English
An old man's answer to a friend, who had sent to enquire how he was. The meaning is that a staff was now "part and parcel " of him ; that his teeth had deterted him ; and that hia raven-black hair had tnrned grey Aklah chhuni gara Mm tah garu mynni, Aklnh, the carpenter's wife, sometimes yours, and sometimes mine. A stupid, g&rmloas, onfaithfal woman. Akut abur tah J\Ug san; leunui phuiah tah drug tan. A single cloud, and it is as the month of January ; a single fast, and it is as though a famine. Au jour le jonr. Al Kashmir murdah-pasand. The Kashmiri people are fond of the dead. To •' never speak evil of the dead " is a prominent good feature in the Kashmiri's character. Alagadih buddn tah malagndih wotalan ; Witha hukhan; hhiar grasan ; filiht hd tnuliht ds% wundur rt'.j. The great man will sink; the base man will rise; the river will dry up ; the sewer will roar (by reason of the much water); then, O Father, will be the monkey rule {i.e., a time of utter irreligion and great oppression). A saying of Shekh NOr-nd-din, who wasa very famous Muhammedan aaint in Kashmir about six hundred years ag^. His shrine is at Tsrir, a village about fifteen miles from Srinagar; and every October there is a great mel& there in his honour. Wetha is the Jholum river in its course through Kashmir. Hind 6 priests call it Yetasta. Alah kulis tulah kul, A mulberry tree from a pumpkin plant A mountain from a mole>hilI. 1 10 Alak ruwuni w&ngan Icaduni. To sow pumpkins, and reap egg-plants. To begin a thing and not finish it. Wdngun is known in Hindustan by the name of brinj41 ( solO' nurn melongena), the egg-plant. The Kashmiris dry it, and eat it during the winter. Alan chhuh phal tah nindan chhuh donih. There is fruit to the plough, and rice for the raking. Thrift brings its own reward. j/ilbailas nah chhas akl tah nah maut. Neither understanding nor death to a fat man. " Fat paunches have lean pates. " — Shaks. All ('ngun samMle ; fakir auye damule. O All, prepare your garden ; the fakir has come to dance. Quoted as a warning to prepare for any person's coming. ^'FaTiir has come to dance" Fakirs stamp upon the ground, gesticulate, and in other ways annoy people, if their demands for largesse are not quickly complied with. Ali dits'jv talih gyav zuwav kurus lyav tah lyav. All oiled her head with ghi, and the lice licked and licked it all up. Money in the hands of a worthless person. Alih drds tah talih logum tsel. In the moment of birth my head was squeezed. Man commences his troublous career as soon as he is bom. Alikmini dandah hatoar ; ale nah atsan garah, tah hy&k nah neran barah. One-eyed 'All's yoke of oxen, — one will not enter the house^ and the other will not come out of it. A poor man with a refractory family. Most people in the valley will remember one-eyed 'A15 and hia two troublesome bullocks. Alond U/mdun Seeking to get at a thing which is hanging out of reach. Clavam Hercule extorqu^re. Amal gav gulih mat. Employment is like dirt upon the wrist. Employment is uncertain ; like dirt upon the wrist, it quioklf comes and goes. 11 Am^inalas khiydnat. To embezzle a deposit (is a tremeDdous sin). The height of dishonour. Amanuk tot, Aman's pony, A bad, lazy fellow who requires a lot of uiifing before he will do anything, Aman is a small Kashmiri village. A man once porohased a pony from this place, and was setting forth on his way home, when the beast suddenly stopped, and nearly threw the rider over his head. Any little ditch or such like place caused the pony to thus stop. Eventually the purchaser got off the animal, and adced a passer-by to mount it. The other man being a good horseman was not afraid to hit the pony ; and so for the rest of the journey, and ever after- words, the pony went splendidly. Amas suet har gayih khumas 9uet garah karun. To Quarrel with the common people is like keeping house mth a stupid, untaught person (which is misery). Ami phukah chhuh dazdn Uong tah ami phukak chhuh gatjMn pati. With this blow of the breath the lamp is lit, and with this blow it is extinguished. " Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing." Am{ y&rahalan ehhih kntiy^ih naii pkuiar^vamati 1 How many water-pots this ghat has broken ! A source of much evil. Amin gogalan til tan phenin. Like mixing oil with raw turnips. Treasured wrath. The oil will not settle, but runs all over and about the turnips. In this way anger spreads over the breast of an unforgiving man. Amin natun mdl. A desire for raw flesh (is it ?) Cited to a man who is impatient for his food, &0t Amis dudas suet dabadab. To wrestle with uncooked milk. To strive with the weak. Amis panas darah dar. To pull raw thread. To fight, or bully, a weak fellow. 