English
All things are at a price, but conversation is gratis. Srandah srandah tsuw^m har ; yutdn nah ok chhuh marun, tuton chhih nah path rozun. A buffalo quarrels with another buffalo ; until one of them dies the fight is not over. When Greek meets Greek then comes the tug of war. 204 Srug, sift, tah pandhdnr. Cheap, nice, and broad. Hot, sweet, and strong. Srugui chhuh drug tah drugui ohhuh srug. Cheap is dear and dear is cheap. It is better to pay a little more and have a really good arfciole than to buy an extraordinarily cheap (?) article, and presently discover that it is not worth having. Subhuoh ckilam chhai til chardgas; Subhuck chilam ohhai bugas Mi ; Subhuch chilam chhai ndrah phah Mdgas , Subhuch chilam chhai dragas. zii. The morning pipe is hke oil to the lamp ; The morning pipe is as jessamine in the garden ; The morning pipe is as the heat of a fire in January ; The morning pipe is as employment in the time of famine. Chilam is that part of the hukkah which hc^ds the tobacco and the charcoal-ball. Subhuk balah ai nuhurah jyyos doh neris pandi; Pheran ai ndkdrah gos wahr'i np.ris pandi ; Zandnah ai nuMrah peyas umr neris pundi. If the breakfast is bad then all the day will go wrong ; If the dress is bad then all the year will go wrong ; If the wife is bad then all the life-time will go wrong. Suchhuh gariuol tah mnh-i-ramazdnik nemuzi. A householder (only) in time of abundance, and prayers only during the month of Ramazan. An unreliable character. Ramazdn is the name of the ninth Mnhammedan month, during which every orthodox follower of that religion abstains from eating, drinking, &C., between the morning dawn and the appearance of the stars at night. On the 27th day of this month the Quran began to descend from heaven, and every prayer offered up on that night (called lailatu'-l-qadr) will he answered. Also prayers offered up on the 19th, 21 st and 23rd days of Bamazan are thought to avail much. Suddmun hum bus. Sudam's handful of chaff. A rupi to a poor man is as much as one thoasand rdpis to a rich man. 205 8uddm was a great friend of Krishna. He at one time was in such groat distress, that only a handful of chaff was left to him, which he purposed to eat and then die. However he thought the I'ottor of this and wont to the RAjd instead with the handful of . Imff . R6j& Krishna was so touched with the man's poverty and simplicity, that he himself ate the chaff and gave the Brdhman Suddm whatsoever his heart wished for. Suh tih dohd Nasaro. i'hat day also passed, O Nasar. Come good, come evil, there is an end. A. quotation from a list of conversation between Shekh Nfir-nd-dfn and his favourite disciple Nasar. Gonvorsation between these two uainta often took the form of poetry aooording as they were inspired. Hero is the piece of poetry : — Maiddn wdwas tjakuj nani ; guh tih dohd Natoro. Tun tougarah tah sSni pnni ; suh tih dohd Naacuro, Nishi rani tah tourani khani ; auh tih dohd Naaaro, Wurah batah tah gd4ah gani ; suh tih dohd Nasaro, When the back was bare upon the bleak plains ; that day also passed, O Nasar. When we had wet rioe and dry r^^tablos only to eat ; that day too, has gone, O Nasar. When the wife was near one and warm clothing ooverod the bod ; that day, too, went by, O Nasar. When boiled rioe and sliced fish were provided for ns ; tliat day also passed, O Nasar. Thoro is something similar to this in Persian, bat who is the author of it, or where it ih to bo found, is not known :<— Ifunam ki kabdh mehhorad : Meguxrad, War hdda % ndh mekhorad ; Meguxrad. Daryozah ha kashkol % gaddi nan rdt Tar kardah ha db mekhorad j Meguxrad, The wealthy man eats roasted flesh : Passing away. Should ho drink pure wine ; Passing away. The beggar eats the alms-bread, After having soaked it in water ; Passing away. These lines were probably known in the days of Akbar, for when that monarch asked his favourite minister Bir-Bal to do something for him, which would be a source of happiness to him in time of ad- versity as well in the time of prosperity, Bir-Bal replied by sending 206 to the emperor a few days afterwards a beantifnl ringstotie upon which he had caused to be