Yavanika

tough luck !! eeh ?

#22
Yes Rahul, I guess the poetess herself has to come to our rescue:)
Thanks for welcoming to the club.I`m not sure how much I would really contribute to writing at this site but reading would happen regularly. Keep going Rahul and give us good reading!!

Cheers.

Mrinal,

Welcome to the club, glad I could be of help!! You summed it all - the meanings of Yavanika and related words. This definitely does not mean ``queen of youth``. I`m wondering if ``yuvanika`` or ``yauvanika`` would be more appropriate, again I`m clueless whether it really means that. Maybe, the poetess of this poem will have to come to our rescue :-)

mr292,

I appreciate you helping out with the story. The story may have loose parts, weak opening, an anti-climax end and all that!! But, this is my first story and if you are trying to see a mirror image of O`Henry, Jeffery Archer or worst Naipaul, your disappointment is well earned :-)

Ummm, why did I like her? Did you get a chance to see that brilliant work of Farhan Akhtar, ``Dil Chahta Hai``? Akshay Khanna poses the same question to a side-kick who is all over Aamir Khan - ``Sochta hoon, koi kisiko kyon chahta hai?`` (Wonder why someone likes somebody) And the reply says it all, ``Mujhe nahin maloom`` (I don`t know). She doesn`t know, no one knows why someone likes someone else?

There are people who have universal appeal, their good looks, their mannerisms; their health gets them instant attention. There are those who impress over a period of time. In her case, it was a mix of both. She was pretty, her good looks demanded attention. She was intelligent and most importantly interesting. These qualities ensure that you don`t get bored when the interaction increases.

``I am sure her distinguishing traits are not limited to``, this was a short story, not Ramayana :-) As for her qualities, would it suffice to say that if I don`t write a novel on her, someone else will? She was good. Even if we were vague acquaintances, I would say the same about her.

``Does god exist``

Buddy, for your sake I hope He does :-)

rahul...
When I clicked on the story, I thought I would get to read some fascinating piece of mythology..but my hopes were dashed out after the first paragraph.
Anyways, can`t really understand the relationship you had with her. One moment, you were good friends and at other times you had to sneak into a discussion to make your presence known.
The story was okay, but it did get a little vague in the middle. And wasn`t there any other side to your relationship except debates?

I first saw her talking to Garv. The first sight was cut short by teacher’s ............ZZZZZzzzZZZ

And the award for weakest opening ever goes to......

Generic, more specifically chowk generic. Maybe you want to tell me why you liked her, (IF you liked her). Why I would like her. How she maybe similar to someone I had liked in my past. And yeah, do it all in the first line.

I am sure her distinguishing traits are not limited to:
a. Talking to Garv.
b. Kicking your ass in debate. (shouldnt be too hard if you wrote the speech yourself)
c. Sending you love notes you were too stupid to comprehend.
d. Thinking up Yavanika.


and Rahul, Does god exist?

Rahul,
Firstly thanks for having directed me to this site.As I had commented on the article at rediff blogs about the meaning of Yavanika ``In the great grammar of Panini in order to distinguish three feminine forms of yavana(Greek or foreigner)- a Greek woman was yavani, the curtain was yavanika, and the Greek script was yavanani``
Many reiterate the same over here as well.But if you get some other meaning or the one u`ve mentioned in the article - please do clarify.
Thanks
Mrinal

Jang,

I had a hearty laugh!! Yes, the time after primary education is ripe for such fantasies - Mrs. Mathur types :-) One thing I can`t take is someone messing up with Mr Bakth`s characterization, the man was simply loved by all students. A rotund, cheerful man, his immaculate suits gave away his `phirang` education. It was his insistence that we sing the national anthem, ``saare jahan se acchha`` and say the national pledge everyday. Every week (or was it every alternate day), he used to address us in the morning assembly. The lecture on morality, discipline and hard work was always peppered with the ``hare and tortoise`` story. The jet black hair always neatly parted to one side was the cynosure of all eyes; all students wondered if they’ll be able to afford such a good wig when they get bald :-)

Lathika,

Thanks for the compliments!! I met Garv a couple of times after school, our boy had transformed to a really dashing man. If my memory isn`t playing prank on me, he was her ``muhbola bhai``. No, I never asked him. It would have been unnatural, or so I thought. I relied on the Hindi movie reunion, with a song and dance, never materialized though!!

``I could only guess what she meant `image of a hand resting on a partition` probably she knew you both were not going to continue in the same school``. Yes, she was a philosophical person, could have thought on those lines!!

``at age 12 presenting a card itself was something``, I`m in no way accusing her of stinginess of words. Maybe, it was her way of saying a true friend.

