vsbabu.org

Signs

I strongly believe that a person is poor in English because s/he is fluent in other languages (I wrote about this before). That said, one of the most amusing things about India is the courage and initiative people show these days in using English for advertising. They do understand that English is just a medium to get the point across to visitors who may not speak the local language.

Here is a sample I gathered during my rides around Bangalore, Kerala and one 7 hour road trip from Bangalore to Kerala^*.

• “Tire Puncher” -- shop that fixes up a punctured tire.
• “Xerox photocopying in all languages - 50 paise per page” -- Thanks! All languages is a must in a country like India..
• This is from the matrimonial section of Times of India. “US based Engineer/Prof/Doctor; cultured Maratha fly. ... Please respond with BHP.” I’ve heard of cultured pearl, but seeking cultured fly? In that context, what does BHP mean? After morning coffee, it dawned on me that "fly" may be an abbreviation for "family" and that BHP may not indicate "horse power", but may be "bio-data, horoscope and photo".
• What is the deal with naming bakeries as "delight"? So far, I’ve spotted “Delight Bakery”, “Delite Bakery”, “Delit Bakery”, “DeLite Bakery” and “D'Lite Bakery”.

The best one is from a Congress(I) ad: “How can any party pre-occupied with violence, greed, corruption, embezzlement, conspiracy, nepotism and divisive politics find time for the common man?” Nepotism? Help me, Captain Haddock.

^* Hey non-resident Indians, can you believe that? I drove my car solo from Bangalore to Kerala in 7 hours (12 noon to 7pm). 410 km in 7 hours! India is truly shining as far as the Golden Quadrilateral high-way project is concerned.

1. As for 'fly' and 'BHP', I guess these abbrv. are well know among the 'matrimonial circles' :)

   Just like the pain of keying in words created abbrv. for SMS, the fact that you pay for each letter (I am guessing here) in a matrimonial must have created 'fly' and 'BHP'.

   Posted by: Srijith on April 26, 2004 08:01 AM

2. 410 km in 7 hours that just goes to show INDIA is Really shining.

   PS: My American friend visited India last winter and he like Bangalore so much that he would like to settle there.

   Posted by: Pramod on April 27, 2004 01:02 AM

3. Pills 'n' Tabs - A medical store in South Bangalore ;)

   Posted by: hpnadig on April 30, 2004 02:52 PM

4. Hi Babu,
   did you read Dave Barry this weekend? his column was on outsourcing:
   http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/8565054.htm?1c
   thought you'd like it...
   

   Posted by: Mitzi on May 11, 2004 03:40 AM

5. Good ones, babu! But I'm sure a very familiar forward beats them all:

   "Child Bear served here"

   outside a bar in Bihar (for chilled bear, of course)

   Posted by: Arun Ravindran on July 20, 2004 03:32 PM