From 'shaanpatti' to 'panvati': The Guide team's favourite Mumbai slangs

Fiona FernandezShaanpattiThis term refers to someone who believes they are MrMs KnowitAll by being pretentious about their knowledge though they might be the exact opposite The species is everywhere The word is mostly used by an observer while watching this smart Alec in action showing off their chops ldquoWoh kuch zyaada hi shaanpatti dikha raha hai Chalo usse seedha kar dete hainrdquoPanvatiFrom buzz in a pub and banter at work to small talk with fellow commuters this word was omnipresent It is used to refer to a person who brings bad luck But in the case of recent times it indicates the notsohappy aftermath of the pandemic We heard sentences like ldquoUmar bhar ki panvati ek hi saal mein jhelna padardquo now a revisit looms Panvati times onlySukanya DattaOff ho gayaYes itrsquos morbid but most of us lost loved ones in the past two years The awkward part about death is breaking the news ldquoThey left us they breathed their lastrdquo Who talks like that ldquoWoh off ho gayagayirdquo a phrase possible only in timestarved Bambai provides a cheeky recourse If possible it even softens the blow by sneaking in a split second of humourLoad nai lenekaDid you even live through the pandemic if you didnrsquot have a meltdown The Bambaiya cousin of ldquotake a chill pillrdquo ldquoload nai lenekardquo has a more passive appeal I warmed up to it thanks to my cook who repeats it often to my frantic self The results are better when you say it out loud in Munna Bhaistyle as if to drop all the weight of that stressSammohinee GhoshPasaraMy then landlady had used this word pointing at my tiny cot in a shared 1BHK in Mumbai I was delighted to have found a sobriquet to epitomise my predominant state of mind Her trials at spurring shame failed the pasara stayed Since then Irsquove scoured for rhyming Hindi words mdash nazara pukara and guzara Such poetic possibilities and yet we use it for heaps of clutterJhaadTry telling a Bengali ldquoYeh location woh jhaad ki dukaan ke aage hairdquo For a few seconds the person would be reeling under the thought of a shop manufacturing admonishes Thatrsquos what jhaad means in Bangla Here it refers to plants Not pedpaudha but jhaad Who could have woken up to a Rangoon creeper or raat ki rani and abrasively called them jhaadShriram IyengarBantaiNow we know that Gully Boy was released a while ago but somehow we do not recollect the term lsquobantairsquo being part of our regular conversation before 2022 This year we spotted casual conversations using the stylish term as a casual moniker for friends to up their lingo Simple slick and with a dash of panache this one we digTotal damageEvery year is filled with stories of friends bailing out of plans missed trips and major bungles This time they were accompanied with the term lsquototal damagersquo that popped up in unlikely conversations From corporates using it to describe Elon Muskrsquos misadventures to friends using it as a hammer to bash yours truly it remained consistent through the yearTanishka DrsquoLymaBassaA soothing word to evade restlessness and settle the mind came with the Bombay iteration of the Marathi word for sit bassa The search for a moment for pause throughout this year was guided with lsquobassarsquo and the mental image of the very Indian hand gesture of lsquowait calm downrsquo Before a meal too bassa reminded me to eat with intention and without hasteChalaThe Marathi word for letrsquos go chala is on repeat in my head like an earworm after a pest slipped it in my direction Instead of signalling departure chala was uttered as encouragement to start a difficult task or ease the anxiety of ending a good day which always happened to be Sunday Both were defining words for 2022 and they will carry me into the new year on a calm note