Uncles were our father's brothers. Aunties were our father's sisters and mothers of friends. They reached for high jars and brought down the biscuits when they felt like. They told us not to touch walls and stand straight and remain presentable. In revenge - though we didn't know it then - we called them aunty or uncle, each utterance wresting them away from their mental hold on a particular reflection of youth. The words, they are titles of some sort, change everything.
There are currently eight or nine kids wandering about my home for the next week. They touch walls and slouch and demand things. One of the brats is bound to call me uncle. The terror is mounting.
6 comments:
You haven't experienced this before? Good heavens, you're even younger than I thought! Call ME uncle now.
And bhaiyya?
Subtle difference between bhaiya and uncle. 'Bhaiya' makes you want to protect them. 'Uncle' makes you want to strangle them.
Rahul Uncle....whoaaa !!
Just imagine if it became Uncleji!! The "ji" will change the context completely.
And Bhaiya...yes i know what it means. But in BOmbay it can sometimes be used in derogatory terms. People from UP and Bihar are referred to as Bhaiyyas..and the term is many a times used to call one an "oaf" or a "country bumpkin"
so now !!
Wilful misunderstanding. You know exactly what i meant!!
I was once called Aunty by a 12 year old once. I was in 12 standard. And in my school uniform. Sob.
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