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amma: n. [Orig. Dravidan languages] mother. Amma may also be used to address a female
(of any age) in a respectful or kind or friendly way. The first letter is capitalised, as Amma
when referring a female deity, political leader (AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu),
or a godwoman (Mata Amritananda Mayi in Kerala).
Synonym: annan
The younger brother is known as thambi. South Indians are referred as Annalog in North
India.
Sometimes, a marriage broker who keeps a database of eligible men and women can help
find a suitable match.
ashirvad: n. [Orig. Hindi] blessing; go-ahead; sanction. The PM met Ms. Sonia Gandhi to seek
her aashirvad.
ashram:
auto: n. auto-rickshaw
Refers to a legislator who joins a new party after leaving his old one when the former is poised
to form the government. Usually found as Aya Ram, Gaya Ram.
ayah:
1. n. grandmother
Baba: Shirdi Sai Baba; title for a holy man, babu: n. [Hindi] government official; civil servant,
babudom: n. bureaucracy or babucracy, backbencher: n. a student who sits in the back of the
classroom, background: degree
In the stockmarkets, the badla system involves buying shares using borrowed money., bahu:
n. [Orig. Hindi] daughter-in-law. Also, seesaas., bandh: v. [Hindi] public strike as a protest
Under the Negiotable Instruments Act, financial instruments remain valid for the next working
day if the last date falls on a designated bank holiday.
The colour of Basmati rice is a translucent, creamy white. Upon cooking, the rice grows twice
as long but does not fatten much. The texture is firm and tender without splitting. It is also
non-sticky. The aroma in Basmati arises from a cocktail of 100 compounds — hydrocarbons,
alcohols, aldehydes and esters.
batchmate: n. [Hindi] one who graduated with the same batch but not from the same class
behen: sister
Suffix: -ji
benami: n. [Hindi] illegal property or transactionin the name of another person, who acts a
proxy for the real beneficiary
berth:
1. n. a seat in a sleeper compartment on a train where one can stretch completely flat to
sleep. Only a confirmed reservation ticket is provided with a berth.
bhai: n. brother
Synonym: bhaiyya
In Bombay, Bhai is a member of an underworld gang. Bhailog are gangsters. The term Bhai
was brought to popular parlance via gangster films financed by underworld dons.
Apparently, they did not like to be called criminals.
bhajan: devotional song
Does not have a filter nor can be used with a cigerette filter
bike: n. a two-wheeler that has a kick starter. Syn. motorbike. A motorcycle is a different sort
of two-wheeler, which has a pedal that is used as a starter.
bits:
1. n. pieces of paper on which answer material is written and used to cheat exams.
bold: adj. In Bollywood, a bold actress is one who pretends to make her private assets public.
She "pretends to" because nudity is not allowed by the censors.
Bollywood: n. The Bombay film industry, which produces mainly Hindi movies. Also see
Kollywood and Tollywood.
Bombaiyya: n. Bombay-speak
borewell: a deep bore dug into the ground for drawing water
Synonym: tubewell
brinjal: n. Not the strange aubergine (British) or the weird eggplant (American). Solanum
melongena is Brinjal. Sounds like a real vegetable. No self-respecting vegetable would want
to be known as eggplant.
broadminded:
2. broadminded couple: a married couple willing to take or swap sexual partners with
other couples or individuals; swingers
4. Often found in classified advertisements, asking brokers not to come up with offers as
the advertiser would prefer to deal directly with the original parties.
Bullet: Royal Enfield Bullet motorbike; the greatest bike on the planet
bunk:
v. [South Indian slang] avoid classes (in schools and colleges). Syn. cut.
capitation fees: fees charged by an educational institution over the approved fee structure in
the guise of donation or any other form of profiteering
casual leave: leave not covered under designated leaves such as medical leave
chaiwallah: n. Tea shop owner or a person who prepares and sells tea drinks.
Ja means go.
Chanakya:
chappals: n. slippers (footwear). Unlike in the West, chappals are used outdoors in India
because nobody wears footwear inside the house.
chargesheet:
Examples:
charpoy: a cot
checkpost: n. [Hindi] a compulsory stop on a road where goods, passengers, and documents
are checked and recorded
Chennai: The new name for the City of Madras. The name Chennai was previously used only
in Tamil.
* - a female pig
chit: n. a financial scheme in which a group of people put in a fixed amount every
day/week/month and one of them gets to collect the entire amount by lucky draw each time.
