Indian Words

When I lived in London, an Indian friend Raja would always say, “Hey Man!” whenever we met. His name was ‘Raja’, but everyone called him ‘Roger’. He used the word ‘man’ quite liberally and would add it into any conversation at least a few times, the same way some people do with profanity. He had long hair, was extremely chilled, a bit of a hippie, so I kind of expected him to say something like that. One day he must have said it about ten times in one conversation that I simply had to point it out. I suggested he was overusing it just a little. He raised his eyebrows and looked at me very seriously and told me that I did not realize the true significance of what he was saying. I asked him to elaborate and he told me that this was one of the earliest greetings and words used by our ancient Indian ancestors, and connected them to their humanity. I must admit even though I was intrigued, I still thought this was the ramblings of an eccentric at the time. Still, I wanted to hear what he had to say. He explained that the word ‘man’ originally came from Sanskrit that was part of the original language that all European languages had branched off from, over centuries as people migrated Westwards. The Sanskrit word itself was ‘manu’. The original meaning of ‘manu’ was similar to the gender-neutral word ‘human’, as in mankind. After learning about this from him, I researched what he had talked about and found that indeed he had a point, based on the study of language – linguistics.

I wanted to explore the archaic and modern influence of the Indian languages on English. We know that hundreds of words were appropriated into the language from the colonial age when the British ruled India. But well before this, there were already ‘Indian words’ in the whole of Europe. This was observed in the 16^th Century when visitors to the Indian subcontinent noticed similarities among Indo-Persian and European languages.

A hypothesis was formed that there was a relationship between them. Sir William Jones, a philologist, remarked in a lecture on linguistics in 1786 that the structural similarity between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin had to be more than a coincidence, suggesting that there was a common source. Just a few decades later, the term Indo-European was used to describe the relationship and by the mid-1850’s it was accepted that there was a strong historical and geographical relationship which has now been researched for at least the last two hundred years. Proto-Indo-European is the root of these languages that are interconnected like the branches of a tree.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

This also parallels the movement and migration of people known from the genographic project, a genetic anthropological study to examine the migration patterns of people over thousands of years using gene markers in their DNA. There is a strong correlation between the migration patterns and the prevalence of languages related to those people who migrated. 

Ancient DNA and the Proto-Indo-European Homeland Credit: Anthrogenica.com

It is thought that somewhere on the Eurasian Steppes the archaic Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language was born. There are many competing theories about when and where this happened, but many point to the area of the fertile crescent and the rise of agriculture, around 12000 years ago, being the catalyst for the spread and differentiation of these languages. Indo-European languages then flourished over this area as migrations continued in all directions. As a result, we have language trees and common roots of many words in the modern languages that resemble the original words and sounds very closely and others that have changed over time.

Spread of the Proto-Indo-European word for ‘Brother’ Credit: Bigthink.com

I was particularly interested in the connections between the Sanskrit words that had given rise to many of the Indian languages including Urdu and Hindi and the Germanic language- English. English was first used in India as early as the 1600’s, but the official language of the East India Company was originally Persian and later replaced by English in the 1830’s, together with Urdu and Hindi. This was maintained when the British Raj took over governance of the country from 1857 until 1947.

 Urdu and Hindi are both very similar in their syntax and phonology which makes them interchangeable in general speech, although they have totally different scripts. Urdu has a Perso-Arabic script with grammar derived from Persian influence and Hindi has the Devanagari script drawn from Sanskrit. The core vocabulary of both Hindi and Urdu are almost identical being derived mostly from Sanskrit with a substantial component of loanwords from Persian and Arabic. ‘Hindi’ denoting the language comes from the word ‘Hindu’, which is the Persianized version of the Sanskrit ‘Sindhu’ meaning a large body of water or river. This was not originally a religious label, but referred to the civilization of the Indus river valley and was an ethno-geographical term. Since the 16^th century and colonization, the languages evolved into cultural identities of the speakers, but this incontrovertible relationship between the two also gave rise to the concept of ‘Hindustani’ as a pluricentric language with two standardized registers and was endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi as a unifying fusion language. It is also the third most commonly spoken language in the world after English and Mandarin.

The interaction between speakers of the English language and Hindustani during the time of the British Raj left an indelible mark on both languages. There are many English words that have been incorporated into Hindi, particularly during the 19^th and 20^th centuries where modern inventions which had no Hindi equivalent were used. Likewise, there are over 700 words that were learnt by English soldiers, administrators, governors etc, that were transported back to Britain and adopted into the English language. These Indian words came from a variety of languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and the ancient language of Sanskrit. Of course, there are literally hundreds of languages in daily use in the Indian subcontinent with at least 22 scheduled languages and two official languages of the government of India, Hindi and English.

