English
vin PREFACE, T t pronounced as t in <ake. Ts ts pror lounc ed as ts in ge^*. the point of the U u j 0 in top. tongue is press- U d ; w in rwle. ed on the upper V 1 )> both having fore-teeth. a power be- T t „ ^injfuh,the tween the point of the English V tongue is press- and w. ed back on the Y y J? y in year. palate* Z z > z in zeal. Note. — Bh, chh, gh, kh, ph, th, th and tsh are respec- tively the aspirates of ch, g, k, p, t and t, and ts, and are pro- nounced as one letter. With regard to the '* point" of the different proverbs and sayings, I have been through them all, as here written, with a little council of learned Muhamraadan and Hindu Kashmiri friends, and not allowed one to pass, until I got their full and undivided sanction to my explanation of it. The notes and facetiae, &c., are such as cropped-up in the course of writing, and have been jotted down in the hope that they will be interesting to some readers. And lastly, but by no means of the last importance, I trust that if any reader is pleased with this book, and thinks fit, he will kindly recommend it to others, as the whole profits of the work are to be devoted to the sorely-strained funds of the *' Medical Mssion Hospital," Kashmir. J. HINTON KNOWLES. Kashmir, February 1th, 1885. KASHMIRI PROVERBS, Ab tih ioth bab iih toth. I love myself and I love my father. The reply of a very covetous man to a friend, when that friend said that he would give him only one oat of the two thingi which be coveted. A grasping disposition. Abah tali shrdk, A knife in the water. A traitor in the camp. Ab is the word generally nsed by Uobammedani ia the valley. The Hind6s invariably say pint or poni. Abas andar krand. A hig basket in the water. A man, who ex officio is a person of some position and influence, is like a krand in tho water. So long as he retains his employment, he retains his authority, but as soon as he is dismissed, he loses that authority and hononr. The basket as long as it floats in the stream is filled with water, but inunodiately yon take it out of the stream it is emptied. Achh kdnijdn tah wat kdni nak. Better that the eye be blind than that the way be blind. He that goes a*borrowing goes a-sorrowing. Achh waUhah tah ffdshah raUhah. May your eyes be opened but see nothing. A Kashmiri curse. Achhin ungujeh thukanih. To strike the eyes with the fingen. To tease, to bother. 1 /.■.;;/i,v:0 •:;..;, ^' ' Achhuv andarah riyih surmah kadit. He'll take the fvery) antimony out of your eyes (and you'll not know it). A sharp fellow, Beware ! . . . Surmah is black sulphuret of antimony, used for pencilling the eyes. jidal tah wadal zandnah chhai pashich zadal Uhai. A contrary woman is like bad grass on the roof. Grass not fitted for thatching does not set well, but lets the rain through the roof. Cf. Prov. xxvii. 15. Adi dadi yeUhih tah adi dadi reUhih. Half (the people) are burnt with wishing and half are burnt with scandal. The struggle for popularity and place. Adi Ldr tah adi Dor. v Half at Lar and half at Dar. A man of large and scattered property ; but who cannot get at it or obtain anything from it. Adin khash tah adin ash. To half (the people) wretchedness and to half happiness, Admi bastan andar chhtih sir. ~'--J . (■ ^^ ft Z^ "^ A secret is (concealed) under the skin of man.(;u^/^^^ \^^A^ Man is a make-up of mystery. Adui umr tah badui baUi. Half-life and great misfortune (be to you). A Kashmiri curse. Adyav kheyih chinih adyav khhjih idki. Half (the people) ate from the large dishes and half from the small dishes. A badly-arranged dinner. Affah bod paharas nnukar bod icaharas. The master is great in three hours, the servant is great in a year. Some people earn as much in three hours as others do in twelve months. Agah Icardn nethar tah varzun nah m/indn. The master gets married, but the servant does not agree to it, A contrary servant. Agar Khdn tjuyov ffagar to'iji^ talih no mijis kum-t/jt. Agar Khin entered into a rat's hole, and there he did not get, even, a bran-cake. In ertremis. Once Agar Kli&u wm rodacod to such distress that he was glad to take shelter in a little broken-down hut and sleep there. Agar Khunitn hustti luslu tih lustu; lust a nah tah khiUlu. Should Agar Kh in's elephant live, it lives ; and if it does not live, then never mind. Some people arc so little respected, that it does not mnch matter whether they live or die. Agar Khfiti was one of the old Pathdn governors of Kashmir. In his time attiiirs arrived at a crisis. The army had robolled, and the treasury was <?mpty. To support his family and servants he parted with his jewels and other treasures, and yet all through this time of the direst distress he wa!