Thursday, January 10, 2008

Move over, Mother Goose!

My family has always been big on poetry. Proof of this fact lies in the lyrical beauty of the doggerels that have been passed down over generations from father to daughter, mother to son, driver to ex-gardener... and finally down to me.

I have therefore decided to preserve the following family heirlooms in a stainless steel tiffin box filled with liquid Nitrogen. The tiffin box will then be jettisoned into outer space, as a complete representation of modern civilization on earth.
Move over, Mother Goose.
(Refer Glossary below for word meanings)

Announcements:
One ara two ara dikkara dun
Aval kaaval must be done
KaLLan KuLLan twenty one
Ah, you may bluqq.
(Tanglish + Gibberish:
A one, a two, a dikk and a dunn
Waiting watching must be done
Robber, shorty 21
Ah, you may bluqq
(gesture slicing throat with tongue out))

Son who temple salt flour needle gone
( Pun on Pillaiyaar koil Upma oosi pochu (Tamil)
=The upma in the Ganesha temple went bad)

Proposals:
Leaf lotus Only one pearl umbrella
(Pun on Yele kamala onde ondu muthu kodey (Kannada)
=Hey Kamala give us a kiss)

Travelogues:
Bambai ku jaana
Daarili obba koothidha
Ra, ra ani chepthe
Vardhille ant chonna
What shall I do?
(Pentalingual
Pig Hindi: When I went to Bombay
Kannada: A man was on the road
Pig Telugu: I told him "come, come with me"
Pig Tamil: He said, "No I won't"
English: What shall I do?)

Once I went to Vellayani *
There I saw a Kalyani
Sitting on a Mullani*
Eating Bombay Biriyani


Once I went to a Chinese Shop
There I saw a chinese lady
This what she said to me:
"Aye aye chick-a-dye
Um pum poori
Out goes you
And that is you."

I and Mary

Went for a waak
Mary fell

And tore her fraak

Appushasthri and Kuppushastry
Went to Kalahasthri
There they saw a
Kuppai thotti mesthri*
They took him to aspathri*
And put plasthri*



Philosophy:
Brandy ni thraagithe
Brahmandamga untaru
Whisky ni thraagithe
Vishwa roopam choosthaaru
Saaraayi thraagithe
Swarga lokam pothaaru.
(Telugu:
If you drink brandy
You'll be fantastic
If you drink Whisky
You'll see the real you
If you drink toddy
You'll go straight to heaven)

Mottai mottai molagu saar
Kambli mottai dei Kumar!
(Gibberish+Tamil:
Baldy baldy pepper sir,
blanket baldy hey Kumar!)
Perhaps Tamilized version of the Hindi:
Motey, motey, maalguzaar
Gamley motey de kumhar
(Fatty fatty landlord man,
Give you fat pots, the potter can.))

It adhu but aadre
What yenu??
(Kanglish:Translations inbuilt)

I naan, me naan
Thou nee, you nee
He 'van, she 'vaL
It adhu they 'vargal

(Tanglish: Translations inbuilt)

Sher-o-shayri:
Karuppu naayikki
(wah wah huzzoor, karuppu naayikki?)

Haan. Karrupu naayikki - vaal illeyyy
(mashallah! maar hi dalogey)
Karuppu. Naayikki. Vaal Illeyy...
Kaapi thaNNikki paal Illey.
(Waaaah wah wah wah)
(Tamil, in imitation of a mushaira:
The black dog has no tail
The black coffee has no milk)

Other contributions welcome. Nitrogen is expensive, and we have a whole stainless steel dabba to fill. Quick!
*Glossary:
Vellayani = a place in Kerala
mullani = foal
kuppai thotti mesthri = garbage collector
aspathri = hospital
plasthri = plaster

62 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ayyo..ell shuroo maadli saahebre!
Guitar accompaniment iddra bhaaL besht aakkyth nod-ri!

I went to Nilgiri
I saw VV Giri
eating pani puri
and
doing dada giri

heyyy

aarth-lthoo, tun-tulthoo, tun-tulthoo thoo.
aarth-lthoo, tun-tulthoo, tun-tulthoo thoo.

