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| Family Talks |
Yesterday I talked to my relatives in Canada – those typical weekends
where one of them calls you and then the other relative gets to know that “talking”
has happened. To make sure there is no news that they are bereft of, they call
and make sure that they have done the “talking” ….and the “talking” passes on
till all of them have talked to me and among themselves to make sure they are “talking”
the same thing. No complains, it is just
the way our families function and show love J
Most of them were in India till the 90’s which means my chacha-chachis
, mama-mamis , taaya – taayis and everyone who belongs to my parent’s
generation were in their late 30s- early 40s when they moved to Canada. After spending
40 odd years in theth Jatt Punjabi culture
in India it was probably difficult for them to pick up the Canadian accent but
they definitely picked up some words which they would use without fail. Surprisingly,
they talk and do the same things which they used to make fun of when they were
in India and relatives from JOOO ESSS AAA (USA) and JOOO KKK (UK) would come
over. My Chachi laughed away when I imitated her PUNGLISH (Punjabi + English). Not just the way of speaking but there are
lifestyle changes they undergo – which they HAVE TO otherwise they don’t get social
acceptance in Indo-Canadian culture.
#1: The Haircut
Not so much for the older generation but for my generation and younger the guys would have the YO haircut. It became so evident
that when we would go to Ludhiana for vacation we could literally recognize Canadian
Punjabi boys just by the way they dressed – Jeans, Puma t-shirt , white sneakers
and YO haircut.
#2: The DALLE
Just like we never say Paise but "Pehe", we never say Dollars but DALLE. It
doesn’t matter whether you are buying at a wholesale shop in chaura bazaar or
hot-shot designer wear in Mall Road, they have to ask “Dalle lende o tusi? “ (Do
you accept Dollars?).
Yea we got it – yea you don’t have rupees , the derogatory currency ,
because you are from the Kanede.
#3: The RIGHT way
When they move from India to Canada, the shift from left way to Right
(left-right-left) way has a serious impact
on their brain. The brain now functions in the Right (correct) way. Ok this did
not make sense but I still felt like writing this pathetic joke. But the point is they always have a right way or right of way or something of that sort.
“Diljeet Mamaji’s son is doing very good in his business, oho RIGHT WAY
te ja reha”
“Bhenji, this time I am very happy, Boutique wali ne mere suit RIGHT
WAY stich kitte ne”
#4: The Punglish
They get used to putting English words in between Punjabi sentences
which sometimes cause serious
miscommunication J
Bhenji, mera munda taaaann Kompuderrr aa.
Achha, you mean compounder, works with the Doctor ?
Na Na Behenji, he is like Komputerrrr machine. Brain is very
very fast. (dimag bahut tez aa)
This effect is contagious and is not limited to Canada. The JOOSSSAA
and the JOOKKK are also highly impacted.
“Ajj Weather kina niceYA”
“Main gym jaanaYA”
“Main gurdware matha teknaYA”
YA YA YA YA ……………..
Nevertheless I salute the spirit of my people who have ventured to
places on this earth, in many cases to no-man’s land, and were able to
establish an identity for themselves. When my friends tease me “Navneet, what
are you doing here, you should be in kanede”, when they consider Canada synonymous
to Punjab, when they talk about how Air
Canada flight is full of Moga and Jagraon……..I feel a clandestine pride and
happiness about belonging to this clan “Sheraan di kaum Punjabi” !!!
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