Kurikas in Afghanistan

S

spence

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Jan 11, 2002
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Don't know if y'all caught "All Things Considered" this evening, but they did a piece on the British peacekeepers in Kabul. Apparently, the reporter who filed the story went out on patrol with some of the Ghorkas on the ground there. It was a nice piece (nothing thrilling for you hard-core Ghorka fans). However, I yelled when the guy mentioned the "ancient kurikas" carried by the Ghorkas.

S.
 
From the few pix I've seen it looks like they are carrying their favorites from back home rather than standard issue which is the way it always seems to go.
 
Originally posted by spence
That may be. I was simply ticked that the guy called 'em "kurikas".

S.
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Modern schools of journalism don't include more than basic English, and nothing at all about concentrating on the correct pronumciation of words from other languages. Our morning news show is the two obligatory "chipper guy and gal, Chris and Carrie" and they do a competent job, until anything outside (and sometimes inside) our borders has to be read. When the action in Afghanistan reached Masar E Sharif, I had to eat early to keep from spewing coffee and eggs across the room.

At least this guy didn't "invent" things, like the knife's ability to return like a boomarang when thrown :rolleyes:
 
At least this guy didn't "invent" things, like the knife's ability to return like a boomarang when thrown
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You obviously have never thrown a khuk at a tree :p . If you do I suggest you run :cool: they have a tendency to return right to your crotch! Would it be sick of me to say that it is just as much fun running from them as it is throwing them ;) until somebody gets hit in the crotch :barf: .

Matthew
 
Bouncing Khuks off'n a tree ain't my idea of a good time......not if you turn them loose first. :eek:
 
Originally posted by spence
Don't know if y'all caught "All Things Considered" this evening, but they did a piece on the British peacekeepers in Kabul. Apparently, the reporter who filed the story went out on patrol with some of the Ghorkas on the ground there. It was a nice piece (nothing thrilling for you hard-core Ghorka fans). However, I yelled when the guy mentioned the "ancient kurikas" carried by the Ghorkas.

S.
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Didn't see it--but maybe it was just a 'metathetic' error (switching things round in a word), like 'pacific' for 'specific', i.e.:

khu-kuri-s ->

khu-kris [fairly normal ellipsis of 2nd vowel, e.g. kukris] ->

khu-ri-k[ri]-s [pronounces 'ri' too soon] ->
.....^----|

khu-ri-k[a]-s [fills in a 'default' vowel in the place where 'ri' used to be].

voila - simple. :D or maybe he just didn't know what he was talking about ;).

B.
 
I think Walosi hit the head of the nail dead center on this one. Except he is too generous. I find it hard to imagine another profession where total ignorance and an ingrained inability to correct it are tolerated. Except stock "analysts" of course. I am continually appalled by their lack of common sense and failure to speak with clarity, let alone any grasp of the situation. I don't know if the underlings that provide these talking heads with research are equally incompetent, or are just ignored.

One of my favorites, from the high-falutin' PBS news-hour regarding caves in Afganistan:

"We know where the entrances are, but do we know where all the exits are?"

Shite, do openings to caves come with freakin' turnstiles????
 
voila - simple. :D or maybe he just didn't know what he was talking about ;).

And, most disturbing, wouldn't understand if you tried to explain it to him :eek:

My other favorite is the one who has been to the Lucy Lamont School of Method News Reading. This course includes the use of hand gestures to enliven and accentuate news being read off a teleprompter. With the TV muted,she looks like she is doing wrist and hand excercises, or signing in Davarangari. With the sound on, I just waste more good coffee.
 
With the sound on, I just waste more good coffee.
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Not to mention the otherwise un-needed paper towels needed to wipe off the TeeVee and the floor. I'm just occasionally (only rarely, really) envious of people that earn millions for being apparently irremdeemable morons.
 
Did they qualify it with apparently or the like??

Mebbe its gotta be glaringly obvious to be worth $$$:D
 
Hey, if Enron was only flat, they'd be happy today...they're major negative (and have been for a while it seems according to recent revelations). You better not be as bad off as they are....

Old saying:
If you owe the bank a few thou, its your problem, but if you owe a few bil, its theirs.

Anyway, I think you just had a bad agent, dood.:D
 
I've just learned to live with it.

15 years ago when I started trying to sell a couple of khukuris I spelled it like I read it in Devanagari -- KHUKURI. US experts chastised me for not spelling the name of the knife properly -- kukri!!!

Like that one, Beo? Below is both English and Devanagari versions.

However, being the hard head I am I started sending letters of correction to all the knife mags when I saw the knife tagged with anything other than khukuri -- and sent along a pack of Khukuri cigarettes to show how they spelled it where they made it.

Today most people use the old Uncle Bill spelling of khukuri.
 

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Originally posted by Bill Martino

Like that one, Beo? Below is both English and Devanagari versions.

However, being the hard head I am I started sending letters of correction to all the knife mags when I saw the knife tagged with anything other than khukuri -- and sent along a pack of Khukuri cigarettes to show how they spelled it where they made it.

Today most people use the old Uncle Bill spelling of khukuri.
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That's a great image, Uncle Bill! :D Are Khukuri Philter cigarettes any good by the way?

And the transliteration is exact - khukuri (or, rather, khukurii - the last vowel is long, but there's no good way of showing that in English). The bottom text is sort of amusing. I see 'ucyatam' or something, which should mean 'best' or 'finest' then 'bharjiniya', which is an attempt to translate 'Virginia' into devanagari ;) . 'Surtii' must mean tobacco then?

B.
 
Shouldn't be to much of a surprise, even on a pack of Nepali cigarettes. English companies formed on the Isle of Wight settled IOW County in Virginia eary in the 1600s. The first tobacco, and tobacco plants imported into England, and the rest of the world, originated there. It isn't too much of a stretch to believe that some of the tobacco grown in Nepal and India is actually descended from original Virginia plants.
 
They are a tough smoke but I sort of enjoyed them. Smoked the last 3 packs I had about 1 & 1/2 years back.

Beo, you've got it right but I'd spell it like this:

utchatham virginia surti {finest (quality) virginia tobacco}

Initial v is pronouced like hard B. All the Sherpas and many Nepalis call me Bena -- big brother in law -- and pronouced just like that -- Beh nah. But when I get mail from Nepal they spell it either Bena or Vena.
 


You obviously have never thrown a khuk at a tree :p . If you do I suggest you run :cool: they have a tendency to return right to your crotch! Would it be sick of me to say that it is just as much fun running from them as it is throwing them ;) until somebody gets hit in the crotch

Matthew:

You keep throwing khuks at trees and, based on your own statements, we're gonna have to change your handle to "Short Rifle". My advice is to quit while you're ahead.

S.
 
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