English
Kashmiri parents are accustomed to frighten their children into good behaviour by saying " There is a bear coming. Quiet, quiet," &c. Kal ai harak tah Jcaji maraJv ; Jsal nai Jcarak tah marah nah zah. If you worry, it will bring you to the grave ,- but if you do not worry, you will never die. ' Tis not from work, but from worry, that half the people die. Kalam-zan, shamsher-zan, Jcuste-zan chhih be-ahlas nish baruhar. A quill-driver, swordsman, and brothel-keeper, are (each one) no more than an ignorant man. Kalas peth gdri phutarit Icheni. Breaking a water-nut upon one's head and eating it. Earning with difficulty. There was a very godly Hindu, a Eishi, liv^ing in Kashmir. Upon a certain day one of his disciples came crying unto him and saying, that his mother had died. The Eishi enquired the age of the woman, and finding that she was very old, he told the man not to weep ; because it was time that his mother should die- The disciple, however, did not agree with this, and begged the Eishi to allow her to live a few years more. The Rishi told him to crush some water- 93 nuts {Traha hUpinosa) npon his mother's head ; nnd it shonld come to pasR that she won Id revive, and live as many years aa there were broken water-nuts. Now the bereaved son did not like the idea of breaking hard nnts n\H)n his deceased mother'8 head ; still it was the ortier of the Rishi, and so he did so. Eleven nnts were broken and for eleven yeara longer the mother lived. Kali 8(tnz bol'bdsh zdnih kali sund mol mdj. Only a dumb man's parents understand a dumb person's speech. A little child's prattle is comprehensible only to the parents ; and a man's speech is understood by his coontrymou only. Knlas tih raz^ nalas tih raz- A rope for the head and a rope for the legs. A strict watch over any body or anything. Kaldyih binni t hulas kardn trek aini. A tin fingor-ring turns an egg into three dishes of meat and vegetables. A groat show, bat little under it. Kalis viundis Khuddi rdzi, God is pleased with the dumb, simple man. *' Kali nun zih nunui ?'* '* Kali^ syun zih syunui V* ••O dumb man. salted?" "Yes, salted." *'0 dumb man, unsalted?" "Yes, unsalted." A story of a nervoas young Engliahman comes just now to mind, which exactly illustrates this saying. He was breakfasting out; and at the breakfast-table the hostess remarked, ** I'm afraid your roll is not nice, Mr ." " Oh, yes, thank you," he replietl, " it is splendid." In a little while eggs were place<l upon the table, and Mr. took one, which tumeti out to be bad. The host, who was sitting close by Mr. , noticed this, and begged him to let the servant take it away and give him another; whereupon Mr. said " Oh ! please don't, I like bad eggs." Kam gaUhih hhijun tah gam gaijhih nak hhyun. Better to eat a little than to eat grief. " Any price rather than you shonld be angry," says the shop* keeper to the customer. Knmadewan chhus athak dolamut. Kamadev has smoothed that man's face with his hands. Cited on seeing any beautiful man or woman. Kamadev is the HindCi Cupid or Eros, the god of Love, thought to be one of the most pleasing creations of Hindu fiction. 94 Kamas chhuh hamul iah Uaris chhuh zaioul. Perfection is to the less and destruction to the more. A man somewhat spare in speech, expenses, &c., will become great ; but a man extravagant in words and expenses, &c., will come to ruin. Kaminas hhidmat chheh zaimnas chob. To serve a mean man is like beating the earth (i.e., it is a profitless work). Kanah-dol chhui Botani soddhas bardbav' A man who turns away his ear (from scandal, &c.) , is like the Botan or Ladak trade (i.e.^ receives great profit). A brisk trade is carried on between Kashmir and Laddk. I have heard that about lbs. 128,000 of kil-phamb (pashm) or shawl-wool are imported annually into the valley by the butahwani or Ladak merchants. For the preparation, &c., of this wool, of. Drew's Book on Kashmir and Jammu. Kanah Icapas kaduni. To bring cotton from the ear. Impossible. Some people attempt to do things in an impossible way. Cited also against that servant who hears everything pro or con about his master, and then goes and retails his information to his master. Kanas chhas nah hatah laddn. I do not load my ear with food (i.e.