Antonym: bada
churidar: In North India, certain kind of garments worn by men and woman. In South India,
where the female variety has become widely popular, only women are known to wear
churidars. If a gent comes to the South and expresses a desire to wear a churidar, he laughed
at. A churidar in the South is a combination of salwar, khameez and duppatta. Check the
Google Image search for churidar.
City of Joy: n. Wrongly attributed to Calcutta(or Kolkotta) after Dominique Lapierre wrote a
book with the same name. The story is set in a Kolkatta slum called Anand Nagar, whose
literal translation is City of Joy.
clean chit: n. exoneration; a not-guilty verdict
Examples:
Used to make ropes, doormats, wall hangings, dolls, animal figurines, etc.
communal party: n. a political party that does not have a secular outlook on religious issues.
convent English: n. supposedly a highly quality of English; or the speaking ability, thanks to
being educated in an English convent (run by Western missionaries.)
Before Independence, convents run by Christian missionaries were usually the only ones that
had English-medium schools.
cool bar: [South Indian] a stall or shop selling soft drinks or fruit juices
country fellow: n. villager; a person not used to the ways of the city
Example: A loaded .12-bore countrymade pistol was recovered from the suspect.
cousin-brother: n. cousin
as opposed to a sibling
dabba:
2. n. box
Punjabi dhabas are open-air restaurants, usually found alongside national highways. They
are mainly patronised by truck drivers. The patrons are usually seated on charpoys.
Dacoits also burgle houses. Gangs of dacoits have been known to raid and pillage small
villages.
dakshin: n. [Hindi]
Uttar - North
Dakshin - South
Purab - East
Paschim - West
dal: assembly; party; gram; lentils
dandia: n. [Gujrati] a Gujrati group dance form where men and women participate in
pairs
The dancers hold decorated bamboo sticks called dandias in their hands. At the end of
these "dandias", tiny bells or ghungroos are tied, which create a jingling sound when
the sticks are struck with each other.
Dandiyas, along with garbhas, are very popular during the Navratri season in October.
Dearness Allowance: cash payment made to employees by the employer to offset the effect
of inflation
Abbreviation: DA
desi:
Origin: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye's celebrated 1917 novel of the same name.
Synonym: daulat
dharna: picketing
Related: gherao
dhoti: n. [Hindi] noun strip of cloth to cover the lower part of the body ie., from the hip to the
ankles.
dias: n. dais
A caption in The Times of India once said, "I am a very domesticated person," quoting
Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala.
doubt: n. question.
Example: I have some doubts in mathematics. Can you help me?
Suggested by: Linda J Michaelsen
As a result of harrasment by husband and/or in-laws for the sake of more or adequate
dowry
drumstick: n. [Hindi] Mooringa olifera, a long narrow vegetable that grows from a tree.
Also, see:
Emergency: n. [Hindi] In 1975, Indira Gandhi suspended the constitution and imposed an
internal emergency when the opposition parties made undemocratic attempts topple her
democtratically elected government
A ridiculous euphemism, no doubt, similar to the making love nonsense used by native
English speakers.
enthu: n. enthusiasm
Example: My teacher is full of enthu when he is speaking with a girl.
Eve: n. woman/women
Examples:
Many tactics such as whistling, innuendoes, catcalls, singing, dancing, sign-making and
sometimes even sexual assault, are employed.
extern: n. apply a court order banning a person from showing up in a given area
Example: The police inspector told me to either pay him protection money of Rs 20,000 or he
will involve me in some case and have me externed.
eyewash: n. masquerade; coverup; pretense.
Example: The BJP says that the Sonia Gandhi’s "supreme sacrifice drama" is just an eyewash.
fancy store: n. [Tamil Nadu] a store selling stationary and other items which help students
perform their homework, assignments, and projects
feni: n. a liquor drink popular in Goa. Caju is feni brewed from cashew. Toddy is a liquor drink
brewed from coconut shoots. Unlike caju, toddy is not a Goan speciality and is brewed in
other states.
Example: Hey, that guy is showing film with his new bike.
A firangi is a foreigner.
foreign hand: n. involvement of a foreign government, usually its spy agency in a local
incident
functionalities: n. capabilities
Plural of functionality
Gandhian:
gangman: n. a railway worker whose job is to maintain and check the safety of railway tracks
ganja: dried hemp leaves or the resinous form of marijuana prepared from flowering tops of
the hemp plant.
