Once a Paindoo, Always a Paindoo

Hey! It is very bold and daring of you to declare yourself a paindoo! I am much surprised, at the same time glad to know that some people do admit that they are paindoo, or may I say ,are willing to come to face with the truth about themselves. Very few people in the world today are brave enough to confront the nature of their souls, their

temperaments and the foundation of their personalities. I meet acquaintances from old times and am amazed to see their complete fake and shallow makeovers. This goes to show how superficial and phony they are and how dissatisfied they were with being themselves. So these are what I call upstart.

I go out at night very often and its good fun! It doesn’t matter what I’m wearing or if I look my best; have I any hip and trendy accessories to showoff; no one of these petty things bother me. Maybe I’m not feeling up to getting all dressed up! I feel really cool in my crumpled kurta pajama!

Romair #32: About a sardar talking to Pakistani Punjabis in Punjabi, I always try to speak with Pakistani Punjabis in Punjabi. I had moved to this new job and made good acquiantance with this Lahori fellow who used to work in the other corner of the building. We would exchange few words in Punjabi whenever we see eachother in the cafeteria, water cooler etc. One day he was talking to one of the Indian engineers in English who was from South and I knew her as well. While passing by them I said something to my Pakistani mate in Punjabi and he replied in ThaiTh punjabi.. none of this was understood by our south Indian friend. She asked with lot of amazement how come we both know the Pakistani language(Punjabi she meant). She told me that it was a very unusually sight for her where a Pakistani shared his mother tongue with an Indian while we both Indians did not and usually talk in english.

(BTW I spent my long weekend with few of my really really paindoo...hard core, paindoo to the bone Pakistani friends on the East coast. It was amazing that, how without our religious indentiites coming between us, we are so much alike.)

Hana #43: I think at girl`s wedding, although it is a happy occasion people still feel sad as the girl is going to go away from where she was born and grew up. She is going to go to his new and ``real`` home. It is no less a sorrow than our family members coming to the airport to see us off knowing very well they won`t see us for years.

songs like `` sada chiRhiyan da chamba vey, babul asaN tur jaana...`` can be sung only in sad tunes:-) anyother way it would be inappropriate.

Urstruly #51: Mirassis are known to have very good wit and humour. They can say the unsayable and hurl abuses without being beaten up. It is said that once someone in Ranjit Singh`s darbar challaneged a miraasi to call Maharaja as Kaana(one eyed) on his face. The mirassi took the challenge and started telling Maharaja about his visit to Maharaja`s in-laws home and how his beautiful sister-in-law misses him(maharaja) at which Maharaja asked what did she say. Miraasi relpied`` Sarkaar she said how is my jeeja kaana. she also said tell Kaana to visit us sometime.....she said although my jeeja is kaana but he is really sweet`` etc etc... so Miraasi managed to say kaana on his face more than once without getting the blame for it.

Bina & Scout: There is no one particular definition of pindoo. A person calling himself/ herself paindoo is very different than being labeled as paindoo by others.

Paindoo literally means a villager and paindoo-pna or paindooness means one who acts like a villager in an urban environment. Now what is acting like a villager is also very subjective. Being labeled as paindoo means culturally ``backward`` and possibly inactive in urban society. A person willingly (or proud of) being a paindoo means high regard for traditions, village culture, simplicity and honesty despite perfectly at par with other urbanites in urban environment.

Bina #65, ``Is being a paindoo a state of location, or a state of mind? ``

I`m trying to figure out the same thing.

I don`t think it has anything to do with wearing kolhapuri chappals and dancing at desi weddings.

One can be in tune with their culture and still be very much cosmopolitan.

Another aspect of `paindooness` that I don`t understand is that is the word only reserved for Punjabis or does it pertain to other sub-cultures as well?

Harpreet # 67

Hoorpreet?

LOL

That was creative...it seems even the best of us can`t escape Hoorprem.

Romair:

Hopefully I will have the privelige of visiting west Punjab and Hassan Abdal one day. Ideally I would like to be in Lahore during Basant. The information about the history of the area around Gurdwara Panja Sahib is fascinating. I understand that the Sikh Yatras to Pakistan are done on quota basis which was made up in the 1950`s, therefore the number of Sikhs allowed to visit is quite restricted. I read somewhere that both governments are looking to review this to allow year round access to Indians wishing to visit places of worship in Pakistan. I think this will be a very good thing, and can only help in terms of reconciliation and in a spirit of humanity. All the people I know who have done the Yatra to Pakistani Gurudwaras have nothing but good things to say about the country and people.

regards,

Hoorpreet ;)

Urstruly # 60!



WAH BUDHO WAH!

