The Butterfly Keeps Flapping Its Wings

This title is in reference to an earlier post. Now, this same chain reaction is going even further. My daughter’s school asked parents to burn cd’s with their child’s favorites to play during class. Thanks to the overwhelming Bollywood exposure that my daughter has had courtesy of the previously mentioned Nepali guy in the post above, aka, Shiva, her cd is nothing but Hindi music.

Imagine a class of affluent, white, American 3,4, and 5 year-olds scarf dancing to the sounds of “Jai Ho”, “Ishq Bina”, and “Dil To Pagal Hai”…because that is what I walked into the other day. All I could think is, “when his family sent him here, they never imagined this being the result.”

I think in about 10-15 years, Bollywood may see an insurgence of American interest.

How to say “promise”

How to say “promise” in Nepali. This is the Google search term that brought someone to my page today. One of my resources uses baacha garnu as the verb for “to promise”. This dictionary is very old and has proven itself to be incorrect a number of a times so I do not vouch for its accuracy. However, its a start.

I suppose if you are referring to a noun, you might be able to use “baacha” as most of the time this dictionary has been correct, when a verb is a word with garnu attached, only garnu is modified to fit tense. I have never used baacha so I am not sure if this is what we should use.

Another source gives bacana as the noun for promise and bacana dinu as the verb form as in “give a promise.” I believe this source is more reliable as far as translations. I haven’t had a chance to discuss with my Nepali friend, but I will check up on this. For now, Ma tapaiilai bacana dinchhura khojii garchhu jivab. (And just in case my Nepali there is incorrect, “I promise to search for the answer.” Afterall, I’m still learning too.

Nepali word for gift.

Yes, its another one of those responses to the great world of Google. Someone found their way here in search of the Nepali translation of the English word, “gift”. The only word I know for this is “koseli”. Koseli actually means ‘token’ strictly speaking, however as gifts are usually a token of appreciation, a token of love, or a token of celebration, its the only word I can think of to use in place of gift.

Added bonus: Some sentences to use when talking about gifts in Nepali.

“Koseli ko lagi, Dhanyabaad.” — Thank you for the gift.

“Janma din ko Subha kamana.” — Happy Birthday.

Nepalimaa “you are sweet” bhannata?

Another day to answer a question of “how do you say____in Nepali?” Today’s google search was how to say, “you are sweet.” This is a tough one because the word sweet “gooliyo” only applies to taste in Nepali. To say “timro gooliyo ho,” would make you sound like a canibal, or terribly inappropriate at best.

So, lets focus on the likely intention of the English phrase, “you are sweet.” in this context, the speaker is usually saying, “you are kind” or “you are generous”. In this case, I believe the best phrase to use is “Timi kasto daya chhau.” I am not sure if you should use daya or dayalu in this phrase, so please chime in, Nepali speakers. Dayalu definitely has a greater lean towards the meaning “generous” than just kind. I hope this answers the seeker’s questions.

update: “Timi kasto dayalu chhau” is the best way to do this.

Nepalima these words bhanna auncha?

In response to the requests to Google on how to say things in Nepali, I am adding this series. I hope to update it as often as good search terms lead people here.

Today’s search: “how to say cute in Nepali” I believe the word is “hisi” for cute.  I should note here that “hisi” is slightly feminine in nature. When Shiva remarks to me on something cheesy I’ve done, he’ll say, “Timi kasto hisi chhau.” as in, you are cute. He often precedes this with a fake, “awww”.

Some related phrases may be:

“You are beautiful” or “Timi kasto raamro cha.” Which always confused me because it directly translates to “how good you are.” I think this phrase can be used for women or men to indicate that they are attractive.

Another way to say, “you are beautiful” is to say, “Timi ati sundar chaau.” Be sure that this is used towards a girl, it can’t translate to handsome. Also, I use timi because Shiva and I always use the timi form, but if you are less familliar with your Nepali friend, I recommend using Tapaii in place of timi. Also, the verb chaau is very informal when speaking directly to someone, I believe that its better to use a different verb such as hununcha, but I do not have a lot of practice conjugating that.

“I love you” which I have seen many ways, but used “Ma timi sanga prem garchhu.” which directly translates to, “me,  you, with love do.”

Just in case you are in a situation where someone is lavishing these sweet words on you and you would rather they back off, you can say, “Malai kunai chasho chaina.” Which I believe means, “for me, anything i do not choose this.” or “i’m not interested.

This is my best attempt at answering these questions and provided a little more. Please forgive me if I’m making mistakes and as always please correct me so that I can make sure I’m provided accurate information.

Hot and Cold Nature, a Nepali Perspective

Only a few months ago, I read a post that Nepali Jiwan wrote regarding when to eat “hot” or “cold” foods that didn’t pertain to the taste. In that time, I had a vision of a person in a tree with the head in the branches and the navel a wheel of Dharma spinning into the legs dipped in water. This week I found that image I’d created on the cover of a book called Prakriti by Dr. Robert Svoboda. In two days I finished the book and found more to read on the subject.
The parts that have stuck with me most are the parts that define hot and cold people. Shiva and I have had many a difference of opinion on hot vs. cold and perhaps it may be due to our nature. I am a strong Pitta Vata constitution. In the Ayurvedic tradition this means that my nature is that of fire, air, and some water lacking greatly in the grounding nature of the earth. I am driven by movement, transformation and light. The fire nature of the overwhelming Pitta nature also sparks my intensity in the form of anger and frustration. I have great strength as a result of this, but also suffer from impatience.
The concepts regarding my newly discovered Pitta Vata nature is that of the Dosha or balance. It is the balance between the elements Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Between these for corners is housed a triangle of Pitta (fire and water in nature), Vata (fire and air), and Kapha (air and earth). In my reading, I discovered that in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, these Doshas are critical for diet and daily life. For example, Shiva and I were discussing his need for the sun and in this model, his need for the sun is heavily influenced by his Vata nature. Vatas are cold by nature, always seeking warmth. So Shiva may feel cold and a need for the sun, while my Pitta-vata nature is hot, unreasonably feels a desire for more heat, and increases its own hot-headed nature.
The thing that made me think of Nepali Jiwan’s post, is that she mentions after birth that women are thought to be cold and need hot foods. She mentions that its a mix that tastes bitter and sweet, to warm them back up. She mentioned the presence of fenugreek, which western medicine regards as a good herb to breastmilk production being included in the mix. Vata is considered the cold nature. If a woman is considered “cold” she is considered heavy with Vata and must be fed pungent, bitter, and astringent foods. She might be fed lentils, greens, and cardamom, cumin, ginger. This is just an example and certainly doesn’t represent all the options for a “Vata” diet. What I think is amazing is that so many of the herbs, spices, and foods listed have a scientific purpose postpartum. For example, breastfeeding women and new infants need an extremely high source of folic acid, such as broccoli, collard greens, and asparagus…all foods in the Nepali Vata or “cold” diet.
I think the whole concept of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha is amazing and seems to be spot on for Shiva and I. I am going to be analyzing this diet more closely and seeing how making changes in our diets affects our moods.