Couloir Couturier in the French Alps
Perhaps my father's account of his 1944 Kashmir adventure requires a glossary. I have had to type out a number of words that were previously unfamiliar to me. Some of them are technical words connected with climbing and some are drawn from the British experience of living and working in India.
couloir - a snow-filled gully on a mountainside (French origin)
arête - a ridge on a high mountain ( French origin)
tiffin - a snack or light meal in India - often a packed lunch
pony-wallah - the fellow who looks after the ponies. The Hindi term "wallah" may be applied to many other roles and duties. Hence a rickshaw-wallah is a person who operates a rickshaw.
charpoy - a bedstead of woven webbing or hemp stretched on a wooden frame on four legs. This kind of bed is common in India and the word is of Urdu origin.
chota hazri - Chhota haazri or Chota hazri was a meal served in households and barracks, particularly in northern British India, shortly after dawn. It preceded breakfast by an hour or two.
shikari - The shikara is a type of wooden boat found on Dal Lake and other water bodies of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Shikaras are of various sizes and are used for multiple purposes, including transportation. A usual shikara seats six people, with the driver paddling at the rear.
doonga - In Kashmir - a long, narrow boat, the base of which is constructed with thick planks of cedar. The superstructure consists of a wooden frame supporting matted curtains. The roof is of wooden planks covered with rushes.
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There are as many as a thousand Hindi words that were absorbed into English long ago and are testament to the British presence in the Indian subcontinent during the days of Empire. They include:-
thug
jungle
juggernaut
bungalow
punch (drink)
pyjamas
bandana
chutney
shampoo
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/3leWPDK
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