Here is a compiled list of favourite words that are commonly used in English that have Indian origins:

 

Avatar- originally from a Sanskrit word avatarana meaning descent, referring to the descent from heaven by a Hindu god into an earthly incarnation. Later on it became a reference for the embodiment or personification of something and is now commonly used as a graphic representation. 

Bandana- from the Sankrit roots of the Hindi word bandhna, ‘to tie’. A piece of cloth worn around the head or neck originating from the Indian subcontinent.

Blighty- A corruption of the Urdu word vilayati, meaning ‘foreign’. Originally used by British troops in Colonial India as a term of endearment for home. It was then commonly used in the early 20^th Century to refer to Britain and is still used now.

Credit:Sepiamutiny.com 

Bungalow- from the Hindi and Urdu word baṅglā, literally meaning ‘house’ in the Bengali style

Cash- This word is controversial in that it may have also been derived from the Middle French word caisse, as in a case where money was kept which would have been a more local explanation. However there is evidence from logs on ships in the 16^th century that it was only used to denote money after the establishment of the East India Company and the word kasu was already used in Tamil, itself derived from the Sanskrit karsa. 

Cot- from the Hindi khat, a small light bed or crib for a child.

Cummerbund- Urdu origin from the Persian kamarband. Kamar meaning waist.

Cushy- from Urdu and Hindi Khushi which was derived from the Persian word khoši meaning easy, happy, soft.

Dinghy- from ḍīngī in Urdu and Hindi denoting a small rowing boat used on rivers and lakes in India.

Doolally- from the town of Deolali, which in the 19^th Century was the location of a British army base and sanatorium where soldiers were sent before leaving for Britain. Those that became mentally deranged after contacting a fever, or Tap in Urdu, were said to have ‘gone Doolally’.

Dungaree- from the Hindi ḍūṅgrī referring to the coarse calico fabric that was worn by labourers in the Dongari area of Mumbai.

Guru- from Sanskrit Guruh which literally means weighty or heavy used to denote a spiritual leader, as a teacher or one to be honoured.

Jodhpurs- Named after Jodhpur in Rajasthan where similar full-length trousers, baggy around the thighs and hips and narrowed down to the ankle were worn by the Rajputs for horse-riding. They enabled more freedom of movement and were based on Churidar pyjamas.

Juggernaut- after the Sanskrit jagannātha a form of Vishnu- lord of the universe in Hinduism. The massive Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha is well known for its festivals of Rath Yatra when thousands of devotees pull large wooden forms of Vishnu along with his brother and sister along on giant chariots through the streets. Used in English to describe a large vehicle as well as being used metaphorically.

Credit: nationalheraldindia.com

Jungle- from Sanksrit jaṅgala, meaning sparsely grown, arid and uncultivated land. Now used in English to mean any mass of wild and tangled vegetation. 

Karma- from Sanskrit karman, the sum of a person’s actions in life as well as the effect of the actions, hence fate. The cycle of cause and effect is embodied in karma.

Credit: karma-a-osud.cz

Loot- from the Hindi luti, the one who plunders or steals 

Mogul- From Hindi and Urdu originally from the Mongol Emperors known as Moghuls, such as Sha Jahan, the chap who commissioned the Taj Mahal. Used in English to indicate the leader in a field such as a ‘Media Mogul’. 

Punch- From the Hindi and Urdu word panch meaning ‘five’. The drink was originally made up of five ingredients and was particularly popular with the East India Companies’ Employees. 

Pundit- From Sanskrit Payndita, a learned man, scholar or teacher, also a priest.

Pyjamas- From Hindi and Urdu paijaamaa, meaning garment of the leg, originating from Persian. These are still the traditional dress in many parts of India, loose and comfortable that are now worn at bedtime in many Western countries.

Credit: movies.ndtv.com 

Shampoo- derived from the Hindi champo, meaning ‘to knead’ or massage.

Tickety-boo- My personal favourite and an interesting story behind this one. Originally it came from the Hindustani reply to an officer enquiring how everything was going. ‘Thīk hai, bābū’ literally meant, ‘It’s all right, sir’. This was shortened to Tickety-boo!

Credit: Buzzfeed.com

 

You can’t control the tide, but you can learn how to Surf!

 The first time I tried windsurfing I nearly ended up with a severe concussion. It was in Lorient, In Northwest France and I was about 22 years old. I had taken a coach from London to Paris with my friend Malcolm and we were very excited about the prospect of learning to sail. We were staying at a friend’s villa on the coast and we were expecting some good strong winds for the 2 weeks we were there. We had driven up to Lorient from Breuillet, a village south of Paris, where we were staying at our friend Arnaud’s house. It had taken us a good six hours to get there and all along the journey we were talking about windsurfing which was still a relatively new sport that became popular in France in the late 1970’s. Arnaud was quite an experienced windsurfer who had sailed competitively and for pleasure. He had taught others to windsurf and was going to be our instructor on this trip. Little did we know that there was a storm brewing and our single day out on the water turned into the first and last time it was safe to venture out. We arrived in the evening at the villa. Arnaud and his friend Herve, prepared dinner and discussed the plan of action for the next day. They were a little concerned about the weather, but we all wanted it to be windy because, without that, we would not be sailing anywhere. 

