Get Your “Kundis” to the D.C. Meetup, 3/25

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“Anyway monay, can I call you right back? I was in the middle of reports…”

“Ma? Please, really quick, ’cause I’m writing something?”

“Vat?”

“Does kundi mean “ass” or “anus“?

Sigh. A deep breath is inhaled.

“This is for your website? Kundi is chunthi. Koothi means anus.”

“Let me be painfully careful– kundi and chunthi are like…the butt cheeks?”

“Yes, they are what I would like to kick right now, absolutely.”

“So, like, you could use kundi in the following context: “get your kundi on the dancefloor?'”

Another sigh is sighed.

“YES.”

“I knew it!”“You knew what?”

“I knew it meant ‘ass’! Because you always said, ‘ninde kundi marredi!‘ to the dog and I couldn’t see you meaning “Girl, move your anus!”

“Edi, I have to go. I will call you back, though not to teach you any bad Malayalam–“

“But I still don’t know what thendi means-“

“I love you. Good. BYE.”

:+:

Sheesh…the tribulations I endure, just to research important issues for this blog. 😉

Speaking of the Mutiny, our first-ever DC meetup is less than two weeks away. Are you excited? I’m excited. In fact, I’m so giddy to meet you, I’m testing out new brands of shimmery eye-shadow in anticipation (to see which will leave the most glittery residue on you when we air-kiss) and I will be wearing Aish-scara (so that I can blink a breeze, in case the weather is as “unseasonably” warm as it has been these last few days).

We didn’t pick a venue, but I have two very different ideas to offer you:

  • We could go to Adams Morgan’s Tryst, which is where I laid un-Aishscara’d eyes on Abhi for the first time or

  • We could keep things REALLY brown and do a brunch OR dinner of Mysore Masala Dosas at Georgetown’s Amma Vegetarian Cuisine. They are closed from 3:30 to 5:30 so we could meet early (12:30-3:30) and have plenty of time or meet later and have even more time (5:30-…5:30?).

    dosa.JPG

Either way, if we are all madly in lowe with each other and we don’t want the magic to end, there are possibilities for further adventures near both restaurants. Thoughts? Arguments for me to relay to my saintly Mother about her Malayalam? Marriage proposals for Abhi? Let the comment-riots begin. 😉

144 thoughts on “Get Your “Kundis” to the D.C. Meetup, 3/25”

  1. Had to say it:

    daycruz – that’s funny because “thande” in kannada is the proper name for father, whereas “appa” is a informal name.

    anna – i was young when the local boys in my village taught me this, but “kundi” in kannada refers to the front side.

    it’s sort of funny how words here and there in malli match kannada.

  2. Anna,I always thought koodhi meant buttcrack.. My fav lines taught by my Mallu pals; “joli noki po patti” and “pee tinna po”

    ST…as a hardcore Kannadiga, I know for sure “kundi” is the backside in Kannada…

    I just can’t bring myself to say the word for the front side… runs away red faced

  3. Daycruz said:

    “It just means “Go, male dog! Vagabond! Stinky guy!”

    I thought “patti” meant bitch and “naya” meant male dog. However in daily usage “patti” is used almost all the time irrespective of the gender. I never knew “naarri” meant bastard, i think it just means stinky guy

  5. She does not post for a while and then overnight she has 50 odd comments. ANNA for president… Anyone ?

    On a different note, I am still searching for comments related to the meet up and thinking if I should make the trip. There are gonna be a whole bunch of new faces…

    And hold on … were you guys not supposed to meet at Philly ? Or atleast that’s what I thought. Whats up with that ?

  8. You guys have all got Booty Fever…..

    Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course (SM Standard Disclaimer)

  9. Boston Bombayite and Ravi the lurker:

    you two made my day. konkani pride. i spit manglorean konkani and i literally spit it sometimes. on my del.icio.us, i have tagged a very special page for us konks. a page that brings me much happiness, for i can mutter these words underneath my breath while listening to folks on my bus or the metro. here is the wonderful page. enjoy my fellow konks, and commence the muttering.

    from migale gandi to yours.

  10. A Malayalee:

    Kandi = turd Kundi = ass

    I’ve always been totally confused by the whole Kundi vs Chanthi thing. For a long time, I thought Kundi was “vagina” and Chanthi was “ass”… then someone told me it was the other way around. Then someone ELSE told me they both meant “ass”. I’m still not sure which is which.

