What Is Indian?

Yoga, Fans, Paans, Bidis, Kohinoor, Tandoor, Kabaddi, Mehendi ... et al

Ranee Sahaney

Updated on: 5 February 2022 10:46 pm

What is Indian?

This is Indian

And So is This

Yoga is now the stressed-out west’s favourite mode to relax. And no prizes for guessing where

those fans and paans came from?

Rumours of use of child labour may have checked the march of the little ciggies. But, make no mistake, we gave the world the beedi.

Chess started off on our shores as Chatur-Anga,
meaning four-bodied. And palmistry and mehendi is
all in our

hands.

The Mulligatawny Soup, such a rage across the seven seas, has a Tamil origin. It’s short for Mulaga (chilly) and Thanni (water).

This is Indian

Is This Indian?

Garv se kaho: the Kohinoor is ours, as are tandoor & kabaddi.

Does any species, anywhere else in the world, reserve bus and train seats by remote by placing a handkerchief or a newspaper on it?

From the land of Rig Veda, Ayurveda. As are those ultra-hygienic sip-and-smash earthen cups and Mulayam’s favourite sport.

To all those who wail about our dirt and filth, ask them this: will you ever bump into a professional ear-cleaner on any other soil?

Show comments

Published At: 11 August 2001 12:46 am