Urstruly seems to be an expert on this topic. I dont know why he forgot to mention the famous quote about Wah while digging the great history of origination of the word Wah. `` Wah Budho Wah `` sometime ``Wah Budhoo Wah``. While coming from Hasan Abdal to Taxila on G.T Road, first comes the original village named Wah, then another village, Budho (dont be mistaken as Budhoo in Urdu) and after that Wah Cantonment Area comes. Thus, the term Wah Budho Wah comes into existence.

Shirin!

I can attest that urdu version of folk poem I quoted in my post is for sure the original piece of Urstruly. So u can give him the full Dehliyana credit.

Hana!

U mentioned about tilliyan vali chappel being made in your village. The most famous tilliyan vali chappel is made in a village named Kufri near Talagang,is it right and u r from Kufri or what? I love these tillay vali khers. I have two pairs here in States. Mostly I wear them with Kurta Shalwar but sometimes with Jeans too. My American friends admire them even though they dont know Imran Khan who made these shoes more famous.

Is being a paindoo a state of location, or a state of mind?

Romair

There is something that is gonna tear your heart apart. I have also swam several hot summer afternoons in the Naher alongwith my friends there. That was almost a decade ago. THe water used to be crystal clear in those days. But now because of the massive Industrialization in the area and due to weak or non-existent environmental regulations the spring water is severely polluted-downstream from the water supply plant for Wah Cantonment. The water is yellowish and people even hesitate to wash their suzuki pickups in the water. Couple of years ago when I happened to go there my friends did not let me dip my feet in the spring water. The fish does taste good but now it comes from Tarbela Dam or from the Harrow River-20 km west on GT road.

Harpeet #61: You should take a trip to Hasan Abdal. It`s about 45 minutes from Pindi. Once or twice a year, the place gets packed with Sikhs. Since so many Sikhs have been visiting for so long, it has become a part of the local lifestyle. The Gurdwara is/was actually quite a bit better maintained than the rest of city.

One thing I did notice everytime I passed through there, regarding the local Punjabi accent: everyone there seems to put an, ``o`` where an, ``a`` should be used. Hasan becomes Hasoon. Umair becomes Uomair. So don`t be surprised, if Harpeet is pronounced Hoorpeet, when you are there :-)

Here is some info I found on Hasan Abdal:

``Hasan Abdal & Gurudwara Panja Sahib

Hasan Abdal is 48 km from Rawalpindi. It is a beautiful, quiet place and a convenient halting point on G.T. Road enroute to Peshawar or Abbottabad.

This town has a particular association with Mughals and Sikhs. It was mentioned by Emperor Jehangir in his memoirs and frequently visited by successive Mughal Kings, on their way to Kashmir. It remained a holy place for various religious groups through the ages. It has a Sikh Gurdwara (temple) known as Panja Sahib having a scared rock with the hand print of their religious leader, Guru Nanak. Twice a year, Sikh pilgrims visit this Gurdwara from all over the world.

On the nearby hill, at an altitude of 714 meters, there is a meditation chamber related to a 15th century Muslim Saint, Baba Wali Qandhari, popularly known as Baba Hasan Abdal. The saint stayed in Hasan Abdal from c.1406 - 1416 AD but died and buried in village Baba Wali near Qandhar (Afghanistan). The devotees and visitors climb over the steps leading to the hill, for offerings and to have a panoramic view of Hasan Abdal.

Just opposite the eastern gate of Gurudwara Panja Sahib, there is a small mosque and ‘chilla gah’ (meditation cell) of Baba Wali Qandhari. Behind the mosque is a fresh water pond with big Mahasheer fish. Adjacent to the pond is a building called Maqbara Hakeeman. Two Royal Hakeem (doctor) brothers namely, Abual Fateh Gilani (died 1589 AD) and Hamam Gilani (died 1595 AD) are buried here on the orders of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Both, the fish pond and the tomb, were built by Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi, Akbar’s minister, between 1581 - 1583 AD. A paved path leads from the fish pond to a small, walled garden. The garden has two graves, one in the centre and the other in a corner. The central grave is wrongly attributed to a so-called Mughal Princess, Lala Rukh. However, it is not known that who is buried here.``

Quite a bit of history for such a tiny city.

Urstruly #60: Thanks for the update. My informatin is about 15 years old, hence the is/was in the sentences.

We used to go swimming in the Naher back then, and everyone just refered to it as Naher. I hope the fish still tastes as good. Fried fish from Hasan Abdal, with Mangoes dipped in the cold Naher, under the Louqat trees at the Wah Gardens, after a good swim, was the extent of our social life. Not quite Wolfgang Puck or Benihana, but it had its own charm.

There used to be a Bus Adda in Hasan Abdal, close to where the road for Abbotabad starts, if I remeber correctly. It also did not have a name; just called Adda; or maybe it did have a name. It seemed like a lot of Hasan Abdal college students used to hang out there, asking for rides to Pindi, on weekends.

