Monday, February 16, 2009

Gangad Jokloz Yomosh?

I am not really sure exactly when it started or for that matter, how it all started off (Something tells me I'd make a very poor historian). It must have perhaps been an accidental innovation that was derived out of some normal slip of the tongue talk. Anyways, all I remember is that it all started while I was in School. My sibling and I let our tongues roll and move in every imaginable direction and uttered some meaningless 'words' at the rate of 120 per minute and gradually thought it was a cool thing to do. (For example - Tumbliko jhodu makaram kloti umbrasta hikas dinga dunga takka pikir rokol gushti ambala eli wotta qot dishu polim and so forth) A common friend and often mute spectator was not sure what to do and how to react but did give us the feeling that she, however, found it quite hilarious. So, it became some sort of a habit to kill time. When we ran out of topics to discuss on the way back home from School, Gibberish would come to the rescue. It was the only language we knew which let us express emptiness but with random emotions. The only language before speaking which we did not have to think. The only language that let us concentrate on emoting rather than making sense or being understood.

Everything in life has to evolve. So, we also invented a variation wherein we would sprinkle Gibberish with strategically placed English words and phrases that could be strung together (connected) to give the listener the feeling that we definitely had a message to convey. Thus, we went on to occasionally practice Gibberish for a few years in School. But I am not sure we were famous for it.

And then, our priorities in life changed. We had to learn to handle the real world gibberish...

The 'tumbliko's and the 'gopol's and all the other absolutely innovative words we concocted out of nowhere were not to be heard for a long time. (But , as some of my friends would interrupt to say, I guess I did continue to entertain people with slips of the tongue.) I resorted to Gibberish only when with kids, who, I discovered, for some reason enjoyed it immensely.

On my first job, two friends who were equally excited about Gibbersih joined forces and we had some serious Gibberish conversations at tea time. Another friend who was ignorant about the context and our 'wicked' ways, heard us having one such conversation and was convinced that it was a valid foreign language. She immediately wanted to know what language it was and we played along and challenged her to find out. After a few days, she gave up and asked us to name the language. So, I told her the truth. And guess what? She was not convinced at all. She refused to believe us and told us she was not happy we were not telling her which language it was. Moreover, she wanted us to teach her the language as well. We continued trying to prove that we were telling the truth and, trust me, it took us a long time and one desperate dialogue to finally convince her. But she never managed to learn Gibberish. Her tongue was too disciplined to slip into meaningless talk.

That's that. Anytime in life, as long as you are not too conscious about appearing like a mature adult, indulging in Gibberish can be real fun. But it can get you in difficult situations as well. Consider what happened to me. A neice calls up when I am busy in a meeting at office and says "Nimmy Aunty, can you please talk rubbish talk?" You must be well equipped to handle such public embarassments as well. Don't tell me I did not warn you.

And, if you have a pet (especially Dogs) at home, rest assured that they will completly understand every single word of the Gibbersih language as long as you back it up with appropriate expressions and actions.

If you're looking at other important ways in which you can use Gibberish, here is another idea - it could be one way of saying "This discussion is over!" when you're with people who are unwilling to wrap up a one-sided conversation. Use just 4 Gibberish words of your choice, say it loud, emphasise every word and sound as stern as possible. You get the idea? If they don't, just get up and walk after you've delivered your statement.

Finally, you could even aim to be a better human being by replacing all the four letter words in your lexicon with brand new inimitable Gibberish words that could be equally relieving while not embarrassing others. :-) This idea is, btw, not my original...it is borrowed and is based on best practice from Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin's Dad, of all the people.

Cartoon strip from www.gocomics.com - Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

OK. Gangad Jokloz Yomosh? Jikalo Tikalo Ringa Binga Amuso Blah!

17 comments:

Ashwini Bhat said...

nostalgic! :) I miss those moments... Wish we could get back and laugh like that again and envied by others.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nimmy
You may know this already, what you have been doing all along is called the Gibberish Meditation (root from Sufi saint Jabbar as claimed by Osho)

More here http://www.oshoworld.com/biography/innercontent.asp?FileName=biography6/06-19-gibberish.txt

InConvincible said...

Arey its a high level language. The illiterates would say "pagal hai" in their first reactions, but after sometime get used to it.
It is highlighted that perhaps we enjoy things that are meaningless, or we make them meaningless to be enjoyed.
Extremely sorry to all concerned, but for me, i assume the lectures delivered to me by self proclaimed career gurus are something like a piece of Gibberish. It gets stored like that, which can not be interpreted, but i do miss when it is absent. And the best part, i keep hearing them, they keep feeling at least hopeful, and so do I. :)

Yayaver said...

hi,nimmy.U play quite gibberish and brainy game in chilhood days.Idea seems verynice to fram words and play with it but my tounge is too discipliner or i am too unimaginative.But liked the post.

