English
A Delhi Pandit determined to pay Kashmfr a visit. When ho rca<-he(l Vcm6g he engaged a man as cook, with whom ho hod tho following conversation : — Pandit.—" Cook." Cook.^" Yes." Pandit.—" Bring aboat threo-qnarten of a pound of floor from the market, and make tliirty-throo loaves. Ton gnests will bo present at dinner this evening. So that there will then bo two loaves for each guest, and something for each to take home with him, if he shoald wish to do so." Cook.—" I do not understand you." Pandit. — " Never mind. Do as I tell you. Tho first day, when wo entertain strangers, we do so." Tlie cook brought a vessel full of a water and placed it in front of tho Pandit. Pandit.—" Wliero is tho food P" Cook. — '* It is the custom in this country not to give any food to the stranger on the first day — only a vessel-full of water." Pandit. — " No ! I am sure you must bo miMtaken. Cook. — " I also think that it cannot be the custom in your country to feed ten men with tliree-qnarters of a pound of llour." (Tho Pand.it in a rage. Etit, Cook.) • V^minen Icong. Saffron with sheep*B paunch. Not worth the candlo. 8a£frou is used as a condiment, and is eaton only with the bost meat. Dewas tah drathdyihas dizih til tak tahar, ddmi sanziA bad- nazarih nah hehh. Oil and rice can be given to (appease the anger oQ tho ghosts and demons, but nothing can save us from the evil-eye of man. Cf. '' MSh chham," ^c J)%giimih diwai Nadifftttnih penjih iewai. The great mela is at Digam, but the washing of the mound is at Nadigam. Dig^m is a village near to Shupiyon. There is a great mold there in tho month of July ; and people, whose little children have died , during the year, go to tho place and offer clothes and food in tho names of their deceased children. 56 On the same clay there are festivals also at Mangdm and Trigam, which are a great distance from one another, and both of them very far from Digam. It is written that **He who visits each of these places in one day, shall ascend to eternal bliss." One man did so, riding upon a swift horse, and afterwards man, horse, and every- thing went up into the clouds out of sight. Another man by the name of Krishna Saraf also succeeded in visiting these three villages in one day; but for some reason or other ho was not taken up. Digih puhtshuv tah dugih Mr. A small paisci for a peck and a cowrie for a blow. The over-liberal person. T)ih thap tah nih dastur. Seize him and take his pagri. A respectable vagrant, who lives by " sponging" on others. J)ik n& tah manati dab Tchet ? You will not give ? (of course you will) ; but it will be after much wrangling and quarrelling. Threatening " distress for rent." Manaii dah, lit., a strike of a stone, but here it means going to law, or giving a man a good thrashing. Dik nd tah paizar khet ? You will give I know, but you will eat your shoes (first). "Putting on the screw " to get a debt. " Eating shoes " is an expression for being beaten with a shoe. Dil ba dil gav uhiah ; yut wuehham, tyut louchhai. Your heart and mine are like a looking-glass ; as you see me, so I shall appear to you. Be friendly and I will be friendly, and vice versa. Vilah nah tah hilah di di. Not willingly but with a little shoving and pushing. "Dilas phulai gatshih asuni, gulich phulai ley ah yiyih bahdr ? There must be blossoming of the heart, and then the flower- blossom will not be needed. Cf. " Asas gatsiy' $-c. Bilikis bugas dur har gdsil. Adah dewah phuli yemhurzal bag Marit manganai uinrih hanz hosil. Maut chhui patah patah tahsil-dur. 57 Keep away dirt from the garden of your heart* Theu perhaps the Narcissus garden will blossom. After death you will be asked for the results of your life. Death is after you hke a tahsildar, A saying of Lai Dtd's. Diluk khur-khurah mehy Malih, Mstam, manaike kotar mare, Narih iosam iukah hnnzai larih ladtm. Yelih pdnah inyunuv kadit ninanai panane gate. Pat ah pat ah neri Iukah susa narih u/awan. Trt'ivit yininai manz maidunas s^wit dachhane tare. Make far from me proudaess of heart, O Father, — from the pigeon-hole of my heart. My arm is wearied from making people's houses {i.e., from helping others, giving