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WORK OF THE MONTH - ARCHIVE
| Bought for Eleven Twenties | Definitions |
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They all rushed from near and far The baparyees, the connoisseurs, the curious The young and old of both sexes To gaze upon the wondrous maj. Bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
Baparyee: trader, usually of livestock Maj: female water buffalo |
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They flocked from the Muhallah And the rest of the village The other villages from the bela And some from beyond the bela To gaze upon the wondrous maj. Bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
Muhallah: neighbourhood, part of a town or village Bela: an island in a river |
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Most came alone But some in groups. Most had walked A few on horse back All to gaze upon the wondrous maj. Bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
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The women admired the magnificent beast And quickly left. The children played around. But the men with trimmed beards and moustaches Dressed in their finest Topped with their finest pagris, stayed. |
Pagri: a turban |
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Sat cross legged on charpoys, drinking lassi or sherbet And smoking the lovingly prepared hookahs. Swapping stories about other majjah And lauding the qualities of this wondrous maj. Bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
Charpoy: very light bedstead. Majjah: female water buffalos (plural) Sherbet : homemade soft drink |
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'It stands fives hands tall at the shoulders Inclines to four and a half at the hind quarters,' Praised one of the connoisseurs. 'It is bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties?' |
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'It has the classic small head, decorated with white hair in the shape of a crescent. Large sherbety eyes with curved, small, black horns,' praised a village elder. Bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
Sherbety: The colour of a homemade soft drink, usually pale orange. |
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'Broad at the barrel, nicely rounding to the hearth, girth and hind top, legs like tree trunks. Perfectly tapering down to white hoofs.' Marvelled a Baparyee. Bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
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'Everyone's forgotten about the kutti, The miniature version of it's mother!' Pronounced the wise village elder. 'In eighteen months he'll have two majjah. I've always said, Boota is a shrewd baparyee.' |
Kutti: Female calf of water buffalo |
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He has bought this wondrous maj For the princely sum of eleven twenties And made the name of Lunger Pur And its people, shine brighter. |
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'I'll give you fourteen twenties, Cash right now!' Said one elder. 'I milk twenties gadiva's,' boomed the proud owner. 'Can anybody in this whole district match that? Fourteen twenties For this wondrous maj, I bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties.' |
Gadiva: Measure of milk, one gadiva equals four pints. |
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'Cha-cha, I've trampled Kharri, Mirpur most of Kashmir And Punjab, and been to all the local Mandies, Jhellum, Mirpur, Sarai, and the largest at Rawalpindi. I've even been to Chi-Cha Watan, But never found an animal of this pedigree. It's not for sale! This wondrous maj, I bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties. |
Cha-cha: Uncle, a respectful term for any senior male. Chi-cha Watan: Area renowned for the superior maj Mandi: Water buffalo market |
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'I want to see this maj at my kela, I'll give you sixteen twenties, And in CASH!' Added the elder visitor. |
Kela: Stake driven into ground to tether a large animal |
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'You'll see this wondrous maj But on Mohammed Boota's kela It's not for sale! Not even for eighteen twenties This wondrous maj, I bought for the princely sum of eleven twenties.' |
Author of 'Going For A Curry?: A Social & Culinary History', published by Teesside based press Ek Zuban, July 2006.