The `Yavanika` thing is really egging me to do some research. Our friends have clearly pointed out that it means curtain and has a linkage to Yavana. The issue is that she couldn`t have made such a basic mistake, her Hindi was good and her mother was a Hindi writer.

``Careful you may miss on her if she is wearing contact lenses these days``, didn`t occur to me. Thanks!! Girl with contact lenses definitely widens my horizon :-)

Yavan was used for Greeks (derived from Ionian; although Alexander was a Macedonian Greek, many of his governors in Persia / Bactria were Ionian Greeks). The use of backdrops in classical plays was borrowed from the Greeks, hence Yavanika for curtain.

Hi,

Would have loved to read the long story.....absolutely fabulous piece and reflects the sensitive side of you. I`m sure you would have asked Garv about her after she left your school.Well, as for the card...I could only guess what she meant `image of a hand resting on a partition` probably she knew you both were not going to continue in the same school. As for she not writing anything in the card...at age 12 presenting a card itself was something ...special moreover this was 15 years back..I guess that speaks of she considering you as a true friend. Meaning of `Yavanika` is another debate.Anyways hope to read more from you.

P.S. - ``Footnote: I stare the spectacled girls a little longer than usual, just in case I bump into her Filmi style!!`` Careful you may miss on her if she is wearing contact lenses these days:)) No pun intended!!

rahul
this yawnika thing is definately about self-obsession and insecurity rather than spring romance. in 6-7 th grade, apropriate subject of romantic fantasy would offcourse have been your your english teacher, mrs mathur (the glasses thing is clearly a red-herring). in any case perhaps we have to settle for ``alternative`` sketch of mr bakth instead ;-)

Good observation!! The character is egoistic, or is it an attempt to hide his shy nature, a defence mechanism, if you will.

The central character is the girl. This is the story as I saw it, seeing it from some other angle will definitely bring forth other dimensions. I don`t have the benefit of those other angles, so I didn`t want to hazard a guess.

The rank holder thing is another interesting observation. I just reported the things matter-of-factly. Though, the frequent reference to rank points to my own obsession with this.

Who knows, how she may react if she ever reads this :-)

[#10 by rahulmal on June 5, 2004 9:41am PT

* * *

This is autobiographical.

* * *

Einstein,

* * *

my central character]

So this central character is you I presume. Don`t you think that it is rather egotistic to declare your own speech as fantastic. Would it not be better if the character receives praise from somebody else who then says that it was fantastic?

Also this character is always in first 3 ranks whereas your object of love (the girl) is in top ten. If I were this girl and if I were to read this story, I would just say: ``Go to hell you rankholder mama`s boy, you are incapable of loving anyone but yourself``.

# 10 by rahulmal

+++++
[Yavana] means Greeks, Turks, Mongols and all those who were not a part of Indian society
+++++

I had read somewhere that ``Yavana`` comes from Ionia which is the ancient region of West Asia Minor along the Aegean coast. So, at least in its original usage, Yavana referred to the Greeks.

Yavanika is the curtain.

Yauvan is youth.

Yauvanika might perhaps refer to things pertaining to youth.

I am pretty sure that there are some people on this website who are yavanika. Hamidm is one for sure and other is..... I mean in panjabi

Yavanika is not Yauvan ki rani-I didn`t get killed by advanced Hindi and do Sanskrit, which I enjoyed a little more-for nothing. The grammatical rules of `sandhi` and `samas` still leap out at me when I look at a word.
If it`s autobiographical, have you tried looking for her on the net? Good luck.

Hi Sadna, Manzoor, rahul_capri, einstein, ss_siddiqui and jang,

Thanks a lot for your comments!!

This is autobiographical. I`ve changed some names to take care of sensibilities of my friends and acquaintances that were a part of this. This was straight from the heart, no exaggeration, and no fiction, only a glimpse of my life as I see it after 15 years.

Jang and Sadna,

Thanks for the help on Yavana. This is one of the most debated words in Hindu lexicon. Despite the storm over the rightist and leftist interpretations of Indian history, there is a broad agreement on the meaning of this term- it refers to those who are outside the pale of caste system. So, it means Greeks, Turks, Mongols and all those who were not a part of Indian society in those times. Interestingly, this does not refer to Buddhists and Jains who were supposedly propagating a new religion. Historians have not come up with satisfactory answers, and I won`t risk guesswork too!!

Einstein,

I wanted to write a long story, but the fear of no getting published forced me to cut it short. My worldview has evolved from my experience as an irritable teenager in a public school of a North-Indian city. The original piece was much longer than this. But I have done full justice to my central character. I`ll surely write another one to capture Mr. Bakth, Mr. Ghosh and my best friend Sharique, whenever I get a chance.

Manzoor,

My mail ID is rahulmal4@rediffmail.com Not sure whether this will appear as such in the post!!

Cheers,
Rahul