The next morning, we got suited up in our wetsuits and Arnaud brought the boards and sails to the beach where we prepared to launch. After some basic instruction, I was out on in the water and struggled to get the sail up while kneeling on the board. The wind was so strong that for a beginner like myself, it was impossible to control the sail and the mast came crashing down on my head, not once, but a total of 3 times. After the 3^rd time, I had enough and gave up, deciding that this windsurfing stuff was not for me. The next day, the wind was even more powerful, and a small craft warning was issued on the radio. Needless to say, we did not venture out that day or for the next two weeks of our stay. We saw boats being wrecked by the high winds and many had capsized in the marina, so our windsurfing adventure turned into a storm watching experience. Although I did not learn to windsurf on this trip, I did get quite good at ‘WhiteWater’ pinball instead which we played daily at the local arcade. 

‘White Water’ The machine that lead to us becoming Pinball Wizards instead of windsurfers

Incidentally, the earliest windsurfers were ‘invented’ by Polynesians who had been riding the wind and waves for centuries, early accounts told of people standing upright on an adapted voyaging canoe with a vertical sail. Much later, in 1948 Newman Darby invented the first ‘sailboard’, but did not have the funds to patent it. The basic design was a rectangular board with a sail attached by a universal joint that allowed the sail to be moved in any direction. The first patented design was actually developed by an aeronautical engineer, Jim Drake who applied the principles of flight to design the sail to function like the wing of an aircraft, pivoting on the universal joint as before. The sail was manoeuvred by adding a wishbone boom, so it could easily be moved in the universal joint while standing. He and his surfer buddy, Hoyle Schweitzer, also changed the design to resemble a surfboard with a fin and added a keel and the windsurfer was born!

Illustration from Patent of windsurfer filed in 1968 Credit: Wikipedia.com

About 10 years later, on English Bay in Vancouver, British Columbia, I was given the opportunity to try again under better conditions, when my friend Charlie suggested I have a go on his windsurfer. I really did not think it was even worth trying as I was much older then and thought that it was too difficult to learn something new that required both technical skills as well as balance. I declined at first, but Charlie insisted that I at least try and balance on the board and see if I could even stand up on that without the sail. He was a better motivator than he was a teacher but sometimes that is precisely what you need to start anything!

I found it easier this time as the water was much calmer, so I managed to get up and stay up for a while. When he saw this, he took me through the basics of how to pull up the sail and hold it, rehearsing on the beach with the mast planted in the sand. Again, I did not have much confidence in myself and half-heartedly went through the motions, though it was more to please my friend than myself.

I managed to get the sail up with the board on the water. It was a beautiful sunny day; the water was calm and there was a gentle breeze. I was standing on the board with the sail correctly positioned and I was just about to lose my balance…when the magic happened! The sail swelled and distended. At the same time, I felt a sensation of being propelled forward with a great force. It was an incredible feeling. The wind had caught in the sail and I was pulled as if by an invisible hand out to sea, not too fast but enough for it to be exhilarating. I heard a friend’s voice shout from behind, “You’re doing It…. you’re actually doing it! It only lasted for about 30 seconds but that was enough to get me hooked. For the next few weeks, I was down at the beach every afternoon, hauling up the sail, practicing the “chicken wing” and falling in the water most of the time. I didn’t manage to actually sail for as long as the first time, but now I couldn’t give up. I was now addicted!

The harnessing of this great force of nature, the wind, to move through the water is a Zen-like moment. There is a strange calmness of mind and body working in unison at a task that is both peaceful as well as exciting, particularly when I reached that instant when all forces were working together. The wind, the waves, the force of my arms pulling in the sail and my balance- everything had to be in the perfect proportion to make the whole system work and propel me forwards. I would imagine the wind as an invisible creature that could be summoned by will and sometimes it seemed like it could. The waves were another kind of animal, sometimes angry and unhelpful to my endeavor, other times calm and serenely guiding me along. I would come down to the beach every day after work practicing, many times just losing my balance and falling in with the sail landing on me unceremoniously.

I was dumped on the beach regularly by the waves 

Sometimes I felt that the wind was playing with me, gusting at just the right moment to send me for a quick burst of speed, only to overpower me a moment later and push me over like a mischievous child. I would continue trying again and again, day after day until the sunset reminded me that it was time to go home.