I went to Pakistan
saw a big Pathan
wearing a thongattaan
and
playing chokkattaan!

aarth-lthoo, tun-tulthoo, tun-tulthoo thoo.
aarth-lthoo, tun-tulthoo, tun-tulthoo thoo.

I went to Chennai
saw a poonai
sitting on a thiNNai
and
playing the veeNai

heyy

aarth-lthoo, tun-tulthoo, tun-tulthoo thoo.
aarth-lthoo, tun-tulthoo, tun-tulthoo thoo

Guruvarya Ogden Nash avarige jayavaagali!

maxdavinci said...

enna kodumai saravannan idhu!

Unknown said...

nange ninnastu chennagi padhya bareyokke barallappa...college nalli AIDS AWARENESS-ge beedhi naataka (street drama)maadidhvi..adhralli dhairya maadi ondu olle kannada haadanna kachada ebsidhvi..maja itthu..nodi helu yaava haadu antha :o)

aids roga bandaaga bandhu ava satthaaga
satthu ava hodaaga yochisu neeneegaaaaaaa

ayyayyoooooo ayyayyooooooo

jenantha maathaalli olavemba rathadalli
naguvemba hoo chelli karedaaga aa LILLy
marulaadhe hagalalli alliddhe irulalli
aval thandha novige modalalli kone illi
ky beesi karedaaga kan muchchi hodaaga
neenalli idddaga ee roga bandaagaaaaaa

rogaaaaaaaaaaa rogaaaaaaa

:o)

ee namma naataka-na thogondu hogi navrang, bashyam circle, southend circle antha jaagadallella maadidhvi..in the middle of the roads..yen response gottha..full khushi aaythu :o)

Bit Hawk said...

Dude, your drawings are too good...I did not understand all your poems (Not everyone knows as many languages as you right? ;) ) but whatever I understood it was fun :))

Anonymous said...

Innondh thogo-ri!

I went to Katpadi
I saw a poNdaati.
I told her "ennaadi"
and
she pulled my dhaadi!

Heyy

Aarth..

moody crab said...

ROTFLMAO

bombaat guru.. nagu thadkolakke agthilla... :D

RustyNeurons said...

Awesome drawings!!!!
If ever you want to retire, you dont have to worry at all!! drawing teachers with a sense of humour are rare to find :)

Divya said...

ay quite a drawyer u r no....wat a lovely.....i heard this when i was a kid:

bas bas re teri dosti,
dil ko jala diya
chai pilatoon bolke
pani piladiya.

too much no us Hyderabadi's r

Usha said...

WE have a longer version of oh onnara dakkara dooara done It goes:
oh onnara dakkara dooara done
yaval kaval musky done
Ya You may bluk
blukqa thooki mele pota
nagaratna pambu
pambai thokki mele pota
panchavqrna kili
Kiliyai thooki mele pota
krishnar kondai


And a Tamil version of goosy goosy gander:
vathu vathu enge pore
mele keeze mele keeze
ange oru kezavan
Thavam seyya mattan
edadu kalai thooki
thoppunu poten
idi idi kekaliyo
choicho nanaijene:

Have more but dont zant to hog box space. Will send on request.

Abhipraya said...

Biker dude what have you done!!! This is absolute pandemonium! Cannot take this much creativity in one go. And for the fellow "commentor" Naveen - isn't that the song from kasturi nivasa, nee bandu nintaaga? ROTFL

Unknown said...

abhipraya - spot on...we were on a roll and kachada-fied many others, but thot this was the best :o)

silk smitha and disco shanti said...

uncle.......how can u forget this..!?
yokozona went to poona on a luna with his brother toyozona...!???

and this..
kannada da makkalella ondaagi banni....sihi thindi kodutthene thika (save the lingo) muchkond thinni...!!

and that pervert take on one song from the movie BANDHANA...??

and that song which i forgot which goes as " fighter sheety paramangatty, avana appa kutty and something like that..!??

Anonymous said...

lol(llu) stuff :) :D

i remember this one--

aak paak vethla paak
daam doom dai
aska lakadi buska lakadi
bala sundara (?!) koi

Anonymous said...

just to give a pan indian touch, here is a ditty from the southern most end of mumbai:

pavra pois,
mama ne ghere jais,
mama aapse ladvo, khune besi khais,
mami aavse maarva, nasi nasi jais.

which translates as follows, except for line one, which is untranslatable.

i will go to my maternal uncles house.
he will give laddo, which i will eat sitting in corner
maternal uncles wife will come to beat me and i will run away.

anoushka

Anonymous said...