Refers to a legislator who leaves his own party to join another when the latter is poised to form
the government. Usually found as Aya Ram, Gaya Ram.
ghat:
1. river bank
3. cremation grounds
4. mountain ranges along the east and west coasts of India i.e., Eastern Ghats and
Western Ghats
Related: dharna
gobar gas: n. [Hindi] cooking gas produced from a percolation tank for animal dung
Plural: godmen
Feminine: godwoman
godown: n. warehouse
Gangsters are called dadas. The singular formdada (father) usually denotes the gang leader.
gora: white-skinned person
greens: spinach
gumastha: n. clerk
hafta: n. bribe
half ticket:
1. train ticket given to a child below the age of 4, which is half the price of a normal ticket.
handwash: n.
Usually before or after eating. Most Indians eat with their right hand.
This was a politically correct term was given by Mahatma Gandhi to Scheduled Castes
people.
In the 1990s, many militant SC/ST groups opposed the use of this name and have since then
preferred the use of the term Dalits, which means "depressed classes."
hawala: n./adj. [Hindi/Urdu] an illegal system of remitting cash from abroad to India. The
hawala dealer accepts hard currency abroad and instructs an associate to deliver Indian
rupees to a recipient living in India. No money passes through official channels. Since such
transactions cause no benefit to India´s foreign exchange reserves, it is banned.
The reason for its popularity is because hawala dealers offer higher exchange rates and the
transfer is done with very little delay or expense and leaves no paper trail. Hawala operations
are closely allied with other illegal activities such as gold smuggling or drug trafficking.
The hawala dealer living abroad gets a good supply of hard currency with which he buys
gold (or drugs or arms). He sends the contraband to his Indian associate who then sells it in
India. The Indian associate uses the Indian currency he gets by selling the contraband and
fulfills his commitments to make hawala payments to the individuals referred by the hawala
dealer. The huge margins available in trading in currency and smuggling in contraband
keeps the hawala operations in profit.
The hawala system is so efficient and so difficult to trace back that even foreign intelligence
agencies like the Pakistani ISI use the hawala system to send funds to their colloborators in
India.
head bath: n. [Tamil Nadu] a bath that includes the washing the head
headweight: n.
conceitedness
healthy: adj. short
heat and dust: The rough and tumble or thehardships associated with Indian life.
Hindi belt: Hindi speaking states of Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, and Uttaranchal
the growth rate clocked by the Indian economy in the 60s and 70s
Hinduism: n. There is no such thing as Hinduism. Contrary to what many experts say, it is
not even a way of life. There is no common scripture or single deity to qualify as a religion,
as exemplified by Christianity or Islam. There certainly was and is a Hindu civilization. There
are numerous Hindu castes that have some religion-like characteristics. Each Hindu caste is
organized around an occupation and a deity. When Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and
Christianity were introduced through proselytization, the descendants of the converts were
considered to belong to another caste. After the Revolt of 1857 against East India Company
and the direct establishment of British rule in India, the British sought to keep Indians
divided and treated seperately. Hindu castes were then grouped under a "Hindu religion"
and other groups such as Sikhs, and Muslims were made separate from what was a common
Indian civilization. Even then, for many years afterwards, the words Indian and Hindu were
synonymous.
Hindus: Originally applied to all Indians;inhabitants of the lands adjoining the banks of river
Sindh. After the British started scripting Indian history and particularly after the Revolt of
1857, this term has been used to refer to the majority community in India, as distinct from
other groups such as Sikhs and Muslims.
Hindustan: land of Hindus; another name for India. The term Hindus refers to all Indians.
Before the British started writing Indian History, Indians of all denominations were referred
asHindus.
Hindustani:
2. n. an Indian.
Hindutva:
n. [Sanskrit] political strategy followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies
for consolidating the "Hindu" vote bank behind them in elections
Sangh Parivar and its allies, such as Bajrang Dal & Shiv Sena - also known as the
Hindutva Brigade
hooch: n. illegally brewed liquor. A hooch tragedy occurs when industrial alcohol or carelessly
distilled alcohol (which contains poisonous methanol) is consumed.
horn OK please: if you are going to overtake, please sound the horn
hukka: n. [Hindi] tobacco smoking apparatuswhich allows the smoke to pass through a bowl
of water before being inhaled