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).