< keeping a favourite elephant. When he could no longer feed the pot beast, he let it go to wander whither it pleased. Agar ijer hxrihjald yiyih^ agarjahi karih tjir yigih. If he delays he will come quickly, bat if he h.istcns he will come slowly. More Iiaste, worse speed. Ahalamari ratah-khari. The quarrelsome people of .\halamar. AhaUimar is one of the chief divisions ot trH* nry of Srfnagar. In olden days it was the regular thing on evory Frilay for tins young people of one division to ohallonge in fight tho young ]H'Ople of another division. A certain place and hour would be arranged, and the youths armed with sticks and slings, drc, would assemble on their respective sides. At a signal from their leaders they would join combat, and generally there were several broken limbs and sometimes deaths, resulting from these fights. His Utghncss the late Maharajah GaI4b Singh put an end to these disgraceful proceedings. The youngsters of Ahalamar were very pugnacious, and especially so respecting the people of Snth, a noighbjuring division. Perhaps this was because they generally " got a.n good as they gave " At any rate these two divisions had many fights with one another. The Ahalamar youth would march in a crowd shouting : — Snthen zachih tah kuthcn ndr Ahalamariav yand ik Uir. ** Bagged clothes to the people of Suth, and may their bundles catch fire. The people of Ahalamar gave chase to them." v^- Then the crowd from Suth would meet them shouting : — Ahalamari ratah-khari ; Lejan chhik nah hatah phali ; Chandan chhik nah hdrah nali. ** The quarrelsome jJeople of Ahalamar They have not a rice-grain in their pots. They have not a cowrie in their pockets." One is reminded of the English custom of *' beating the bounds " on Holy Thursday, when the parish school children, accompanied by the clergyman and parish oflBcers, used to walk through their parish from end to end. The boys had willow wands with which they struck the lines of boundary, (and sometimes the boys of the adjoining parish). '' AihakUahkatih&kr' "Az khdnai Mumah Tdkr " Nah tsah nm nah Uah p&k, " Birav hinshin bdld-i-tok.^* *' O cabbage, whence came ye ?" *• From the house of Mumah Tak." " You are neither salted nor cooked. " Heugh ! go and sit on the window." Hdk sometimes called HSk-wak, or (as in Persian) Sag, a cabbage OP any edible vegetable. Whenever the hak is badly cooked the above lines are sure to be quoted. liumah Tdk was a great greengrocer in Srinagar city. Aib panun mushok. A man loves his own fault. " Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us. " Aibo jpeyiyo gaibuch balai, mandachhih patah chhai khijulat. O sin, let Heaven's misfortune fall upon you— to you is shame upon shame. " Be Bure your sin will find you out." Ak ai tah untham kyah ? Timah ai tah khyawaham kyah ? If you have come, what have you brought ? If I come, what will you give me to eat ? A mercenary individual. Ak bdnah, beyih pdnah^ beyih talab&nahy beyih koriadilh gdnah. r,a*t^f ^'" ■■'■■ "^■t'; First (they seized) my dish, then myself, then (I had) to pay ^)^ the witnesses, and then (they abused me, calling me) the eater of ray daughter's hire, and the keeper of a brothel. A poor prisoner in tho hands of the policeman. Ak bard,e KhufiH tah hh/ih hastis khd^it. g . //, .. A man begs and then gets up on an elephant, ^*J " To mo Wit an elephant " is an expression for beooxnisg proud or angry. Jk budih tah methih, by/ik hudih tah teihih. One man U old and sweet, another old and bitter.