in our household. The DH is off to the motherland for a sabbatical. He calls regularly and Skypes too since this is the longest he has traveled without us.
The other day he called and DD picked up the phone. The conversation unfolded as follows
Caller: Hello
DD: Who’s this? (She did not recognize the voice of the caller)
Caller: Rishtey mein to hum tumhaare baap hote hain, naam hai DH.” *
DD was even more confused. Fortunately the speaker was on so I explained to her that it was the DH calling.
DD: (realization dawning, finally) Oh, so it is Buddha hoga mera baap **
On the same call when I spoke to DH I let him know that in his absence I was involved in a couple of tiny accidents. I fell down the stairs in our house and one side of my left leg was completely black and blue and then the next day I fell in the garage when i was trying to get my boots on.
If I expected sympathy, I was sadly mistaken. The DH guffawed loudly and said “Meera, tum giri huyi aurat ho.” ***
*For non Hindi speakers, the first dialog is from a very popular Bollywood movie circa 1980. It is how the protagonist introduces himself to the baddies. Roughly translated it means “I am your daddy, you %^*^$ and I am here to teach you a lesson. Here is the original.
**The DH has been complaining of old age and creaky bones for some time now. DD understands enough Hindi to figure out that the title of the movie “Buddha hoga tera baap” means “Your dad is the old one” She replaced the tera (yours) for mera (mine). So her response was “Oh, it is my dad, the oldie.” In reality the phrase “Buddha Hoga tera baap” is a popular response when exchanging insults or when one wants to respond to cracks made about one’s old age.
*** In Hindi the word “girna” means falling down and the phrase “giri huyi aurat” is used to connote “fallen woman” or “scarlet woman”. Since we were conversing in Hindi, the DH promptly created a pun and needless to say was very pleased with his sense of humor.
Truly irreverent but enjoyed the conversation
Glad you liked it!!
haha loved it. DH has a good sense of humor. So all your buying stuff is done???
We’re done buying for now, thank God!! And oh yes, DH does have a great sense of humor
Me taking baby steps
in being back on blogosphere. First post I read. You guys actually speak like this??? Heehee.
Hey Gangubai, welcome back to the blogging world. It’s good to see you here. Yes, we all talk like this in our house, we are a very phillumy family
lol!!!!! Neeli Peeli aurat? Theek ho abhi?
I should be called Neeli Kaali aurat, no? Yeah yeah i am absolutely fine. Thanks for asking. By now, I have fallen down the stairs so many times that the DH doesn’t check if I am hurt, he asks if I broke something (some item in the house, that is) on my way down
Loved the humor! Hilarious post:)
Thanks chattywren and welcome to the blog
How could something seemingly irreverent bring laughter and hilarity? Could we locate the core reverence here?
Cheers
Shakti
Hey Shakti,
I have looked long and hard for the reverence. Maybe the fall has addled my head. i can’t find it. if you do, please enlighten me too.
Meera, your family rocks.
I laughed so much over this one. And I hope you are no longer the neeli peeli or baingani aurat anymore and that your bruises have disappeared.
Sudha, I must be growing old, the left side of my leg i still black and blue, no pain but some sort of ugly scar from the fall. Yes, DH and DD can be enormously funny, a lot of their humor is at my expense too. Thank God for all the laughs, even if some of it is at my expense.