Some Telugu proverbs, sayings, idioms and phrases - their meaning and relevance
Dear reader,
Telugu, like other ancient languages of India, is a very rich language, together as well as independent of Sanskrit. Here is an attempt to quote and explain (in no particular order though), to the extent I understood the evolution of the language, some of the proverbs, sayings, idioms and phrases in Telugu.
అపాత్రదానం
'A-paatra-daanam': This is a Sanskrit saying, more of a sage advice rather, that literally means 'giving or donating something to someone who doesn't deserve it or not worthy of it'. What is left unsaid is 'don't do it'. So it warns you not to give something to someone who doesn't deserve it or may misuse it or is not worthy of it.
ముంజేతికంకణమునకద్దమేల?
[pronounced as 'munjethi kankanamunakaddamEla?']
This proverb or saying literally means 'why do you need a mirror to look at the bracelet on your wrist?' So, it's used to point at something that is glaringly obvious.
పిట్ట కొంచెం కూత ఘనం
[pronounced as 'pitta koncheM kootha ghanam']
This literally means 'the bird is tiny but its call is quite powerful!' So, usually it's a figure of speech used to appreciate someone who is small in stature but powerful in demonstrating a particular skill such as oratory or some scholarly skill.
మా తాతలు నేతులు తాగారు మా మూతులు వాసన చూడండి
[pronounced as 'maa thaathalu nEthulu taagaaru maa moothulu vaasana chooDanDi']
This literally means 'our grandfathers drank ghee, now you smell our mouths!' So, well you can guess in what context someone will use this - when someone is bragging about their lineage and they are good for nothing, the listeners would usually quote this to express their resentment, of course out of the earshot of the braggart!
గతజల సేతుబంధనం
[pronounced as 'gathajala sEthubandhanam']
Another sobering and sage advice in the form of a metaphor (Sanskrit). It literally means making an attempt to arrest behind a dam the water that has already flown down, which implies that it's a futile attempt.
అంత్య నిష్ఠూరం కన్న ఆది నిష్ఠూరం మేలు
[pronounced as 'anthya niShThooram kanna aadi niShThooram mElu']
This means it's better to be honest and frank about some unsavoury matter upfront rather than hide it and reveal it at the end.
అరంభ శూరత్వమ్
[pronounced as 'aarambha shoorathvam']
This means 'showing great gallantry at the beginning but which fizzles out when it's put to test in the actual tough task at hand' - your comment when someone behaves thus.
పక్కలో బల్లెం
[pronounced as 'pakkalO ballem']
This is something more powerful than 'thorn in the flesh' and it literally means 'spear in one's bed'. This metaphor mainly came to be used to refer to neighbouring kings/rulers who are majors threats and so should be eliminated.
యథారాజా తథాప్రజా
[pronounced as 'yaThaaraajaa thaThaaprajaa']
This Sanskrit saying means 'as is the king so are the people/subjects', which I think is self-explanatory.
ఎక్కడ వేసిన గొంగళి అక్కడే
[pronounced as 'ekkaDa vEsina goMgaLi akkaDE']
This usually means 'no progress' - someone or something stays at the same place where you left it/that person, without making any progress.
దూరపు కొండలు నునుపు
[pronounced as 'doorapu konDalu nunupu']
This literally means 'distant hills look smoother' which is figuratively equivalent to the saying in English 'distant hills look greener'.
కుక్క తోక వంకర
[pronounced as 'kukka tOka vankara']
This literallay means "a dog's tail would remain crooked/curved". There is an interesting episode which apparently resulted in this metaphor being coined. Someone took a flat, straight bamboo stick and tied it to a dog's tail and kept it on for some days, expecting it to become straight. But when he removed the bamboo flat, it again curved up! So, usually this metaphor is used to refer to someone's behaviour or mentality that reverts to its crooked state once an external condition/pressure thta kept it straight is removed.
తుమ్మితే ఊడిపోయే ముక్కు ఉంటే ఎంత,లేకపోతే ఎంత?
[pronounced as 'tummithE ooDipOyE unTE emta, lEkapOtE enta?']
This literally means, "what's the point in having a nose that would fall off if you just sneeze?" So, this metaphor is usually used to refer to something that's so weak that it would fall apart under the slightest pressure.
చెట్లు లేనిచోట ఆముదపు చెట్టే మహావృక్షం
[pronounced as 'cheTlu lEnichOTa aamudapu cheTTE mahaavRuksham']
This literally means, "where there are no trees, castor oil plant itself is the greatest/biggest tree". Well, you can guess the situations when you can use it - when the true thing is not available, you have to make do with whartever is available, however poor a substitute it may be.
ఎంత చెట్టుకంత గాలి
[pronounced as 'entha cheTTukantha gaali']
This literallay means 'as is the tree so is the strength of its breeze'. This is a general saying to suggest that one's productivity would be according to one's capacity.
కాకి పిల్ల కాకికి ముద్దు
[pronounced as 'kaaki pilla kaakiki muddu']
This literallay means 'a baby crow would be dear to its mother', implying that though others may consider a baby crow to be ugly, for its mother it would certainly look beautiful. You may use this metaphor in similar occasions.