    Maybe it’s a usage thing… meaning they derive their meaning by the way the words are used?

  12. oh my…lookie here. i don’t speak malayalam, so don’t know how accurate this is, but it’s a good jumping block for those who need to impress their keralite brothers and sisters.

  14. BEST and Vilest Malu cuss word EVER:

    MAIRAY: pubic hair …dad would call mom that in times of both anger and tenderness…cute eh?

  15. Hehe, I heard that “miray” in Tamil just means “hair”. I can just see the scene where a Tamilian walks into a barber shop in Kerala and asks for a haircut! 😀

  16. I thought “patti” meant bitch and “naya” meant male dog. However in daily usage “patti” is used almost all the time irrespective of the gender. I never knew “naarri” meant bastard, i think it just means stinky guy

    I could be wrong but as I understand it, “naya” and “patti” are Malabar and Travancore appellations of “dog.”

    i.e. “nayande mon” & “patti kutti”

  17. Oh an here’s another one. I’ve been told that “aiye” in Tamil means “kaka”. Manse (mind) is the same word in Mallu and Tamil. But when we say “Mansillaiye” (understand) in Malayalam, it means “kaka in the brains” to a Tamilian 🙂

  18. Kannada equivalents: kunde, kundi, tika, mukuli = arse tunne = penis tullu = vagina chummi = penis or vagina (try to beat us here!)

  19. this is an amazing education. you guys should put a password on this page and charge for access. move over berlitz.

    i think sepia mutiny should begin a line of “roots trip” products aimed to promote cultural awareness and reconnection among the diasporic youth. the series of swear-word primers (with interactive online teaching modules) would be a great flagship launch product.

  23. I thought “patti” meant bitch and “naya” meant male dog. However in daily usage “patti” is used almost all the time irrespective of the gender. I never knew “naarri” meant bastard, i think it just means stinky guy

    This is all true.

    “MAIRAY: pubic hair …dad would call mom that in times of both anger and tenderness…cute eh?”

    This is a pretty derogatory word in malayalam and AFAIK, not something dad would call mom 🙂

  24. when someone says “Poda patti! Thendi! Narri” It just means “Go, male dog! Vagabond! Stinky guy!”

    I think a more modern translation of “thendi” would be a bum. Embarrassingly enough, I had to look up the meaning of vagabond and I was way off on what I thought it meant. And a lot of the mallu curses are more offensive than their literal translations would indicate (i.e. narri, pulle)

    But I think in the “what does kundi mean?” debate, I put one more vote in for ass. I’m no expert of the language, being born and raised in NY most of my life, but I did live in Kerala for 3 years (from age 11 to 13, prime curse-learning years).

  25. “MAIRAY: pubic hair …dad would call mom that in times of both anger and tenderness…cute eh?”

    This is a pretty derogatory word in malayalam and AFAIK, not something dad would call mom 🙂

    Oh, they know that…dad doesn’t really do that anymore, he has tempered in his old age…but hey, when we were young it was tossed around; what can I say, they were the product of a lowe marraige; maybe the passions were more heated then; and then again maybe they were just a very weird couple…I miss the good old days, when dad, would yell across the room, ‘Edi mairay, where is my socks?’…its like some people co-opting the word bitch, or ass-licker, or what-have-you as a term of endearment as well of derision. Only couples really in love do that; or at least that I’ve made myself believe that. Warped, I know 🙂

  27. A Tamilian: I think you need to stop sniffing your kundi (Tamillian version). The fumes are affecting you.

  28. with regards to the disagreement which started all of this, manish was using the MALAYALAM word “kundi”. so rants about how “his tamil is off” are neither well-taken nor necessary.

  29. Yo Tamildude – yeah we left the stifling climes of Tamil Nadu for greener pastures, but we brought our magnificent culture, delicious food, picturesque landscapes and all of the beautiful women along with us.

    … oh and the Communism too 😉

  30. WAY to focus on the negative, soni-a 😉

    hey, i just want to see a list of the phrases that bring people to this site after google picks up on this thread =)

  31. For the record I wish disavow myself from “A Tamilian”, as it was our exchange that prompted a multitude of South Asian expressions on the defecation organ. It was never my intent to initiate any form of hate speech nor spout vile, nonsensical horse manure on Southern Indian history/culture. Obviously the word has separate connotations in the pantheon of Dravidian linguistic diversity, and as much as it prompts me to cringe, I respect SM’s nuanced usage of it. However, keep the cusswords from other languages coming, because if it isn’t your own, it doesn’t prompt as much discomfort.

