Feel Like Breaking Something?
Mera desh mahaan, log phir bhi pareshan
My country is great, but the people are still upset/unhappy
Dekho, magar sirf pyar se
You may look at me, but do so only with love
Thand rakh, ai bhi pass ho jana hai
Stay cool, this too will pass
Duniya gol hae, phir milenge, ta-ta, bye, bye
The earth is round, we’ll meet again, ta-ta, bye
Rab hi malik hae
God is the boss
The above would evoke a sense of ‘déjà vu’ in anyone who has traversed some roads in India. Such avowals, and plenty more philosophical and comical ones, are painted on auto rickshaws, trucks, and buses throughout the country. Reading these and pondering their relevance to life is a pursuit that helps keep my mind off traffic and pollution.
Another very common declaration on auto rickshaws is “Buri nazar wale, tera moonh kala”, which translates to, “To the one with the evil eye, may your face be blackened”. In the Indian culture a face is blackened to insult an individual. However, walking to my hotel in Dehradun I saw a parked auto rickshaw that said-
Buri nazar wale, tera bhi bhala ho
To the one with the evil eye, may you be blessed as well.
I stopped. I read the saying again. This was a first for sure! A diminutive smile sprung on my lips. I chuckled. In spite of the blazing sun overhead, I felt a wisp of cool shade find its way to my heart.
I went over the auto rickshaw person. “Where to?” he asked, I answered, “I don’t really need to go anywhere, but may I speak with you for a minute?” He looked at me quizzically through his over-sized sun glasses, shifted a bit in his bright red, skin-tight, transparent shirt that showed off his bulging biceps. Then ignoring me, he started digging under his extra-long hot-pink painted pinky with a screw driver. I repeated my question and he shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly; reminding me of my teenager saying, “What ever.”
Deciding to get to the point, I asked him, “This saying written on your auto, did you get it painted?”
“Yes, why?” he quipped.
“I found it very interesting. What made you change the ‘black face’ one to this one?”
He laughed. The sun glasses came off. I could see his large black eyes lighten up. “Madam ji, I like breaking things. I broke my parents dream when I dropped out of school. I break a bottle of alcohol every night. I break the hearts of girls in this city. I break the bodies of people who mess with me. This time I decided to break something different- the chain”.
I reminded myself to breathe. And asked, “Break which chain ji?” The ‘ji’ tumbled out on its own. I wanted to ensure he felt respected.
“The chain of evil eyes, Madam ji. See, if you look at me with an evil eye, and I blacken your face, you will look at me the same way again. The evil will keep coming back to me. Instead if I ask God to bless you; I break the chain of evil eyes and black faces. Better for me too, correct na”, he said it all in one breath.
Wow! Could breaking something ever be better?
My country is great, but the people are still upset/unhappy
Dekho, magar sirf pyar se
You may look at me, but do so only with love
Thand rakh, ai bhi pass ho jana hai
Stay cool, this too will pass
Duniya gol hae, phir milenge, ta-ta, bye, bye
The earth is round, we’ll meet again, ta-ta, bye
Rab hi malik hae
God is the boss
The above would evoke a sense of ‘déjà vu’ in anyone who has traversed some roads in India. Such avowals, and plenty more philosophical and comical ones, are painted on auto rickshaws, trucks, and buses throughout the country. Reading these and pondering their relevance to life is a pursuit that helps keep my mind off traffic and pollution.
Another very common declaration on auto rickshaws is “Buri nazar wale, tera moonh kala”, which translates to, “To the one with the evil eye, may your face be blackened”. In the Indian culture a face is blackened to insult an individual. However, walking to my hotel in Dehradun I saw a parked auto rickshaw that said-
Buri nazar wale, tera bhi bhala ho
To the one with the evil eye, may you be blessed as well.
I stopped. I read the saying again. This was a first for sure! A diminutive smile sprung on my lips. I chuckled. In spite of the blazing sun overhead, I felt a wisp of cool shade find its way to my heart.
I went over the auto rickshaw person. “Where to?” he asked, I answered, “I don’t really need to go anywhere, but may I speak with you for a minute?” He looked at me quizzically through his over-sized sun glasses, shifted a bit in his bright red, skin-tight, transparent shirt that showed off his bulging biceps. Then ignoring me, he started digging under his extra-long hot-pink painted pinky with a screw driver. I repeated my question and he shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly; reminding me of my teenager saying, “What ever.”
Deciding to get to the point, I asked him, “This saying written on your auto, did you get it painted?”
“Yes, why?” he quipped.
“I found it very interesting. What made you change the ‘black face’ one to this one?”
He laughed. The sun glasses came off. I could see his large black eyes lighten up. “Madam ji, I like breaking things. I broke my parents dream when I dropped out of school. I break a bottle of alcohol every night. I break the hearts of girls in this city. I break the bodies of people who mess with me. This time I decided to break something different- the chain”.
I reminded myself to breathe. And asked, “Break which chain ji?” The ‘ji’ tumbled out on its own. I wanted to ensure he felt respected.
“The chain of evil eyes, Madam ji. See, if you look at me with an evil eye, and I blacken your face, you will look at me the same way again. The evil will keep coming back to me. Instead if I ask God to bless you; I break the chain of evil eyes and black faces. Better for me too, correct na”, he said it all in one breath.
Wow! Could breaking something ever be better?
posted by Anu at
2:30 PM
4 Comments