పులిని చూసి నక్క వాత పెట్టుకొన్నట్లు
[pronounced as 'pulini choosi nakka vaatha peTTukonnaTlu']
This is a hilarious one! This is one of the children's stories that has a nice lesson at the end. Once a fox in the forest got jealous of the tiger that every animal feared. It thought the only difference was the stripes and so got similar stripes 'burnt' on its body thinking that by looking at the stripes other animals would fear it just as they fear the tiger. But contrary to that, all the animals laughed at it! So, the moral is that you can't become some one of truly high caliber by just superficially imitating them if you don't have the real stuff in you.
ఆలస్యం అమృతం విషం
[pronounced as 'aalasyam amRutam visham'
This is an advice that says one should not delay taking action that is decided and should act immediately. Otherwise, even elixir will turn into poison. Now, read the next one!
నిదానమే ప్రధానం
[pronounced as 'nidaanamE pradhaanam']
This advice says doing it (taking action or decisive action) slowly/thoughtfully/with delibration is what is important. Now how do you decide which one to follow, the previous one or this one? You need to have some guiding principles in life to help you decide!
పిచ్చుక మీద బ్రహ్మాస్త్రం
[pronounced as 'pichchuka meeda brahmaastram']
This metaphor literally means 'striking a sparrow with the most powerful weapon'. Usually we would use it in similar situations in real life.
కల్లు తాగిన కోతి చేతికి మణిహారమిచ్చినట్లు
[pronounced as 'kallu taagina kOti chEthiki maNihaaramichchinaTlu']
Monkeys are known for their mischivious and somewhat destructive behaviour. Added to that, if it's drunk on country liquor, yes they do, you can image what would happen to a delicate chain of pearls in its hands! So, moral of this saying is: don't give some sensitive matter or delicate and valuable thing to a madcap!
గుమ్మడికాయల దొంగంటే భుజాలు తడుముకొన్నట్లు
[pronounced as 'gummaDi kaayala dongaMTe bhujaalu taDumukonnaTlu']
Once a fellow stole an ash gourd from the village head's farm. The village head noticed that it's missing from his farm and assembled all the villagers and stated that someone stole an ash gourd from his farm. The thief uncounsciously touched his shoulder, on which he carried it, thus giving away the secret.
We use this metaphor in regular conversations when some one guilty of some minor offence or mistake voluntarily says, even before anyone questions him/her, that he/she didn't do it.
ఎక్కడైనా బావగాని వంగతోటలో మాత్రం కాదు
[pronounced as 'ekkaDainaa baavagaani vangatOTalO maatram kaadu']
What it literally means: 'you ask me for a favour anytime, anywhere by invoking my relationship to you as brother-in-law but not when I am in my precious farm field'. So, that means, you ask me for favour in any other context or place but not where I can't afford to compromise or give something to you that is too precious for me.
అది వాపా, బలుపా?
[pronounced as 'adi vaapaa, balupaa?']
When someone is boasting of his muscles, if we have reason to doubt its genuineness, we ask this question to our friends around about that fellow - is it just a swelling or real muscle?
ఇంటిపేరు కస్తూరివారు ఇంట్లో గబ్బిలాల కంపు
[pronounced as 'iMTi pEru kastoori vaaru iMTlO gabbilaala kaMpu']
First the literal meaning: in Andhra, it's customary to have a family name. Here 'kastoori' refers to a fragrance and though the family has such a wonderful name, the house stinks of bats! So, it means that though the people of the family claim to be noble, honest etc., they are actually mean, cheap and dirty.
శునకమునకు కనకపు సింహాసనము తగునా?
[pronounced as 'shunakamunaku kanakapu simhaasanamu tagunaa?']
Is it appropriate to put a dog on a golden throne? Certainly not! So, the advice is to first assess the worthiness of someone before giving a position of importance to that person.
చదివినోడికన్న మడేలన్న మిన్న
[pronounced as 'chadivinOdi kanna madElanna minna']
This is based on a very scientific observation. Donkeys, the draught animals for washermen in the olden days in India, would suddenly bend their backs like an arch when they sense that it's going to rain soon. So, the story goes thus: the washerman, going home with his donkey, suddenly sees his donkey bending its back and warns other fellow villagers to go home. But a pundit, who is passing by, dismisses it and continues to walk along leisurely. Soon it starts raining and that pundit is caught off guard while the other villagers who took the washerman's advice, took shelter nearby. So, the moral of the story is that sometimes conventional wisdom is better than science.
తిన మెతుకు లేదు మీసాలకు సంపెనంగ నూనె
[pronounced as 'tina methuku lEdu meesaalaku saMpenga noone']
The guy is a pauper and doesn't have the wherewithal even for a square meal but wants to show of as if he is a rich landlord by applying fragrant hibiscus oil to his moustache! This is to expose the (financial) hollowness of some charlatans.
And more to come....
Best regards,
K. Nagarajan
Bangalore/Bengaluru
Email:knr_sh@yahoo.com