Well...this was a really 'intellectual' discussion that we had at the dining table. When I come to think of it, good thoughts always follow good food. That is the universal truth of this world. Believe it or not. And it is these conversations, that have always been enriching...to the mind...to the soul...and in this case...to the funny bone.
This happened at my aunt's place...after a hearty and fulfilling meal of some of the tastiest dishes I've had so far. My uncle, who is an English teacher...a very good one at that, started with the question, "The other day when I was talking to a friend of mine, we got stuck trying to understand what word describes flirt in Hindi. Do you have any idea?"
Now coming from him, it seemed like a big deal, after all, he was the English Guru. If he didn't know, who else would? Us? The Hinglish generation? Jack of all 'languages' and masters of none? Apart from yours truly (studied in convents, got a B.E. followed by an MBA), I had my sister (convent + B.E.), my cousin sister (convent, B.Sc.,M.A.) from our generation. And then there were the elders, two and a half couples in all, two pairs of aunts and uncles and my father. One of the uncles, of course, was the man who jolted us up with the burning issue,"How do you say flirt in Hindi?"
Well, we started with the usual evading the answer, followed by making really dumb guesses, like, "ghumana (taking a person around)", "rijhaana (entice)", "nain matakka","chakkar chalaana (trying to get someone laid?-could be something better)"..and well, that's the closest we got. But, none, as you might have understood, if you know Hindi, qualified to be called 'flirt'.
That is when it hit us. You can't flirt in Hindi. And once this statement was made, we all broke into peals of laughter. How did this not strike us earlier? You can only do so much in your language, and apparently, you cannot flirt in Hindi, it is a very 'English' act. And this being true, if in all your life, you have flirted with any person on earth, you have my dear friend, been English. :)
This happened at my aunt's place...after a hearty and fulfilling meal of some of the tastiest dishes I've had so far. My uncle, who is an English teacher...a very good one at that, started with the question, "The other day when I was talking to a friend of mine, we got stuck trying to understand what word describes flirt in Hindi. Do you have any idea?"
Now coming from him, it seemed like a big deal, after all, he was the English Guru. If he didn't know, who else would? Us? The Hinglish generation? Jack of all 'languages' and masters of none? Apart from yours truly (studied in convents, got a B.E. followed by an MBA), I had my sister (convent + B.E.), my cousin sister (convent, B.Sc.,M.A.) from our generation. And then there were the elders, two and a half couples in all, two pairs of aunts and uncles and my father. One of the uncles, of course, was the man who jolted us up with the burning issue,"How do you say flirt in Hindi?"
Well, we started with the usual evading the answer, followed by making really dumb guesses, like, "ghumana (taking a person around)", "rijhaana (entice)", "nain matakka","chakkar chalaana (trying to get someone laid?-could be something better)"..and well, that's the closest we got. But, none, as you might have understood, if you know Hindi, qualified to be called 'flirt'.
That is when it hit us. You can't flirt in Hindi. And once this statement was made, we all broke into peals of laughter. How did this not strike us earlier? You can only do so much in your language, and apparently, you cannot flirt in Hindi, it is a very 'English' act. And this being true, if in all your life, you have flirted with any person on earth, you have my dear friend, been English. :)
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