Vocabulary

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.

💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢

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

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The Incident Of The Lavender Bath Bomb

 

Blog reader Donell very kindly sent me a packet of lavender Bath Bombs. 

Lavender is calming and soothing and relaxing.

I kept them for tonight’s long, wonderful soak in the bath.

It’s been a nice day all told. 

This evening I had a phone call from one of my Friday quiz team members who strange-as-it-would-seem kinda found me attractive. 

It was nice to have a flirt.

Anyhow back to the bath bombs

I ran my bath

Threw in two hard as rock bath bombs and prepared myself for a lavender overload.

I must admit as I was pottering around the bathroom , I did say to myself that the odour of lavender wasn’t as strong as I had expected but as the water was steaming hot and inviting , I disrobed and plopped bum first into the bath

RIGHT ON TOP OF TWO MARBLE HARD BATH BOMBS

( no one told me they were wrapped in invisible plastic!)

The other side of the village must of heard the screams, and I clambered out of the tub convinced I was mortally wounded. 

With tears in my eyes I could see the packet of lavender bombs on the window ledge 

They were described as being “ calming” 

Hey ho

Calming ....my arse !

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Mozzarella Dippers

 

This morning nine of my fellow students that had enrolled in “ A brief exploration of Wind in Cinema” met up on zoom for coffee. Several live in London, two are from the states and one lives in Malta. 

I am the only Northerner .

By the feel of the conversation most of us live alone ( although rather theatrically one elderly and rather grumpy spouse of a professor type kept shuffling around in the background of his study carrying piles of washing in her arms) and so over the space of nearly two hours we chatted about our favourite films, the recent BAFTA nominations, what film changed your life and the knotty question of Was Hitchcock a real pervert?

All great fun.

The weather deteriorated this afternoon so, after a walk, the dogs and I went up to McDonalds and shared a whole box of mozzarella cheese dippers in complete, joyous silence .

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