Man, this was hilarious! The ones in the comments section too. Nice to hear one in mine own Hyderabadi as well.
Ain't it nice being multilingual?

Anonymous said...

Pesh-e-qidmat hai is mehfil mein

Jalti huee duniya
ko jalne do
Ai dost mere
mujhe school jaane do!

Pri said...

what chinese person is making in tava? is look lika appalam. you got my slightly inappropriate poem about man from missouri?

Bikerdude said...

wah wah what a lovelys I say! keep em coming!!! PS: Maybe we should lay off the risque ones this time around though.

10 yrs late: Hbl- Dwd kannada poems illva?

maxdavinci: Adhukku innangura ippa? Sabhash lakdi girigiri, saidapettah wadigiriya?

naveen: haad anthu channage ide, but AIDS awareness ge antha lyrics uchita na? But good going with the parody!

bit hawk: Thanks! Aiyo illa shiva, half of them are nonsense rhymes. They probably must have meant something when they were first coined, but many like the first one are completely indecipherable due to years of mispronunciation.

moody crab: Thanks :)

rusty: Drawing meshtra? Well thats something I never thought of. Sadly, while Im ok with cartoons on the PC, I dont have a very steady hand with the pencil/brush :(

diya: Ammo what a! Meeru kooda soobere ka? Got any more?

Usha: Excellent!!But you left out a couple of lines I think:

blukqa thooki mele pota
settiyaar veetile nandu
nanda thookki mele pota

nagaratna pambu
pambai thokki mele pota
panchavqrna kili
Kiliyai thooki mele pota
krishnar kondai


And a Tamil version of goosy goosy gander:
vathu vathu vathu
enge pore vathu
mele keezhe mele keezhe
doraisani amma uLLe
ange oru kezavan
Thavam seyya mattan
edadu kalai thookihu
thoppunu poten

(I hear thunder)
idi idikkudhu
minnal minukkudhu

kekaliyo
soda soda sott, sott (2)
choicho nanaijene.

Yes, do send more :)

Bikerdude said...

abhipraya: lol thanks, and here, please take one number kadle kai for correct answer!

nikhil: wah wah lovely. Aa lasht helidralla, full aag bard kalsi kelona?

kavitha: Gaaahahaha, this was too much. I marched around home singing this to everyone!

anoushka: Lovely lovely. No gujju-parsi ones?

non-sensei: hau. aur hona to divya amma ku poochtei ok na?

pri: mental, she is making the ancient chinese dish called Um pum poori. Whats that one about the man from Missouri?

silk smitha and disco shanti said...

uncle.....one more in telugu...
u remember those plants with small yellow flowers on their tip that grow on the pavements and all...?? we used to take the flower in one hand, tell "thata thata dabb isthaava lekapothe nin thale dham" ( meant grand father grandfather, will u give money, other wise ur head dham) and hit the flower in such a way that it used to bounce of ur face...!!

Divya said...

You wantings some more, take it I say:

Chikni Handi Chai Garam
Bolne Wala Besharam

The next two are of dubious origins:

1. Bhang ko brungtho
Gaanja ko ghee
Darru ko jooto
Pina Hai to pee

2. Katha suno kantha suno
Sun mein sundarangi
Main andari tu bahari
Kis ko boolun kahani

Anonymous said...

guru-gaLe!
Neev keLeer-anth thelee kediskondiddha-kediskondiddh!

Nenap baro ondha haad..

Kivuda kichdi bedidh-ra
Gowda hachda bedidh-nanth!

Artha gotthill-ree.

Baere kadae, obb hudga idhann haadkonth bandy odiskonth hoNtiddha.

tu-tu-tu-
tu-tu-taara
Bangarapp-ge chapli haara!

Anonymous said...

Nikhil-saahebr!

Nimm "Kannada naadina makkaLella.."
bhaaL besht itth bid-ri.

