It hasn`t rained in Lahore in ages. I miss it so much. The unnatural darkness in the middle of the day, gusts of wind, the smell of water on thirst earth, thunder and lightening...mmmmm heavenly! ``


...wasn`t the rain just yummy today?...

#46 temporal ... how ? i`m clueless about where the i-logs are ... haven`t read chowk for a long time and it`s changed again ... help

roohi behna (#43) there`s more to Urdu than bihar;)

tahmed#42:

the folks who use the first person plural hum...the Urdu equivalent of the queen`s we address the other as aap not tum or tu

and #43:

check out my i-log please

Roohi #40 It is indeed sad that both sisters died during the operation. I saw them briefly on TV a couple of days ago when they were discussing the operation to separate them. They seemed so brave and cheerful (the more talkative one said how they were ``excited and, and at least I am a little bit nervous``), that when I learnt this morning that they had died, it was as if some dear friends had died. The video shown on TV of the two clicking the camera with the timer on, and then running in front of it to get their picture taken was delightful.

I guess the two sisters showed us that, with a positive and thankful attitude, we can make life enjoyable like a summer monsoon every day.

#41 by hamidm2
behkar, ba`ghaar, whatever ... or even tarka ... but what happened to plain old chonk, not in the vocabulary of your urdu-wallas ? BTW anyone who thinks ``urdu`` speakers are hoity-toity needs a trip to Bihar !!

hamidm2 #41 Interesting that there are so many words for fart in pushto. (gor, teez-mar). I suppose it reflects a kind of specialization, a special expertise. The same way that eskimos have 40 different words for snow. Each word reflecting subtle differences that escape notice on the part of the layman.

As for our karachi brothers and sisters, I am still trying to figure out why the first person so often refers to himself/herself with the royal ``Ham`` while the second person being addressed is kept in his place with a ``Tum``.

My poor panjabi brain begins to tremble and shake with the effort when it tries to understand such matters.

Ref shawaiz #36

[# 17 hamidm
Kaanch/shiisha= Glass
Aaina= Mirror]

But then, I have always been shown a room named Sheesh Mahal (this usually in some erstwhile Sultan`s zenana) which has thousands of itty-bitty pieces of mirror glued to the walls and the ceiling.

Sheesh, guys! Despite borrowing words right and left from a whole lot of languages, you Urduwallahs don`t get things right! May I suggest `darpan` (from Sanskrit) for mirror?