Nimmy said...

yeah...Ash! those were the days! :-)) we never stopped laughing, did we?

Murali: thanks a ton for the info...i had no idea that such a thing as Gibberish meditation existed!

R u OK: "kuch tho log kahenge..." :-)

Yayaver: thanks once again for such prompt comments...always glad to see a post developing into a conversation/dialogue! :)

Yayaver said...

"Millions of mad, muddled, merry monkeys on a mysterious and mind-blowing mission to Mesapotamia"This is written in about me.I should have known then only that post about gibberish word is coming in future.I like your profile like about me, 3,2,1..go!, here goes....,some of my all time favoutite quotes and Insipration Influence.It is beautiful like poetry of Keats.

Nimmy said...

:-) Ha Ha Ha. LoL. Good point, Yayaver. That meaningless statement should really indicate my inclination towards 'nonsense'. ;-) Hee Hee. And thanks a ton for the nice comments on my blog! I hope I improve and write even better...! :)

Jackfruit said...

damapar patar, jalaaz gadum brakus!!! :)

Nimmy said...

Jackfruit! Fantastic! You're it! I was hoping that at least one reader will get the hint and say something in Gibberish. And, God, what wonderful words these are. I especially like "jalaaz gadum brakus". :-) Hats off! :-))

Tingalo Kuttam Iklachu Homa!

Jaideep Sobti said...

okay... now this is getting really weird... and i'm pretty confused...

Nimmy said...

@Jai: LoL.... :-) Serious? Shikat Mikoo Pulpoa Diffsh?

Jaideep Sobti said...

Oh yeah!!

Istra ma la kalastra ipistro kopostroko? Lakistrika mo kostro kulu kistraka, aimay la lao makastraan strika la kam hakustru pulaka dom bamba. Ikistra rakala chucalam pikistral mo kistri gestriko ;)

Methinks it’s the Bangalore weather… makes folks like us nuts :)

This is actually quite frightening… how many of us do you think there are out there :?

Nimmy said...

:-) I know! I know! You can't fool me never! Not at all never! This is most certainly Finnish! Finnish "finished off" in style, I might as well add!

After having seriously pondered over your critical question - about the number of such people that could be around (outside of NIMHANS) - post a mega-heavy team lunch, I must say I do not have access to enough research material to hazard a guess. Right now, after consulting my mathematical brain, I am inclined to think that there are exactly two of us around.

Jaideep Sobti said...

Finnish? Norse, norse. I don’t mind going dutch, but it isn’t very swedish ;)

:) Nims, your math is getting bad. There’s you and your sibling and then there’s me... that makes five of us.

You know, it’s wonderful to come across someone so similar and yet with their very own unique point of view :)

Nimhans.... hmmm... lemme remember... it’s on the way from koramangala to jayanagar, right? close to IIM, eh? ;)

btw, i wonder if the ice cream joint at Richmond road is still going strong?

Nimmy said...

Ah...in retrospect, the sibling no longer resorts to such goofy entertainment. Big shot and all now.
But your math is just awesome! Do you use vedic mathematics to be able to calculate so quickly and accurately? I am sure you do!

Yeah....we have similar interests. That's for sure. But you're much better at philosophy, reasoning, current affairs, English and of course Mathematics among other things. *bow*

Don't pretend as if you are not sure where NIMHANS is. Remember, you were there for years before being let loose into the world.

Ice cream thingy at Richmond. It's been ages since I went there. Must be around...frozen to the spot... :-)

Jaideep Sobti said...

Nims: me, better than you, at the above mentioned subjects?? No way!! I didn't even get Mary Poppins name right. I said Marry.... Marry?? Holy Mother of all our thousand Gods!!

say, i've been reading up your blog... how on earth do you know so much?? ...am not for a moment suggesting that i know less; but your knowledge base is phenomenal. I'm a little puzzled. Something's not right. Just can't put my finger on it. I've gotta get to the bottom of this. For some reason i've got a feeling i'll end up putting my foot in my mouth like Calvin.... hmmmm....

Nimmy said...

@Jai: LoL.....!!! ROFL!!! Have you ever heard of someone dying of laughter? What on earth makes you think my knowledge base is phenomenal? Eh? What? Eh? I just read something, comment on it and then forget it forever! ;-P