Ellaar Vatal Nagaraj saahebr mundh idhann haadi bandheer aen?

Bikerdude said...

nikhil: too funny boss :)

divya: arre babu jushshtu too much andi. What a lovelies

10yearslate: Aha eeg banni daarige :) Lovely esp Bangarapge chapli hara. Papa side inda haarbekaguthe avarige :)

PS Do you know the full version of this (my classmate used to sing it and she forgot anthe, useless):

Kudibyadri kudibyadri,
Kundidh handhyang gutter nyaag bilbyadri
Sedhbyadri Sedhbyadri,
____________??

Anonymous said...

Den identification rhymes

Desi:
Akkad Bakkad Bambey bo
Assi Nabbe Poorey so
Sau mein laga dhaaga
Chor nikal ke bhaaga

Vilayati:
Inky Pinky Ponkey
Father had a donkey (eh?)
Donkey died, (Damn!)
Father cried (Double Damn!)
Inky pinky ponky

And my youngest brother used to sing this nursery rhyme when he was 3:

Idi idikkiradhu
Idi idikkiradhu
Kaadhu kekkavillaya
Kaadhu kekkavillaya

Sotta Sotta Sotta
Sotta Sotta Sotta
Naan nanaindhen
Nee ninaindhai

(Sung to the tune of "I hear thunder. I hear thunder")

Anonymous said...

Great post.
I can add this one:
"My son, don't stand in the veil"
"No daddy, I am standing in the aalamarthu neil"

veil (veiyil in Tam is sun)
aalamarthu (banyan's)
neil (nizhal - shade)

Anonymous said...

Oh, and I remembered this:

I went to London
I saw a Gundan (fat guy)
His name was Neelagandan.

I went to Pondicherry
I saw a Brahmachari.

Anonymous said...

Malayali Kutty
Jobile roti
road-alli
Mooru Palti.


- Many a mallu kuttys were teased on playgrounds around Bangalore with this during the 80s.

Bikerdude said...

KA: Wah wah lovely :)

lekhni: heh nice. The last line is "His name was varadachari"


which main: Ayes, ayen rri ithu, nemmendha malayali kuttis (honorary) ge ryaeging maedtheerenri? Baba alva naavu.
Sakkathagithu rhymu :)

Pri said...

nonsense!! this um pum poori is not chinese food item. it is not to be seen on mainland china's menu and we all know that menu is freaking ginormous! so don't lie to little childrens.

also man from missouri joke is inappropriate for public consumption. kindly be seeing mail.

oooh i know!

"natty fatty ....bombalatti
ate up all my ......ghee chapathi"

true story. long story.

??! said...

what the heck? Will somebody please translate - Bikerdude's audience is becoming a little pan-Indian now.

And since you want randomness...

I went to Goa
and met a boa,
it slithered down a pole
and swallowed a duck whole.

Unknown said...

ROFLLLL!! dude this is gold. even if i can't understand over half of them.

Here's mine

ABCDEFGee
G se nikla Gandhiji
Gandhiji ne khaya peru
Peru se nikla Nehru
Nehru ne khaaya kaakdi
Bikerdude ki shendi waakdi!

(Can replace bikerdude with the name of person opposite you)

Anonymous said...

biscuit biscuit
enna biscuit
co biscuit
enna co
tea co
enna tea
rotti
enna rotti
bun rotti
enna bun
ribbon
enna ribbon
pacha ribbon
enna pacha
maa pacha
enna maa
uppumaa
enna uppu
kadal uppu
enna kadal
arabi kadal
enna arabi
sothu arabi
enna soru
pongal soru
enna pongal
skkarai pongal
enna sakkara
nattu sakkara
enna naadu
NAM NAADU!!

Spunky Monkey said...

How come nobody is talking about the more famous Kannada ones? I have tons in head, will tell my favorite.

Dum-a-re-Dum-a-re-Dum, kOLi koogithu,
Pakkad maney Parvathamman seere bichh hoythu.

The saga continues with one Policeman coming in and all. Whattay!

Spunky Monkey said...