alms, &c). When, O my body, you are turned out from your house. Afterwards, afterwards, a thousand people will come waving their hands. They will come and set you in a field, laying yon to sleep on your right side. A verso of Lai DM's constantly quoted in part, or in toto^ in time of troublo. Hindtis bam the bodies laying them upon the right tide, with their head towards the south, because the gods and goo<l spirits live in that diiection, and Yama, the angel of doutb. also roaides there. Dinawulid diyih ; dinal kyah diyih ? The generous person will give (whether he can spare or not) ; the prostitute (although '* flush with coin*') will not give. DiM ^noM tah Sh^di Ganai nah. All the people except Shadi Ganai (her husband) will live with her. A faithless wife, or a frait tree, of which others pluck the fruit, while the real owuer gets nothiDg. tihddi Qanai was a butcher's wife, and a very wicked woman. Ditut no, zih zangah phufrit ? Has it not been given to me ? Yes, but after breaking my legs. Once upon a time there was a man who was carried away by the thought that God was " The Giver," and that somehow or other Ho would give food to those who sat all day in the house meditating upon Him. This man silt in his house for three days without food. Ho became so thin that ho could scarcely walk. He then went up to the roof of his house and sat there, thinking that, probably, God 8 58 meant him to live upon air. In a short time he became faint and senseless, and rolled off the roof on to the ground, and broke his legs. The people heard of this and brought him sherbet and cooked meat. The man soon revived, and said the above words, which have passed into a proverb. Cited when a man has obtained his living or any position with great difficulty. Dizih berih yetih pherih. Dizd ytirih yetih gaUhih tdrih ? One should plant the tree at the edge of the field, where it will spring up. Shall it be planted in the place where the fir-tree grows, where it would be checked and die ? To lend money without interest. Dohi sund garah nanih iz doh> The washerman's house will be known on the great feast-day. The washerman's family wear the clothes which are sent to them to be washed ; but on the day of the feast everybody takes all their clothes, and so the poor washerman and his family are left almost naked. (This is not true of every washerman). Persian. — Khdna i gdzur ba, roz i 'id ma'lum shawad. Dobi sund hun, nah garuJc tahnah gdthuk. The washerman's dog is not of the house or of the ghat. Expectations unfulfilled. The washerman's dog fares very badly as a rule. He is always following his master to and fro from the house to the ghdt in hope of getting, some scraps, but it is very seldom that anything is thrown to the poor animal. Hindustani. — Dhobi M kuttd na ghar fed Tia ghdt kd. JDod gdtid. A philosopher and a half. A wiseacre. JDod nah tah dag nai kawah yiyam ushye ? I have neither pain nor smart, why should I cry ? Let every man bear his own burden. Dog dit tih burav ; dog hat tih barav. Strike a man and he complains (before the magistrate), and strike him a hundred times and he complains (and no greater punishment ensues to the striker). A variant of this both in words and meaning is :— 59 Dog dit tih Urav ; dog het iih hdrav. Whether he strikes another, or whether he himself is struck, it's all the same— he grumbles. Doh chhuh diw&n Uhoh ; doh chhuh hhySwun goh. (One) day gives rest, (another) day causes to eat manure. It is not always sunshine. Voholih hhotit'n tak rAtalih mandachMn. Fearing by day and being ashamed at night. An altogether wretched and bad character. Don botjan hum har gayih toahr&tn hund rdd. Strife between husband and wife is like the monsoon rains. Although Kashmir is out of the tropics it is visited by periodical rains, which finish about the last week in July. Don kulai batch w/iwah. The wife of two persons, because of food. •' The bitter cry." Anything for bread. Don salnh tran wAhwelA, Agreement with two people, lamentation with three. Two are company, three are not. A Pir once sent hit horse to a oertain village, that it might graze upon the beautiful grass there.