  32. For the record I wish disavow myself from “A Tamilian”, as it was our exchange that prompted a multitude of South Asian expressions on the defecation organ. It was never my intent to initiate any form of hate speech nor spout vile, nonsensical horse manure on Southern Indian history/culture.

    applauds

  33. A discussion on the word “kundi”. How enlightening! Lookup some of the common cusswords on urbandictionary.com if you have some time to kill. ex: chutiya.

  34. Ah! this is enlightening, i have learnt more malayalam swear words in the last 6 hours than I knew in the last 40 years. See, as a “Marunadan Malayalee” I focused more on Urdu and Hindi cuss terminology than Malayalam. Better late than never. Stimulating topic, indeed!! Special thanks to the link in #62 😉

  35. Especially if your Mother had a similar term of endearment for HIM. 😉

    Haha…that reminds me of a good she used sparingly…she didn’t cuss as much… Kazhaveride mon …and that one I”ve never figured out… Son of a Kazhaveri…what the hell is a Kazhaveri? Anyone?

  36. That was zimbly funny. I had a parrot in India, who used to say kundi kundi. His name was mani kutty. sometimes he used to get confused and say kudni kudni. LOL. Have fun everybody!!

  37. A Tamilian –

    Kundi means anus in Tamil? First time I’ve heard that. I’ve lived in Madras for a while and am very certain that Kundi means ass in Tamil too. “soothu” (sorry, had to say it to explain it)- I think means anus. Anyway, who cares, its all in good fun.

  38. I only hope that i’m able to remember some of the ‘useful phrases’ that i have learned today and apply them in real life.. like, for example, at the DC meetup..

  39. have to put in my 2 mallu cents:

    chanthi / chunthi -> definitely means ass or butt cheeks koothi -> definitely means anus

    as for the kundi debate, it generally means butt cheeks but can sometimes be used to refer to the rectum, which is where i think people confuse it to mean anus…

    the best translation of thendi is a loafer… kazhverda monay / molay —-> is the male & female version of son of a bitch not in its literal translation but in the equivalent meaning implied… “po kazhvere” kind of means “fuck off”, but literally means “go die”

    stuff like “naari” (stinky), “pulle” (grass)…take on a new meaning in the context of an insult (just as insults between friends take a different meaning)…

    badmash, you said “poda pulle” to someone and didn’t get a reaction? …surprising..

  41. I think “Thavalayolee” and “KaldaRavana” are the funniest and most surreal ones.

  43. Looks like my comment about my grandfather earlier was deleted. It was a joke, people! A tamillian, I apologize, I lived in Tamil Nadu and know Tamil very well. Didn’t mean to insult ya..

  45. “Thavalayolee” – Is that Tamil? If so, does that mean what I think it does,i.e. frogs? Thats is surreal.

  46. Badmash,

    Yes they’re from the link supplied earlier by “rversde23”. As a north Indian (obviously) I don’t know any Southie words, apart from the Sinhalese phrase “Oi yappe”. My friend who told me that phrase alleges it has something to do with, er, “girlcrushes”, but I don’t know if he’s telling me the truth…..

  47. Wantok:

    Kundi means anus in Tamil? First time I’ve heard that. I’ve lived in Madras for a while and am very certain that Kundi means ass in Tamil too. “soothu” (sorry, had to say it to explain it)- I think means anus. Anyway, who cares, its all in good fun.

    What does soothu moodikan po! mean?

  48. Frankly, I’m stunned. 🙂

    Anna, please have a lemon martini at Tryst for me! PLEASE. Or go to the Reef! Or Local 16!!! I miss them all so.

  49. “Kundi” means flower pot in Marathi. As a kid i couldnt stop giggling when i heard our friendly neighbourhood “kundi wala” selling flower pots or when a Maharashtrian aunt would say that this is a nice flower to put in the “kundi”

  50. Thavalayolee” – Is that Tamil? If so, does that mean what I think it does,i.e. frogs? Thats is surreal.

    Maybe some guys get turned on by that “ribbit” sound frogs make, or the fact that when the dude finishes, the frog’s launched like a rocket and makes a bright green splat on the wall opposite.

    Unless it’s all going on outdoors, of course, in which case you have all these frogs being fired into the air from suspicious-looking Mallu guys doing questionable things in bushes.