Khushwant's Haryana Humour Came From Him! A Revealation!
Do We Indians have a Sense Of Humour - NO
License To Kill - Haryana Police shoots a college student in cold blood
Haryana under Metamorphosis
How shall I repay Khushwant Singh I don’t know? I have had his love during the last 30 years or so when he wrote about me in his columns atleast half a dozen times. First he wrote about me was in 1991 when “Wit & Humour of Haryana was launched. Then in 1992 for “Culture Bright & Dark” . And then many times about my books and other activities undertaken as part of my Community Policing projects. At 95, I still draw his attention and he is there to say it all in—This above all: Saturday Dec 11, 2010--Rajbir Deswal Say Khushwant:"
Policeman humourist:
Rajbir Deswal is the most unusual police officer I have met. He is more eager to make a name for himself in the world of letters than by nabbing thieves and robbers. He is well on the way to succeeding in both his ambitions. He is IG Police of Haryana and has won the President’s Police Medal. He is also a member of the Haryana Sahitya Akademi and won the Haryana Akademi’s Pandit Lakhmi Chand Award."
"He is a prolific writer. His middles appear regularly in several national dailies like The Tribune, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and The Pioneer. So far he has seven books to his credit. My introduction to Haryanvi humour came through his writing. In the last two months he has produced two books — Hoor Menaka: The Seductress, an adaptation of Pandit Lakhmi Chand’s drama; and a month later a second collection of his middles, Mall Watch: Write in the Middle (D.K. Books). Deswal wields a light pen. A vein of gentle humour runs through all he writes, which makes him highly readable."
He wrote on 25 Nov 2010 in This above all:
Hariyanvi ha ha!
Every region of our country has its own brand of humour, often encapsulated in proverbs and aphorisms. They are best told in the original dialect as they lose much of their rustic flavour in translation. This is well illustrated in the case of Hariyanvi which has a mix of Punjabi and Hindustani. It has some stock figures:an elder from one’s own village is called a taoo, while one from outside is a chowdhary, a wife is joroo or lugaaee, son or a boy is a chhora, a girl chhoree; hai becomes sai.
Some years ago I received a book on Hariyanvi humour, by Rajbir Deswal of the Indian police. His son, Sawan Deswal, has gone a step further by setting up Hariyanvi.com, which covers different aspects of his home state: its history, culture, lifestyle, humour, proverbs etc. I give a few examples of humorous anecdotes culled from his collection.
A jackal saw a mouse running out of a jungle. He asked him what had transpired to make him run for his life. The mouse replied: "Sher ki bebe kise nai chher di aur shak meyrey pai ho rahya sai"(someone made a pass at the tiger’s sister and the suspicion is cast on me).
An old man who happened to brush past a young girl said, "Sorry" to her. She gave him a tongue-lashing. Later a young man brushed past her and also said, "Sorry". The girl smiled but said nothing to him. The old man lost his cool and shouted"Ey chhoree, meyree ‘sorry‘ ki spelling galat thee" (hey girl, was my sorry wrongly spelt)?
A Hariyanvi’s wife went missing. The husband went to Lord Rama’s temple to pray for her return. From the side-wall, Hanumanji beckoned him and said "Ureaajaa Molar, jab iski lugaaee kho gai thee to manney he tohi thee" (Foolish man come to me, when his wife was abducted, I helped him to recover her).
There is an apt saying, pertinent to our times: "Haanji kee naukari, naanji kaa ghar" (a job for one who says yes sir, one who says no sir stays at home).
