The Mallu English

The Mallu English

Malayalam is said to be one of the toughest languages. May be this is why Malayalees learn other languages faster. The flip side is that we add our own malayalee flavor to those languages :)

For instance, many a time, we go to a pizza shop and order a small pizza and a large Co**. No, we are not being perverts. All we want to order is a large Coke. But the way we say it makes it sound a tad bit vulgar. It’s just the influence of the language you see.

When we go for a small break, we might ask you if you want tea or cOOOffee?? Why do you guys laugh? Because we say coooffee? So you will laugh when we say ooofeece also right? Such snobs you all are.

Now, the sing song way in which we talk. Aaare we gooing theyar orrr nooot? Thanks to our beautiful language again, we try to implement it in other languages as well ;).

So now that we have made peace with it, understand that not all malayalees speak that way! Stop telling us that you don’t sound like a mallu! And accept the fact that whichever state you are from, your English has its own regional dialect. Just that we don’t take the pain to point it out every time J. It is just a language and none of us are perfect. So stop pointing it out and let’s simBly have a coofee BRAWWWW!!!!

Thattu Kada, The Heavenly eateries in Kerala

Thattu Kada

If you travel across Kerala especially in the nights, you will see roadside eateries. These eateries are called ‘thattu kada’. These shops serve mouthwatering food. They will be very brightly lit and a lavish spread will be available. It is something to be learned as to how they manage to wrap up all of the equipments and put them in to a small cart. Another interesting thing is these shops come alive only in the evening. In the mornings, they easily camouflage in to the background of a bus stop or a tree’s shade.

There will be a cook who will be dishing out ‘dosas’ or ‘omlets’ or ‘appams’. He might also be steaming the ‘idlis’ , ‘puttu’ or frying meat too.  Then there is a person who takes orders and collects cash. This person has to be really good at multi taking and memorizing. These people have to be extremely fast because there aren’t enough seats to accommodate more people.

These ‘thattu kadas’ are Kerala’s own fast food joints J.

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Kambili Puthappu

Kambili Puthappu

The title of this blog in Malayalam means a blanket(made of wool to be specific). But it gained an entirely different meaning once the movie ‘Ramji Rao speaking’ released in the early 1990s.

There is this hilarious scene in the movie where in a lady calls up the hero and ask him to bring “kambili Puthappu” for her. The hero pretends as if the telephone line is not clear and he is unable to understand what she is saying. This was to avoid the responsibility and thus the expense to bring the blanket. From then on, people of Kerala have been using this word whenever we want to dodge a request or we suspect that someone is dodging a question or a responsibility.

Now you might wonder what the 4G girl has got to do with this entire thing. I strongly feel this girl who is sort of a brand ambassador for a particular firm should be replaced and the lady in the picture should be given that role. This makes more sense since people have been complaining about the network issues of that particular provider. What say?

Po Mone Modi ?

#PoMoneModi ?

I happened to see this hashtag trending on Twitter ~ #PoMoneModi . I do not endorse or criticize the politics about the hashtag. But I must say it’s quite smart and funny. So all of us from Kerala know what the hashtag means.

For those of you who do not hold the God’s own voter id, here is all you need to know. There was a time in Malayalam cinema where the heroes used to have super human powers. Thankfully, we are over that phase. In that forgettable era of Malayalam cinema, there was a film called ‘Narasimham’ which starred Mohanlal (we call him Lalettan). To be fair, that was a good movie but the ones which followed and imitated that movie were horrible.

So the hashtag mentioned here is inspired from “Po Mone Dinesha”, a dialogue from the film which literally means, “You Go Mr. Dinesh”, said in a contemptuous way. It caught on big time in kerala. Everyone from a little ‘Tintu mon’ to a matriarch started using this phrase. Like many phrases in Malayalam, it has a tone as to how you say it. Also, it has different connotations to it. Primarily, it is used as a dismissive phrase. Also, it is like belittling the other person in a way by calling him a kid. So how it is used in this hashtag here is for you to judge :)

Know your kuttans

Know your Kuttans ~ Tony kuttan

Kuttan is an endearing term used to address small boys. At times, we use it for big boys too. One such kuttan is Tonykuttan. He is a character which all the 80’s and early 90’s kids remember with fondness from the movie, No.20 madras mail. He has caught the imagination of many a train travelling malayalee.

Pronounciation : Kuttan ~ Ku (‘Cou’ as in Could) and ttan (‘Ten’ as in 10).

So Tonykuttan is a malayalee( ha ha surprise!) and he is drunk( ha ha big surprise! J ) and he is in a train. The TTR comes for checking, becomes friends with him and he starts singing this song. “Innallenkil naale varum…naale allenkil mattannal varum..Tony Kutta…Tony kutta..” . The essence of the song is in stressing on the Kutta part. You need to be careful in adding some air to the pronunciation of the word, Kutta!