12 An mana, karfana; rachhun chhui bod gunah. Bring a maund, and spend it. It is a great sin to store. Jogis sometimes quote these words, An Wetky dis dam, adah budin garni gam. Bring the Jhelum, drink it, and then let the whole Tillage be drowned. An unprincipled man who has no care for others, as long as he can accomplish his own selfish ends. Anawune, zenawune, Ranih hinde madano. ThakamutCy losamute, Mdjih hinde gubaro. At the time of earning and bringing, A wife's friend you are ; But when you're tired and weary, A mother's son you are. Anchdr-nut aim khut tah beyis hut. A pickle-pot, — one man's (pickle) turned out splendidly, another man's (pickle) went bad. The same concern, &c-, may turn out well for one, but adrerte for another man, Andah kanih manzbdg. Being outside or on the edge, to sit in the midst. The monkey, who would fain use the cat's paw to pull th© chestnuts out of the fire. Andarah daznn panah tah nebarah dazdn lok. Inside he himself bums, and outside the people burn. The genteel poor man. Poverty and cold are burning him within, whilst outside, owing to his wearing nice clean clothes, the people burn with envy, supposing that he has money. Andarah gom wirih hund dudur tah nebarah rodum tserik hund rang. "Within me is the rottenness of the willow, but without continues the colour of the apricot. Andarah tshunihas thukah tah nebarah dupun " Gumah dm." Inside somebody spat upon him. Outside he said, ** It is perspiration." Salvd dignitate. 13 Andarit andariy wot Tsandari gom. Secretly, secretly, he reached the village of Tsandar. " In truth, he is in great distress." Andarim dddi no tnashinam marit N^barim shudi kyah barah wuini buk ? I shall never forget the pains of my heart, even after death. Shall I wish then for outside happiness ? Refusing to be comforted. Andarim nah tutj iah nebaritn nahpafj. No strength within, and no respect without. Anetis at yiyih ladanah tah mantis wdtis. If the cover be filled then it holds one pound and a half. Think before yon leap. Anhaharin arm&n tah haharimuti pashemdn. The bachelor wishes (to get married) , the married man regrets (that he got married). Marry in haste, and repent at loisore. Ani chhur lam tal tah h'lhsih dyuthus nah. A blind man sat down behind a pile of stones, and thought that nobody had seen him. The osti-ioh hides his head in the sand, Ac. Ani 9un2 kulai Khud&yas hawulah. A blind man's wife is in God*8 keeping. Anigatih guli alawuni. To show affection in the darkness. Kind to the unthankful. Anim sui, toavum auU lajum sui, panasui, I brought the nettle, I sowed the nettle, and then the nettle stung me. Ingratitude. In olden times there was a famous fakir in Kashmir, who punished himself in the following way. He uprooted a nettle, and fixing soma mud upon the palm of his hand, planted the nettle therein. All the day and all the night for several years he held out his hand with the palm uppermost, and the nettle in it. The plant grew and was strong and by reason of this, thousands of Hindis used to visit the fakir, and give him alms. The fakir had a disciple, who eventually became very jealous of the honour which his master received ; and one day in a fit of anger, he hit the nttle, earth and all, oat of his master's hand. The fakir 14 then spoke the above saying concerning both the nettle and hxa disciple, whom he had brought up and nourished from his infancy. The sting-nettle is a plant sacred to Shiva, who is said to have first planted it. Hindiis pluck the leaves, and throw them over the god's favourite symbol, the lingam. Anin manz kdni sundar.