ON TOPIC! The Hindi/Urdu word/phrase for 'the business' - vote request

["Roger Stenning \(G1LIW\)" <g1liw@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Manu (and everyone else intersted in this topic!) -

Thanks for responding.

>         I speak only a few words of Hindi, but both my parents speak it
> fluently.  After consulting with them, it seems like the best word for
> "business" is "Vyapari" (long "a" for both), the same word is used for
> things like "I am a businessman", "the business of the government", etc.
> Another word is "Dukanvala", which is more down to earth (a shopkeeper
> would be a dukanvala).

Hmm. This is getting more... er... interesting, if that's the right word, as each message on this topic goes on.

>         "Karabar" sounds like what was meant was "Kar Bar", which is kind
> of a loose term for "work". Everyone was mystified by "Eh Bapar"; it
> sounds a little like the word for "father" (Bapu), but other than that no
> one had any idea what it means.

[heavy sigh] Right. Great. Marvellous.

I'm glad I've not got the the stage where the 5th edition of the MELSB has been published yet. I'd be printing errata
after errata!

>         Also someone said Tamil was spoken in Sri Lanka - it may be, but
> the Sri Lankan language is actually  Singhalese, not Tamil, and most Sri
> Lankans know english.  Tamil is spoken in much of South India, though.

Thanks for the clarification!

>         Looks like I should have checked my email sooner :-)

No arguments here, lol!

>         Hope this is helpful!

If anything, it's confused the crap outa me!

So, let's see if I've got this right: The phrase "The Business" would translate to "Eh Vyapari"? Is that correct?

In the mean time...

Please, people, I don't want to keep being an (sorry!) Indian Giver, by one minute giving one bloke credit, then
withdrawing such promise, and giving it to someone else. It's grossly unfair to everyone if that continues to happen.
So, the only solution I can come up with is this: A vote by the members of this list.

Can I *please*, therefore, have a vote on this topic: Which phrase/word is best for a Millennium's End Indian Crime
organisation, with fingers in just about every kind of crime in the civilised (and not-so-civilised) world, calling
itself (in English) "The Business", when translated into Hindi or Urdu? Is it:

    1. Eh Bapar
    2. Karabar
    3. Vyapari
    or
    4. Dukanvala

There's no prize as such, but the person who supplied the translation of the successful word/phrase WILL receive credit
for the translation in the 5th and subsequent editions of the Millennium's End London Sourcebook.

The cut-off date for this vote is Wednesday, 3rd October, at 12:00 BST.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Roger Stenning
Organiser, The Impossible Scenarios Group
www.the-isg.co.uk
ICQ: 74721632
UK Amateur Radio call sign: G1LIW
(PGP public key available on request)
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