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Folk Wisdom
March 7, 2007 | 10 Comments
These pithy proverbs in Indian regional languages hit the mark with their wit and brevity. There’s one for each occasion.
There’s a wealth of them here and here.
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Sookshmam illathavarude dhanam Naanam illathavar idukkum. (Malayalam)
The Careless lose their wealth to the Shameless.
Saddi na bulai, main laaddhe di tai. (Punjabi)
I need no invitation, I am the aunt of the bridegroom. (uninvited guests)
Muddochindani mukku cheemidi vontiki raasukuntaara? (Telugu)
Just because you think she’s cute, will you let her rub snot all over you? (when someone goes over the top in showing affection or generosity)
Kandhe pe bithaya to kaan main moota. (Mumbaiya Hindi)
You carry him on your shoulder and he pisses in your ear.
Jibhela Had Nahi. (Marathi)
The tongue doesn’t have a bone. (to describe a gossip monger)
Chevatta Keerai. (Tamil)
Spinach on the wall.
(Coming back with your tail between your legs. Refers to the man who flung his wife’s spinach dish on the wall, and licked it off in hunger after she went to bed)
Sau sunar ki, ek lauhar ki. (Hindi)
A single blow of a blacksmith is equal to a hundred blows of a goldsmith.
Kashandikkyum samshyattinum marunnillya. (Malayalam)
There’s no cure for baldness or suspicion.
Char aaney ki murg, baarah aney ka masala. (Hindi)
The Chicken costs 25 paise, the spice costs 75 paise. (when the cost far exceeds the outcome)
Aalu ledu, choolu ledu, alludi peru Somalingam. (Telugu)
He has no wife or children, but his son-in-law’s name is Somalingam. (fretting about unnecessary details)
Moothorade vaaku nellikka, aadyam kayakkum pinne madhurikkyum. (Malayalam)
The words of elders are like the gooseberry: bitter at first, then sweet.
Dashehara na divese nath bhagto aa to ghodo nathi gadhedo che! (Gujarati)
A horse that doesn’t run on Dussehra day is a donkey. (heard during Peyton Manning’s SuperBowl goofups)
Jadon daand honde ne, te chole nahin honde, te jodon chole honde ne, te daand nahin honde. (Punjabi)
When you have teeth, you don’t have food to eat, when you have food to eat, you don’t have teeth.
Panyav kaitha cha pagambar zainmeith. (Kashmiri)
A prophet is never accepted by his own people.
Bhangi devarige hendaguduka pujari. (Kannada)
For the God who is on dope you need a priest who is a drunk.
Ativrsti, Anavrsti. (Sanskrit)
Either it rains too much or it rains too little (meaning that the right amount is required – in this case too much or too little rain will result in a poor crop)
Bandar kya jaane adhrak ka swaad? (Hindi)
What does a monkey know about the taste of ginger?
Vidiya vidiya ramayanam kettu, seethaikku raman chithappa. (Tamil)
After listening to the Ramayan all night, claims that Rama is Seeta’s uncle. (someone who doesn’t ‘get’ it)
Kokkil-odhugunnanathu kazhicchaal madhi. (Malayalam)
Eat only that which fits in the beak.
Kaala agare mula chobeiba. (Oriya)
Munching a radish before a deaf person. (a futile exercise)
Chalni kahe sui se, tere pet mein chhed. (Hindi)
The sieve tells the needle, “you have a hole in your belly”.
Nachte na janley uthan tera. (Bengali)
If you don’t know how to dance, the courtyard must be crooked.
Mooligey nakka meeda taatikaya padinatlu. (Telugu)
Like a palm fruit falling on the head of a fox already groaning in pain.
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More folk wisdom:
Panchatantra
Jataka Tales
Tales from India
Pitara
Authorama
Folktales
Filed Under: folk-wisdom, India, MUSINGS, proverbs
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10 Comments
ROTFL @ spinach on the wall!!!
My hubby wouldn’t DARE to that.I would throw him against the wall with the Spinach, if he does!!;p
Great post Bee.
it’s a long proverb. i’m not sure what the second half is about – something about him getting whacked with a rolling pin, maybe? – bee
Kandhe pe bithaya to kaan main moota (Mumbaiya Hindi)
You carry him on your shoulder and he pisses in your ear.
ha ha ha ha ha….
such a simple things but have so much of hidden wisdom.
thats why elders say
Aadu tinnada soppu illa, Gaade helada maatilla(Kannada)
which means goats eat all kind of greens and word of wisdom covers every topics.
loved reading them:)
Good ones!!
Enjoyed reading them!!
“Moothorade vaaku nellikka, aadyam kayakkum pinne madhurikkyum. (Malayalam)
The words of elders are like the gooseberry: bitter at first, then sweet.”
I don’t know how many times I have heard that one growing up! Though, apart from one or two, most of it did turn out sweet after all.
This is a beautiful collection. I loved Panchatantra and Jataka tales when I was kid. I am going to read them again today, THanks Bee.
Wonderful Collection…..I have one that my dad said often while growing up..
“Yuvani na chod ne anubhav na phool bau moda ave”
meaning roughly…” with age, comes experiece”….and literally, means ” the flowers of experience bloom late in the tree of youth”..does that make sense?
glad you like them, guys. my fav is from the streets: ‘aadmi hai ki pyjama?’ – bee
Bee, that was such a ROFL material
) many are quite familiar to me especially the ones in malayalam and some from hindi& tamil too…that was a great collection 
I’m still laughing 
hey u post everyday ? I wasnt here for two days and it looks like I missed out a lot!
Shn
daily attendance is mandatory here.
– bee
Bee,
Good job with compiling all these. In btw, I thought of sharing this. Hope you don’t mind.
In the last proverb, taatikaya is not coconut in telugu. It is the fruit used to make desi liquor.
Also sanskrit’s “ativristi anavristi” means something else.
you are right about “ativristi anavristi” – the post has been duly corrected. For the taatikaya – can you translate for us…maybe ‘palm fruit’? Will edit the post – Thanks…Jai
shouldn’t it be ‘kashandikkum kushumbinum marunnilla’?
ps: how did i miss this post?!
Every single one of these sayings have a parallel or an exact verbatim in other Indian languages. I could relate to every one of the Punjabi,Telugu,Malayalam or Hindi sayings in Kannada.