engraved in Persian character the word " Meguzrad" ; he also sent a nice letter with it adrising the king to look upon the ring whenever he was tempted to be over-elated by prosperity, or over-depressed by misfortune. Another Persian saying from another unknown source is frequent- ly quoted by the Persian- speaking Kashmiri : — Shah e samur guzashto ; Shab e tanur guzasht. That night, when we had fur to cover us, has gone ; That night, when we had the fixe to warm us, has gone. Sukhas des. A stick to peace (or striking his peace). A man, who really has nothing to complain of — ^he has health and^ wealth and friends, but he says that he is never well, not rich, and that every body is against him. Sumis sum niiimat tah he-sum hiydmat. Like with like is bles&ing, but unUke is confusion^ Birds of a feather flock together ; Birds of a different feather tear one another. Sh{rin-o-Khusrau. — Kunad ham-jins hd ham-jins parwdz Kab'Atar hd hahutar hdz hd hdz. Sun ckkuk punai hahwachik j>etk malum sapurtdn hhuf chhud yd hhur. Gold is known upon the stone, whether it is alloyed or pure.. A man is known by his work and walk and conversation. Kahwat is a touchstone. (Persian. — Mihakk-i-zarrln.) GvLHat^n.—MihakJc ddnad zar chist. CrCbdd ddnad mumsik hist Sunah sunz shrdk, nah ivdr thawanas tah nah wnr trdivanasi^ A golden knife is neither fit to keep, nor to throw away. Sunas gayam sartal kanas chhas nah batah ladun. To me gold has become as brass. I do not load my ear with food {i. e., and I am not such a fool as not to know it). Cf. "Kanas chhas" ^c. My position is altered and I know it. Sunas mul Tcanas tal. The worth of the gold is in the ear. Possession is everything. 207 Sundari Uah pari mat trdv hukai ; t9^h hdli ion ohikah chdo. O pretty woman, don't step so haughtily, you will lose your youthful pride in time. A silly, conceited, young woman. This is evidently a line from one of the Kashmiri songs, bat it cannot be traced as yet. Sunur nai simah tjur harih tah hats ffatjhes. If the goldsmith did not steal the gold he would get kdts (i. <•., a subtle disease, hectic fever). The suspicion with which the goldsmith is looked npon is not peculiar to the people of Kashmir. Cf . Kalila o Damna ; the story of the Brdhman Thephasavdmi in Herr Adolf Bastian's German collection of Siamese tales ; '* The Orientalist," Ceylon, VoL I., p. 180 ; the Rev. C. Swynnerton'a appendix of folk-tales of the Panj&b to his book on RAjd Ras&l^ ; and the Tamil story told in p. 184, Vol. I. of ** The Orientialist," Bat in " The Book of Were-wolres," by S, Baring-Gould, it is stated on the authority of a gentleman who resided in Abyssinia for ten years, and published an account of his experiences afterwards, "that in Abyssinia the gold and silversmiths are highly regarded, bat the iron-workers are looked upon with contempt as an inferior grade of beings. Their kinsmen even ascribe to them the power of trans- forming themselves into hynnas, or other savage beasts. All convulsions and hysterical disorders are attributed to the efFeot of their evil eye. " Sur vialit tjurah jamdat. Rubbing ashes over his hody (like a saint) and yet helong- ing to a company of thieves. Surah banih wuth nah Mv, The crow did not rise from the dust-heap (although stones were thrown at it). A man taken into court, but bribes were paid and so the matter was kept secret. Surah phalih balai dur. From a speck of dust misfortune flies. A word, and the thing is done. Suranai ffatjhih w&yini, gait gatshanas nah Ichasuni. The lute should he played, but the checks need not be hlown out. When a man does a good work there is no necessity to send some- one with a trumpet to advertise it. 208 Sutt dug ah bah traJc. Slowly, slowly, twelve traks (i.e.y 114 pounds) will be pounded. Borne was not built in a day. ** Sutsal kami rani ? " ** Ami chdnih pranih." ** Mithut chheh gamuts'' " Mydnih hhalani sueti" " Who cooked the mallow ? " " That old woman of yours." " Ah ! it is very nice." *• Yes — I stirred it." Anxious to avoid the blame, but to get the praise. Sutsalih manzah gushtdbah nerun. Soup comes forth from the mallow. " Despise not the day of small things.