Translated by Sumanyu Satpathy from the Hindi original 'A, B, C, V
ABCDEFG
Out came old man Panditji.
Panditji, he dug a hole
An old man popped up like a mole.
Barber's brother
Translated by Sumanyu Satpathy from the Hindi original 'Nayee ke bhai nayeeke'
Barber’s brother Barber’s brother
Tabla^playing barber’s brother Parrot in the barber’s tabla Barber calls me old grandfather.
Translated by Sumanyu Satpathy from the Hindi original 'Ram ke durbar mein'
In the regal court of Ram There was a cricket match Kumbhakaran hit a six Hanuman caught the catch F^am then shouted, ‘Out’
Sita said, ‘Get out!’
Translated by Sumanyu Satpathy from the blind! original 'Gadbadjhala'
Child 1: Turn the sky green,
The earth blue, and tree violet.
Let the car drive Mr Lala—
Then what?
Chorus: Gadbadjhala!
Child 2: If the frog sang sweetly like the cuckoo,
And the barn owl always hooted at noon If brine were sweet,
And the moon turned black in colour—
Then what?
94 Title: The word ‘gadbadjhala’ is somewhat unusual in Hindi. It is not in everyday usage and does not appear in some dictionaries, yet it appears in print occasionally, connoting a state of general chaos and confusion.
14-6 the tenth rasg
Chorus: Gadbadjhala!
Child 3: If Grandpa were to borrow our teeth,
And ice cream tasted tart, not sweet,
If the keys were in,
And the lock were out, O Allah—
Then what?
Chorus: Gadbadjhala!
Child 4: If milk rained down from the sky in streams, And all the ponds skimmed over with cream, If chocolates were full of masala-—
Then what?
Chorus: Gadbadjhala!
Translated by V. Geetba from the Tamil original
Mister Rat, Mister Rat Where are you going?
I’m going off to London To see Elizabeth Queen.
You’ve got to cross the seven seas Pray, what’s your solution?
I’ll buy a ticket for a plane And fly across the ocean.
You will get hungry on the way Pray, what will you eat?
I’ll buy bajjis and vadas, hot,
And give myself a treat.
Grandpa's Beard
When Grandpa stuck his finger Deep into his beard He found many strange things there The strangest things you’ve heard:
Out came a turtle dove Not just one, but two.
In flew a sunbird Not just one, but two A yellow bird has got inside And a blackbird too.
They’ll make their cosy nests in there And lay their eggs inside them And dear old Grandpa’s long, white beard Will quite completely hide them.
14-8 the tenth rasa
Don’t stick out your tongue Marry, you should not And do not have your babies In a big, bald pot.
Ai ai ai ai ai ai ai Half a pint of butter Make a pot of porridge And lay the silver platter Here comes Singapore Dandy In bis silken sweater.
Downstairs is a clothes shop Selling clothing bright No, no, it’s an idli shop You’re wrong, and I’m right Idlis and chutney get into a fight The tempaise banana Slips down in fright.
95 Singapore Dandy: This verse seems to deride the Indian emigrants who come back from Singapore, perceived as wealthy and somewhat spoiled.
Wrdu Nursery Rhymes
Trgnslatect by Sumanyu Satpathy from the Ur4u originals
i
Half past twelve it happened to be When he got ready, good Mullahji By one he called out for namaz By two they say quite dead he was By three the awful news they gave By four he rested in his grave
♦ • n
Come you boys, and let us play We will break the lump of clay Then we’ll break the hard molasses Till the wolf comes to harass us When we thrash it right away It will fly to far Bombay
» * *
in
Oh Allah, syrup fills the plate Young boys in sacks go meet their fate A bunch of flowers sits in place And Allah’s touch lights Munna’s face