Achhachhu belladachchu
Alli nODu, illi nODu
Sampangi maradalli gumpu nODu
Yaava gumpu?
Kaage gumpu
Yaava kaage?
Kappu kaage
Yaava kappu?
Madike kappu
Yaava madike?
.
.
.
.
and ends in some doNNe Shetty. It is being godawfully long, with guest appearances by one Belgaum elephant and all.

Spunky Monkey said...

Oh this one is my favorite. I had even written this as aatograaf in Amma's diary when I was in fusht shtandard.

Naanu neenu jODi
Jeevana ettina gaaDi
GaaDi oLage lady
Lady pakka keDi
KeDi baayall beeDi.

Poetry only. And shit, I realize I am spamming you.

Pri said...

om namah shivaaya
bangaarappa chaddi maaya

Spunky Monkey said...

Aeroplane ta ta
Bangaarappan s@$$ta.

Bikerdude said...

pri: Aye thu aase thors mosa madbittyalla! Chaddi one was lovely

??!! Aye what I say- full translate I did off no for you only.

the girl from ipanema: what is shendi wakdi? Lovely rhyme though (and I like the song too).

spunky: Aha oho. Lovely. Write off full full I say. We cant give aliens half information, alvo? Yes you're stal.. err spamming, but this is good spam.

anonymous: Excellent, thanks!

Anonymous said...

bikerdude : apropos your request for parsi ditties (why why why)here's one for you, recited by some intolerant folks

parsi ni pateti,
dhotiya ma lapeti,
dhotiyu gayu dhova,
parsi betho rova

which means this, roughly:

the pateti (new years eve) of the parsi
was wrapped in a dhoti
the dhoti was given for washing
and the parsi started to cry

for gods sake, please dont ask for meanings, (or deeper meanings)

anoushka
ps: this must be one of yr more popular blogs, gauging by the response.

Anonymous said...

biker dude:

shendi: what the bhaiyyaji milk men have at the back of their heads (pont tail by which god pulls them to heaven)

wakdi: crooked, in marathi, as any mumbaikar will tail you

Preethi said...

first time here... from prats.. i am still laughing.. lovely collection... esp loved the last one.. the musharia!!

??! said...

bikerdude/anoushka:

As for bawa ones...

coo-coo-coo,
dasturji na daari mah eedu.
(eggs in the priest's beard).

Unknown said...

shendi = ponytail
wakdi = crooked.

bambaiiyya hindi it is, like you peoples bengluru banter.

err. i hope u still like? :O
:)

Unknown said...

sorry i didn't see. anoushka already gave accurate meaning.

silk smitha and disco shanti said...

ABCD-nim appan daadi
fill in the blanks, bangarappa dance...
chak de chak de, chakde saare gham, chak de chakde chakde, tholko ninna bum....!! :P

The Darkling Thrush said...

you forgot the terrible ones -

ello-ello, dutty fellow,
go and kiss the buffello.

aeroplane tata, bangarappan tota.

tu-tu-to, tu-tu-taara, bangarappan chudidaara.

what sorry?
one plate puri,
go to kocche-mel-mori,
marry a pujari,
in the kalahari.

vasco de gama,
went to see the drama,
without his pajama.

shetty,
bale gatti,
mutti-noDDdre, moor palti.

alla, illa,
bisigilla,
koLi baaigey,
hallilla.

(teehee.)

deepthi vinod said...

thanx for making me laugh when required mr.swami..............

Anonymous said...

karuppu nayukku rekindles nights of terrorizing bangalore traffic whilst freezing ****s off .:)

Anonymous said...

*rekindles memories of

Anonymous said...

Dumma dummi duplicate,
door no. 88,
munde bandre chappli eyt.

Spaz Kumari said...

1. Vasco da Gama
Went to the drama
Without his pyjama.
Everybody said: "Ayyo Rama!
Ippadi Varalama!"

2. Raamar vitta baanam
thirumbi paartha kaanum.

This second one makes a reference (in slightly dubious taste) to Lord Rama's....err..flatulence problem. :-D

3. Sardarji ke judey mein baarah andey;
Ek anda toot gaya kal Sunday.

Many variations on this one.

4. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
Sa Ni Paati Sarukki Vizhundha

I LOVE this one!!

This is all I remember right now, but had a fabulous time reading your post!!

Bikerdude said...