^ I am not such a fool as to try to put the food into my ear instead of into my mouth. I know what I'm about). Kashmiris say that a drunkard, who was very much under the influence of drink at the time, tried to feed himself by stufl&ng rice into his ears ; hence the saying. Kandas tah mujih hunid sad. The same taste to sugar-candy and a radish. Good or evil, noble or mean, all the same to him. Kahh nah Icom Kidahgom. (Going to) Kulagom without work. A man going an errand calls a friend, whom he meets on the way, to come along with him. If that friend does not wish to accompany him, he will probably reply as above. The workmen of Kulagom are said to be the cleverest in the valley. 95 Kani Ingiyd m'lr zih zanls yiyih dr ? Will the stone burn, that the acquaintance should have mercy ? " Save mo from my friends." Kani tah nunah phul gav darydvas, Kanih dup " Buhgitjisy Nunun duptts ** Vusui gul sui gid.** A stone and a piece of salt fell into the river. The stone said " I melted. " The salt said ** That which melted, melted." Wo should never complain as long as there are others worse off t hun ourselves. h'dnih aehh surmak tah lanjih zangih paiy.mah. Antimony for the blind eye and trousers for the lame leg. • Mmlanic Rachol will rectify it." Kdnih achh wuzih kyah nindarih / What will rouse the blind eye from sleep I What cannot be ciuxhI niust l>c endure<l. h'dniht JialtK tah athas hi-t. '• O, one-eyed man, work." '* It is at hand." A ono-oycd man is always ready for misc-liief. Panjdbi. — A'tiTici, terha^ UuljioUi. (Also) A'aii(, kachfix ' hnrh — jardand : zeh tinon kamzdt ! Jahlag has ttj/ni chaU\ to ko4 na ptichbe hat. Kanih garah barun jtin tah todnguj garah nah. Better to fill your house with stones than to have a stranger in it. Kunih gurih hah mirah-khur. Eleven grooms for a one-eyed marc. A very strict watch over a verj' wicke<l person. Citotl also sometimes when there are a large number of people appointed to a small work, which one man couhl easily perform. " One-eyed " is an expression generally introduced to show the wicked disposition of the pei-son or bciist. Vide supra. Kt'nih korih karyok ran tah shangun kynf gos hut hdmuni. The one-eyed girl was married ; but she had not a room for sleeping in. An imperfect arrangement. 96 Kaiiih nakhah hani tah meh nakhak nah hank. One stone lies close to another, but there is nobody near to me. Sikandar-ndma. — Birahna man o gurha rd postin. Kanih patali chhdhpun. Sling after the stone. To send another messenger to get news of the first, &c- Kdnis chhuu buthis peth " Kdnid " dapun ? Is it wise to say '' O one-eyed man " in his presence ? Kanjar huttak. The brothel-keeper's dog. Quoted against the person who bears much humbug and pain at the hands of another, because he eventually hopes to get some profit out of him. There was once a dog, who day -by-day visited a certain house of illrfame in the city. Every time the dog went, the harlots used to beat it, but nothing discouraged the dog went again and again. One day his brother dogs got to hear of this, and enquired why he thus went time after time to a place, where he generally got beaten. " I do not go there for what I get to eat," replied the dog, " but because sometimes, when the chief harlot is angry with the other harlots, she says, turning to me, * This dog shall be your husband. That is the reason of my enduring all this abuse." Kanjar kivttah. — Kanjar is Hindustdni ; the Kashmiri ordinary word is gan. Kuttah of com-se has been Kashmirised from the Hindustani kutt^. Kdr-i'Khudd zdnih Khuda, God knows his own work. Kar gai harit tah phishal gav zet. The work is all over, and an unlucky child is born. The deed is done. No alternative now. Several times are mentioned in the Nechih-puter as unlucky moments for a child to be bom in. One time, Mul, is especially un- propitious.