Romair#50;

Thanks for your reply again. Your descriptions of Hassan Abdal and the surrounding areas are tantalising me. I am feeling the pull of the place even more now. I am happy to hear that you have visited Gurudwara Panja Sahib so many times. Thanks for keeping an eye over it. :)

take care

Harpreet

Romair # 54

The Naher that you have mentioned does have a name, its called Wah Chashma; it was christened by the name of Wah Springs by the engineers who built the Wah Ordinance Factories. It is a collection of springs that accumulate somewhere behind Wah GaoN.

I think it was Babar rather than Jehangir who named the place ``Wah``. Actually the word ``Wah`` is Urdu/Persian/Pushto equivalent of English expression ``Wow``. legend has it that when Babar crossed the river sindh at attock, he found the whole place as a barren semi-desert until he reached the narrow pass at the place which is now called Hasan abdal. When he saw the whole valley from a cliff with springs and fruit trees all around he uttered the words ``Wah!`` (Wow). The historians who were writing his Tuzk were so tired that they didnt bother much to investigate around and named the whole valley as ``Wah``.

One of my relatives who is a geologist with WAPDA once told me that the origin of Wah Springs is in the Hills of Murree which is about 70 miles NW. The snow that falls in the winter turns into water and flows in underground tunnels for seventy miles and emerge in Wah as springs.

Hassan abdal is a small town in this valley. which has now grown up to be quite big. The population starts from the Wah Cantonment and goes ten Km west to the Khawaja Glass Factory (another Paki icon); it also encompasess Wah GaoN in the south now and then Air Weapons Complex in the North. I think the poplation has gone well over 75K. Now police do have motorized vehicles; as a matter of fact I saw them with Chevy Trucks once (Right Hand Drive of course) which they use to follow smugglers on the GT road coming from Peshawar and Darra.

Hi there,

Enjoyed reading this, and I could relate to it because I`m a Canadian paindoo (here the term is called being a `hick` :) ) because I was raised in a very small town in the east coast of Canada- where everyone knows your name and we had only one high school. After 8pm if one stood outside one would hear only silence.

In fact some of our other more Urban North American relatives told my family that we were living in a ``gaon``.

My hick status or paindoo-ness was especially driven home to me during my first trip to Toronto many years ago when I unsuspectingly went shopping in the downtown Eaton Centre dressed in an oversized baggy t-shirt that had my hometown emblazoned on it, sneakers, plain old jeans and big frizzy hair pushed back with a headband. Walked into the first shop I saw entitled something to the effect of ``Urban Clothing``. Quickly found myself surrounded by women in leather-ish pants, high-high-high heels, and guys with slicked back hair, leather jackets etc. The way they looked at me... Gosh, I was out in about 15 seconds! :)

Though I am now a resident of a `big city` and have grown to enjoy its facilities, I must say that at heart I`m still very much a small town girl and miss the quiet nights , friendly people and slooooow pace of life. Would I move back? Probably not. But that doesn`t stop the nostaligic reminiscing of the ``good ol` days``.

Regards,

Fozia

URSTRULY #

``Kaash ho chaarpai ik baan ki

So jaoN sar baaNh peh rakhay

Kash main apne gaaoN main hota

Shimla mera ooncha hota

Haath main ik bataira hota

DostoN main apna naam hota

Kash mein Apney Gaon mein Hota ``

The translation in Urdu could be passed of as any verses of a GOOD Delhi poet !

If it is your own, then Wow ! you are good !

sa:)

Dear Hana ,

[[`lo marasiyan kol paisay agayne...`!! plz shirin dont ask for translation, i dont think i would be able to do justice to it:) ]]

..... Menu itti Punjabii to samajh attii hai sii !! bus bolan tey maar kha jaitti sii .....

sa :)

RE:Romair #

``Speaking Punjabi is as much, if not more, about the speed and accent, as it is about the words. Kind of like Rap music. So if you speak fast enough, with the correct accent, you can mix in Urdu words, and no one will ever notice, nor laugh. Continue doing this for six months, and before you know it, you will be over the hump, and speaking fluent Punjabi``.

Thanks, Romair for the Golden advice !First I have to learn to speak fast ... I guess the rest will fall into place , hopefully :)

In our household, we are a talkative bunch, but the asset of ``speed ``, is something we somehow lack !!Will work on it :)

Urstruly # The joke was hilarious , really enjoyed it !Thank you for the translation to make it possible !

Hana / Urstruly

Thank you for the full description of Marasiis .I have learnt a lot now ... maybe i will not feel like Alice In Wonderland now if i attend a wedding in typical punjabi style !

Incidentaly is there any Upite amongst us ? friends of mine used to be alarmed at our spoken language , as I was of theirs [ Deccani Hyderabadi ] Nakoo bolo jee .....

love,

sa :)