tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post274436867401382178..comments2023-11-02T19:19:15.129+05:30Comments on Death Ends Fun: Rectifying anomalies in barbersDilip D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-52949056642487743242011-08-03T18:17:47.444+05:302011-08-03T18:17:47.444+05:30By the way Suresh I was glad to note from the SRES...By the way Suresh I was glad to note from the SRES site that there's a "Grant of advance increments/special Allowance to Stenographers in subordinate offices for acquiring higher speed in shorthand." <br /><br />All's well with the railways, then.Dilip D'Souzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-89225433109798185612011-08-03T18:15:14.607+05:302011-08-03T18:15:14.607+05:30Suresh, as the son of a once-bureaucrat myself, I ...Suresh, as the son of a once-bureaucrat myself, I am thoroughly impressed. I am quite keen on exploring if I can partake of some of that LARSGESS. Whatever it is.<br /><br />VM: thanks! I've always loved how the "ponnje" became "panjim" in POrtuguese because that's how the Portuguese would spell that sound, and then "Panjim" gets anglicised. Same with "Candolim" and "Curtorim" and so forth.Dilip D'Souzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-17554231831806212672011-07-28T10:58:27.061+05:302011-07-28T10:58:27.061+05:30The capital city of Goa was planned and built over...The capital city of Goa was planned and built over a ward of neighboring Taleigao, which has always been called 'ponnje'in Konkani. In the Portuguese era, the Ponnje was transcribed as Pangim, which is pretty close to the original when said aloud, and thence Panjim in English. It's only post-colonially that this absurd new spelling Panaji came about, to my mind the least accurate of all the transliterations. If I'd my druthers, we'd be Ponnje again!<br /><br />VMVMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-33953467519012367502011-07-24T03:35:21.943+05:302011-07-24T03:35:21.943+05:30Yes I remember my Tamil relatives singing to me as...Yes I remember my Tamil relatives singing to me as a baby. "The wheels on the bus go roundana round,.."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-85662220053331186462011-07-23T11:33:28.297+05:302011-07-23T11:33:28.297+05:30My family and I were thoroughly confused the first...My family and I were thoroughly confused the first time we heard someone refer to a traffic light as a "robot" in SA. We spent the next 20 minutes looking around (somewhat apprehensively) for the robots that the guy told us would be coming up soon, that we were supposed to turn at. I wonder how the name "robot" emerged for a traffic light.<br /><br />I love funny signs too, though I haven't come across so many inexplicable ones. There was one in a village in Rajasthan, painted on the side of a small building, that said "gande chitra lagao mat, maa-behen ko lajaao mat", which I found very funny.<br /><br />And then there was a tiny wooden hut in Deeg, the kind of shack where cigarettes and paan are sold, which had the curious sign "Banti Sardar Dating Works" (in Hindi) on top. The shop was closed, so we couldn't sign up for the dating works, or find out what the sign really means.Sumedhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08143819603608847060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-64467463011627795222011-07-22T17:44:09.277+05:302011-07-22T17:44:09.277+05:30As the son of an ex-bureaucrat, I was intrigued by...As the son of an ex-bureaucrat, I was intrigued by the acronyms; enough to waste a little time. Here we go:<br /><br />GS=General Secretary; SRES= Southern Railway Employees' Sangh; NFIR=National Federation of Indian Railwaymen [but not women?]; NDA=Night Duty Allowance; NHP=National Housing Policy [may be]; HPCA=Hospital Patient Care Allowance<br /><br />I've no idea what MACI means. Given the reference to hospital patient care, it <i>might</i> refer to a product of GE Healthcare, a portable electrocardiogram machine called MACi. (See <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_in-india-for-india-medical-device-makers-plug-in_1407933" rel="nofollow">here</a>.)<br /><br />Please do go to the <a href="http://sresindia.org/" rel="nofollow">website of SRES</a> and read through the various circulars and documents. You will be enlightened. Do you know about LARSGESS? No? It refers to Liberalized Active Retirement Scheme for Guaranteed Employment to Safety Staff -- whatever that means. No doubt, further enlightenment awaits those willing to plough through the many documents on the website.Sureshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12270071532015895732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-87748706183549799962011-07-22T05:08:50.987+05:302011-07-22T05:08:50.987+05:30VI CPC indicates the 6th Central Payscale Commissi...VI CPC indicates the 6th Central Payscale Commission. The other acronyms probably relate to salary components that were approved.ubernerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16577199373917829664noreply@blogger.com