Khodha Pahaad Nikla Chuha

# 96

March 28, 2021

Today’s Hindi proverb (कहावत) is:

खोदा पहाड़, निकला चुहा

(Transliteration: Khodha pahaad, nikla chuha.)

Literal translation: (We) dug (through a) mountain, (and) out came (just a) mouse.

Figurative meaning: To pursue something or investigate with great expectations, but in the end achieve almost nothing. Wasted effort on futile outcome.

Mouse from a mountain

Usage in a sample sentence:
पुलिस ने एक लंबी खोज के बाद जॉन को गिरफ्तार किया और उसके मोबाइल फोन डेटा के हजारों पृष्ठों का विश्लेषण किया, लेकिन जॉन निर्दोष निकला। खोदा पहाड़, निकला चूहा।

(Transliteration: Police ne ek lambi khoj ke baad John ko girafthaar kiya aur usske mobile phone data ke hajaron prashton ka vishleshan kiya, lekin John nirdosh nikla. Khodha pahad, nikla chuha.)

Translation: After a long search the police arrested John and analyzed thousands of pages of his mobile phone data, but John turned out to be innocent. (They dug through a mountain and out came just a mouse) Their efforts were wasted on this futile outcome.

Origins of the proverb: The origin of this proverb could be traced to Aesop’s fables (The Mountain in Labor). We usually describe any arduous work as a load of work, or a pile of work, or a “mountain” of work. In the ancient times, people would have dug through a mountain in the search of a dangerous animal or a giant snake, but in the end if they found only a mouse, they feel their effort in digging through the mountain was wasted. So, when people perform some difficult tasks and get no result or negligible result, then they use this proverb to describe their frustrating situation. We can say it in Greek, English or Hindi, but this timeless concept remains the same across all languages.

Ab Aaya Unth Pahaad Ke Neeche

# 95

March 27, 2021

Today’s Hindi proverb (कहावत) is:

अब आया ऊँट पहाड़ के नीचे

(Transliteration: Ab aaya unth pahaad ke neeche.)

Literal translation: Now the camel has come to the foot of the mountain.

Figurative meaning: Someone has been shown his place, or cut down to size. Someone who thought very highly of himself has been finally humbled.

Camel Tallest of All

Usage in a sample sentence:
पुलिस को दो साल तक चकमा देने और यह दावा करने के बाद कि वह कभी पकड़ा नहीं जाएगा, जॉन को आज गिरफ्तार किया गया। अब आया ऊंट पहाड़ के नीचे।

(Transliteration: Police ko do saal tak chakma dene aur yeh dava karne ke baad ki woh kabhi pakda nahin jayega, John ko aaj giraftaar kiya gaya. Ab aaya unth pahaad ke neeche.)

Translation: After dodging the police for two years and boasting that he would never be caught, John got arrested today. Now (the camel has come to the foot of the mountain) he got shown his place.

Origins of the proverb: This proverb is popularly attributed to a fable of a camel who thought he was the tallest in the world when compared with everyone around him, including his master, because he could raise his neck high and see far off things. One day the master brought the camel to a valley surrounded by huge mountains, and the camel realized that there were other things taller than him, as he could not raise his neck above the mountains. In real life, when people thought they were invincible, but later realized that they were wrong, they were reminded of the camel who came below the mountains. You can see Gabbar Singh using this proverb in this scene from the Hindi movie Sholay (t = 1.42).

Raee Ka Pahad Banana

62

February 8, 2021

Today’s Hindi idiom (मुहावरा) is:

राई का पहाड़ बनाना।

(Transliteration: Raee ka pahad banana.)

Literal translation: To make a mountain of a mustard seed.

Making a mountain out of a molehill

Figurative meaning: To over-react and exaggerate the impact of a minor situation by distorting it disproportionately and making it appear much bigger than it actually is. (Very similar to the English idiom, “To make a mountain of a mole-hill.”)

Usage in a sample sentence:

टीवी न्यूज एंकर्स को राई का पहाड़ बनाने की आदत है। वे हर एक खबर को सनसनीखेज बनाना चाहते हैं।

Transliteration:  TV new anchors ko raee ka pahaad banane ki aadat hai. Ve har ek khabar ko sansanikhej banana chahate hain.

Translation:  
TV news anchors have a habit of making a mountain of a mustard-seed. They want to sensationalize every bit of news.

Origins of the idiom: A mountain is huge in comparison to a mole hill. Some people are in the habit of exaggerating the impact of every minor thing in their life. They distort their narration to make it appear that the situation was much more severe than it actually was. They may have seen a tiny mustard seed, but in their narration, they describe it to be as big as a mountain!