So next time you travel to Kerala, seek out the TTR and sing this song to him. If he is a malayalee, he will throw you out of the train J. If he is not a malayalee, he will think you have gone mad. So a safer idea is to sing this to your friends.

Does this song or character have a great deal of importance in the Kerala society’s fabric? Not in a serious sense. But we like the song. We like Tonykuttan. Tonykuttan travels by train. Tonykuttan has good friends. Tonykuttan sings songs. Be like Tonykuttan.

P.s. There are Kuttans of different variety.There is a harmless kuttan in movie Blore days. But the moment you add thampuran as second name to kuttan, the entire scenario changes!!!

New Gen!

New Gen!

              This is the time of ‘New Generation’ wave in Kerala. Anything and everything is New Gen to the extent that it has almost become part of a present day malayalee’s lexicon. Allow me to elaborate on various aspects of New Gen. 

           These days, the famed lungies of kerala are a disappearing attire. They have been replaced by shorts and track suits. It is beneath the new gen to wear lungies. Thankfully, they still wear Mundu(dhoti) proudly during Onam celebrations in their colleges. 

           Further to this, they have done away with the endearing ‘Chetta’ term. Even if you are elder to a person by a month or a decade, you will be invariably called ‘Bro’! And if you are someone who has a special place in their hearts, then you become  a ‘chunk’ or a ‘freak’ with random numbers of alphabet ‘z’ before and after. Illustration :  ^^^^^zzchunkzzzz, freakzzzzzz#####~~~~~. This expression is usually found on Facebook. 

              Also, it is mandatory for these youngsters to be part of at least one short film. If not, a photoshoot where in these people will be staring you down with different ‘attitudes’. Do not miss the hairdo in these pics. You might think they are carrying a Pomeranian puppy on their heads. Nope, it is just a hairstyle :)

              When so much is happening around, how can Malayalam cinema go unaffected? Infact, the term newgen was coined to depict cinemas of today. The speciality of these films is that the hero will not wear a mundu. He will sport boxers! Malayalam cinema has much to thank Fahad Fazil for this. Also, the only relationships portrayed in the films will be of friends. There won’t be any character playing a mother’s role or a father’s role. There is no question of extended family or siblings.

          Another newgen transition that has happened is that the ‘thattu kadas’ have now moved inside the malls from the road sides. Also, the wedding photo shoots that have emerged. About that, we shall discuss in another blog.

Crossing the Pamba!

Crossing the Pamba!

These days, river pamba is a hot topic of discussion in Kerala. For those from outside Kerala, river pamba is on the foothills of Shabarimala. Should women enter pamba, cross pamba or see pamba at all? Too much time and words are spend over such discussions. So Pinklungy as always shall provide a different perspective to pamba.

There is a usage called 'Pamba kadannu' which literally means 'crossed pamba'.  It is used to indicate something on the lines of 'Elvis has left the building'. So if someone had fever and is feeling better now, one can say 'pani pamba kadannu' which translates to 'fever crossed pamba' which means fever has long left the person. So next time someone says 'pamba kadannu', don't ask them "oh! On a boat or did you swim?" :)

p.s. Now don't start saying it is Pampa! It is not the Kerala English at work. It really is PamBa! :)

2nd p.s. Lord Ayyappa is the one of the most secular and progressive Gods. His best friend Vavar, is a believer of Islam. He doesn't care what religion his devotees belong to. How we wish if we all were so progressive!

Hollywood bows down to Kerala!

Hollywood bows down to Kerala!

                     It is a known fact that Malayalam Cinema is respected across the world. It has national and international recognition be it for the flawless scripts or for the understated yet powerful acting skills of  famed artists who belong to this industry.

                   But not many of you would have realized that Hollywood is also indebted

to Malayalam Cinema. Ask me why? I hope you have seen Avatar. What is the story line? The hero goes in to an unknown territory, becomes friends with the people there and tricks them in to believing what he wants to say. A while later, he has a change of heart and he becomes part of people from this unknown territory leaving his bosses high and dry. Now go and watch the movie ‘Vietnam Colony’. And you tell me that the story line is different! Isn’t Vietnam Colony, Pandora? It is! All that is lacking is the blue beings of Pandora are not singing “Pathiravayi neram..panineerkulirambily…”

                Now you might brush it aside as a coincidence. Then what about the movie Judge? When I saw the trailer itself, I knew it is a rip off of Narasimham! What is the story line of Narasimham? “A judge who is known for his exemplary honesty and pristine career has a high achiever son. Once, the judge has to pass a judgment against his own son. This leads to them drifting apart. Then comes a time when the son has to rescue his dad from a sticky situation which leads to reconciliation” Now go and read the synopsis of Judge and you tell me that it is not inspired from Narasimham!

p.s. We malayalees are well-read and well-travelled enough to know that what is mentioned above is a long stretch of the imagination. But we are among those who like to laugh at ourselves ;)