Summer came and went, and the water became too cold, so I waited till the next summer and took lessons at Jericho beach where there was a sailing school. I perfected my balance and learnt how to tack and jibe. 

Finally getting the hang of it.

By the end of the summer I was confident enough to go out on my own and was now sailing for an hour or more each time. I became good enough to go out in high winds and choppy seas. I was constantly watching the wind radar to see when the wind was strong, and I would particularly go out on those days as I had a need for speed!

English Bay, my home for the summer

 I eventually bought a board and sail from a friend and would sail around English bay on summer afternoons with Charlie. Sometimes we would play “chicken” and sail our boards at each other to see who would be the first one to change course at the last minute.

 

Charlie playing Chicken with his rig

I have never been a great swimmer, but I could always swim far enough with the added buoyancy of a board and lifejacket to get back to shore if there was a problem. It was this lack of respect for the power of nature that was to be my undoing and taught me a lesson I shall never forget.

  I woke up one Saturday morning and looked at the wind forecast for the day. It was about 20-25 knots- a pretty good speed for some high-octane sailing. I made myself some eggs for breakfast to prepare for the day and drove down to the beach. After setting up my rig I looked at the horizon and saw the bent-over sails of some morning sailors and thought I would have some fun that day. As I paddled out on my board, I realized I didn’t have my lifejacket with me, but I had become quite confident in my abilities that I felt I didn’t always need to wear one.

Even if I fell off the board it was not usually too far to get back to the board, so I foolishly carried on. I got up on the board and caught a good strong wind that was constant and not gusting- perfect! In no time at all, I was planing across the water and could feel the wind and spray on my face. The adrenaline was pumping through my body and I did not want to stop. I managed to get to Jericho beach in just 10 minutes and zig-zagged my way out to the mouth of the bay where the water changed colour to a deep blue and the waves and swell where much bigger than I had ever previously experienced. 

I was still unaware of the dangerous situation I was in until a huge gust of wind pushed my sail with such force that I catapulted right over my board and into the water about 15 feet away! The arm that had been holding onto the boom had been yanked so hard, that It felt it had come out of the socket. It hadn’t, but I was in pain and I could not swim as fast as usual. As I got closer to the board, suddenly a wave would take it away further from me. I panicked as the realization dawned on me, I was not wearing a lifejacket and was now out in the open ocean. I prayed that I could get back to my board and put all my effort into swimming as fast as I could before another wave pushed my board further from me. With great difficulty and on a wing and a prayer I somehow managed to grasp my board just as another wave came in. I pulled myself back up on the board while still gasping for breath. I knew that I could not risk being separated again from the board, but I still needed to get back to safety, so I pulled up the sail very slowly.

 Every time I tried to grab the boom the swell of the ocean would unbalance me, and the wind howled around me. It was an impossible task. After about half an hour of struggling with the sail I was out of breath and very tired. I sat on the board, bobbing around in the waves, despondent and somewhat defeated, wondering how on earth I had got myself into this situation. I vowed never to sail without a lifejacket again in high winds or even go out in such conditions this far away from the shore. As I sat there pondering my predicament, I noticed a red dot on the horizon getting bigger and bigger. It was the coastguard who had come out to rescue me! I felt a mixture of embarrassment and relief as they threw me a rope and said they would tow me into the shallows. I talked to the crew as they towed me into shore, and they told me that a small craft warning had been issued and they were telling all the small vessels to come into shore.   

 This incident gave me a healthy respect for mother nature. I have been humbled by the first-hand knowledge that the great forces of water and wind can toss us mere mortal humans around like rag dolls. This just reaffirms the feeling of awe and wonder at the delicate balance of forces that hold our fragile planet together. Now, whenever I decide to go out for a sail, I will usually spend a little time on the beach first looking out at the water and watching the movement of waves and any sails I see on the horizon. I do this partly to gauge the conditions, particularly on windy days, but I also do it to out of a need to maintain that spiritual connection. I know I cannot control these powerful forces, but I can appreciate them and work in unison with them. Since those early days, I have had the good fortune to windsurf in numerous places around the world, including, the Jersey shore in the US, Canada, India, Mexico, Cuba, and Morocco.

Windsurfing in Essaouira, Morocco near one of the ‘Castles Made of Sand’ Jimi Hendrix sang about.

I recommend it to both young and old as a very enjoyable sport, the equipment is much lighter than it was 40 years ago, and it is more about technique than strength. I recently sold my old board and sail to a 70-year-old woman, who was an avid windsurfer in her younger days and recognized my board as the same brand she had previously owned. When I met her, I was reminded of my lack of confidence to try windsurfing in my 30’s. My self-imposed limitations and assumptions came back for a moment. I watched as she balanced herself carefully on the board. Seeing her give the rig a test-run and taking off as easily as if she were riding a bicycle just confirmed you are never too old to do something you enjoy.