Tuesday, May 19, 2015

KGF COMMUNITY COLLEGE, COROMANDEL KGF - VALEDICTORY FUNCTION




The KGF Community College was started in August 2001 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes, in the St Sebastian’s Church and School premises, after the closure of mines, mainly for the children of Ex-BGML workers. The Community College celebrated its 14th Valedictory Function on the 26th April 2014. I was invited by Rev Sister Alexina as the Chief Guest at their 14th Valedictory Function   Indeed it gave me great  pleasure to accept the invitation and be present there  for this occasion in my home town Kolar Gold Fields. Mr Phillip Dingle and Dr. Rev. Fr. Xavier Alphonse S.J were also honoured guests at the function.
The Community College Movement in India was founded by Dr. Rev. Fr. Xavier Alphonse S.J. Director, ICRDCE, Chennai. The Community College System was started mainly for School dropouts and financially backward children and persons of lower socio – economic groups. The aim is to provide them with job oriented training, thereby providing them with the required life skills and training so that they could earn an honest living and come up in life besides bringing in much needed financial assistance to their families. I was told by Rev Sr Alexina that in the past 14 years, more than 1000 students from different religions, have completed the courses conducted at the Community College in KGF, such as Diploma in Office Management, Diploma in Pre-School Teachers’ Training and Diploma in Nursing Assistant and are all gainfully employed. They are the bread winners of their families and have brought their families economically to the main stream of the society in the aftermath of the closure of the mines. Some of these girls are widows or come from broken families but they have the initiative and drive to study and complete the Courses offered by this Community College inspite of their family constraints and drawbacks. They know that it is only when Girls are empowered by providing them with education and life skills can Society itself improve.  Here are some photographs of the Function. 


Sunday, May 3, 2015

COLLOQUIAL TURN OF PHRASE - ANGLO-INDIANS IN THE OLDEN DAYS IN KGF

SOME NOSTALGIA: COLLOQUIAL TURN OF PHRASE IN THE OLDEN DAYS IN KGF 
(An excerpt from my book KOLAR GOLD FIELDS DOWN MEMORY LANE ) 

Here are some examples of  words and phrases that were quite commonly used by the folk in Kolar Gold Fields in the olden days. Many of us growing up in KGF during the 1950s and 60s,  were quite familiar with many of them. Enjoy these light hearted , nostalgic memories of colloquial turn of phrase
 Any one with big round eyes was said to have “Bolly Eyes’. The big black ants that came out during the rainy season were ‘Bully Ants’. Other insects including head lice were known as ‘Boochies’ and Garden lizards were ‘Blood Suckers’.
 Liquor or any alcoholic drink was known as ‘Grog’. The local illicit liquor was known as ‘Patte’ ‘Arrack’ or Sarai, Sticky Toffees were ‘Stick-Jaws’ or ‘cumaracuts’, and Money or currency was ‘Pice’
 The nerves and tissues in meat were ‘Jow’. Banana Chips were ‘Patagums’, Peanuts were ‘Jigg nuts’, and Bandicoots and rats were called ‘Bandigoats’.
 Female underwear or Panties were ‘Jungies’ and Boy’s underwear were ‘Jocks or Flying Foxes’. In case the rice got over cooked it became ‘kola kola’, and if the Pepper water or watery curry tasted bad or wasn’t tasty, then it ‘tasted like gutter water’.
 If someone spoke too much then he had a ‘Rubber Gob’.  If someone got startled suddenly, then he would be getting the ‘Fijacks’.
 When someone visited the Loo or toilet it would be that he was visiting ‘the last house to spend a penny’ or ‘No 1’, while “Big Job’ was ‘No 2’ or ‘Tidy’.
 Painting the house for Christmas would be ‘white washing the house’ even if it meant painting the house any other colour.
In case someone sneezed, they said ‘God Bless you’ or ‘Did the devil pinch your bottom?’ A horse cart or carriage was a “Bandy or Tonga” driven by the “Bandy Man”.
 When someone passed wind they said “he was tearing Long Cloth”, and wearing loose fitting clothes meant wearing “Dhola Dhola Clothes”
Mongrel Dogs or dogs of mixed breeds were called “Pie Dogs” or “Country Dogs”
Anyone using bad language was said to have a “Grog Shop Gob” and when someone  died it meant that “he or she kicked the bucket”
Anglo-Indian parents brought up their children to be respectful and helpful to elders. Every one was known as Aunty and Uncle. The young children would sometimes swallow their words while wishing the elders, and their ‘good evening Aunty’ and ‘good evening uncle’ would sound like ‘D’eening Aunty’ and ‘D’eening Uncle’!!!! They would stress on certain words often repeating the same word twice while talking. A good example would be ‘Hot, hot soup’, ‘Blow, blow and drink up’, ‘curly, curly hair’, etc. Most of the time they used the word ‘child’ or ‘man’ in every sentence or ended the sentence with the word ‘No or Na’


These are just some examples of their unique turn of phrase in the old days. This  colloquial way of speaking has since died out. 

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