Thanks boys and gurls for wunnderful respaanses! Wah, my tiffin box overfloweth :)

vidya said...

it adhu but annal that addhu what yennai

Aspiring Annapoorna said...

another priceless post :)

the ending that I learnt for oneara do-ara is slightly different:

bluqq-e-thooki mele potta shetiyaru veetle nandu,
nande thooki mele potta , naagarathna paambu,
paambe thooki mele potta Pattasu kattu
Katte thooki mele potta
Dum dum dum dum dum :)

Aspiring Annapoorna said...

I don't know if anyone got this one:
Avalakki Pavalakki
Kaachina Minna Minna
Daam Doom
Das Boos
KoiN KoTTar

(I think this is a 'pick the denner' kind of thing, where if you get 'KoTTaar' you're out. Also probably determines who farted in a roomful of people - 'daam doom das boos koin kottaar' sounds totally onomotopoeic?

Mathangi said...

Mottaiyum mottaiyum senduchaam
Murungai marathula erichaam
Katterumbu kadichuchaam
KaaL KaaLnu kathuchaam!

nan108 said...

Thanks ree! Wonderful stuff, perfect reading on a lazy Saturday afternoon dreaming of old Bengalooru, kan-ree!

Re: One ara two ara... This is how it was passed down the generations (and driver and gardener) down to me:

Oh! One ara two ara dakkara dun
Aval kaaval must be done
Kallan kullan twenty one
Ah you May plug!
Plug a thooki mele potaa
Chettiar veetu nandu
Nandai thooki mele pota
Nagarathna paambu
Paambai thooki mele potaa
Rani vandhu aa-you-vaa-il!

(Tanglish + Gibberish all right!
Loosely translated as:

Oh! One and a half, two and a half, zero done
Waiting watching must be done
Robber shorty 21
Ah, the plug in May!
The crab in the Chettiar's house
Threw the plug on top
The king cobra threw the crab on top
The king cobra was thrown on top
And the queen is going to cry.)

Thanks again. Have a lovely afternoon in sunny Bengalooru - centre of the known world.

nan108 said...

...sorry Bikerdude, just couldn't resist adding:

Raagi mudhdhay...
Raagi mudhdhay
Thindhu thindhu
Gatti aagi
Ee-dhee-vee.

Sanna akki..
Sanna akki
Thindhu thindu
Chikkadhaagi
Ee-dhee-ree!

(We eat balls of raagi that make us strong and fit, you eat small grains of rice that make you very small!)

...probably Kannadigas looking down their noses at rice-eaters like Tamils and Mallus! I don't mind, I'm of mixed descent :-)

OK I'll shut up after this, "God promise". Nimma blog num family membersh gellaa kalisidheeni - yaakendhre just too good Saar!

Unknown said...

achacho bedacho
alli nodu illi nodu
sampangi maradalli gumpu nodu
yava gumpu
kaage gumpu
yava kaage
kappu kage
yava kappu
madike kappu
yava madike
saaru madike
yava saaru
bele saaru
yaava bele
togri bele
yava togari
angdi togari
yava angdi
shetty angdi
yava shetty
donne shetty !

Anonymous said...

Ahahahaha... XD Saare, you having bestu jokesu! Tamil I am, so I learntu several of these.

aspiring annapoorna came uppu with the closest varshan of the raimu I know. Slightly different, I guess, in terms of spelling, but here's the version I'm most familiar with:

pluckai thuuki mele pottal
(If you throw the pluck up)
chettiyaaril viittil nandu
(There'll be a crab in the Chettiyar's house)
Nandai thuuki mele pottal
(If you throw a crab up)
Nagaratthina paambu
(There'll be a snake with the snake's gem)
Paambai thuuki mele pottal
(If you throw a snake up)
Pattasu kattu
(There'll be a bunch of fireworks)
Kattai thuuki mele pottal
(If you throw the bunch up)
Damaal vedicchuidume!
(It will explode 'damaal'!)

Also some schoolboy daze XD:

Red, red, susu in the bed!
Yellow, yellow, dirty fellow, sitting on a buffalo!
Blue, blue, jetty flu!
Green, green, drama queen!
Pink, pink, butt-lendhu stink! (Stink from the butt XD)

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