Now you know!

Heard that the word 'hunky' does not only refer to a buff guy with muscles. It could be a derogatory word for a white guy, specifically one from the East European block. 

At the turn of the 19th century US, many Slavic and Hungarian economic and religious refugees from the ailing Austro-Hungarian Empire turned up at Pennsylvania and West Virginia coal mines. As per the norm, many immigrants were hardworking people who were there to earn and go back and lead a better life. A group of young blokes expressed their newly found freedom in the saloons and sin dens. Over time, their alcohol-filled emotions would spiral into street fights and general public nuisance. Many were Hungarians and Pollacks (Polish), collectively called Hunyaks or Honyaks. 

Maybe because these manual labourers were defined with well-endowed physiques and using slur terms against any group became politically incorrect, the word hunky is now exclusively for a buffed person. 

Curiously, the words' hongkies' and 'honkytonk' are not precisely accepted kindly. People originating from Hong Kong rather be referred to as Hongkongers. 'Hongkie' is officially a slur word. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones penned 'Honkytonk Women' after his trip to Portugal. He watched some cowboys at work and imagined probably sexual escapades in hongky-tonk bars. Incidentally, the music played in honky-tonk bars is called hillbilly music, referring to the loud music and bawdy comedy that accompanies it. It is a low-brow establishment with drunken patrons having a jolly good time. Jagger's lyrics do not precisely elevate its status. The music is catchy, nevertheless. 

Incidentally, in urban lingo, hongky-tonk refers to the gluteal region of a female, particularly a cute one. Now you know.

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It is about self respect!

English Vinglish (2012)


The story reminds me of one of Gandhi's prophetic words. Be the change you want the world to be. Rather than demanding for the respect that you think you deserve and being all uptight about it, it makes more sense to earn it the hard but formidable old-fashioned way - you develop it and let the world decide whether you deserve that admiration.

Gone are the days when, by virtue of birth and social standing, one can garner unquestioned loyalty and esteem. In real life, the weaker ones in society are just trampled upon and ridiculed to falsely give the aggressors their own self-worth.

I think this quintessentially Indian message is subtly inserted into the story of a timid Bombay housewife who gets the opportunity to visit the Big Apple for her niece's wedding.

Doing all the chores that are expected of her as a mother, wife and a doting daughter-in-law, she ignores the abuses and ridicules hurled at her, in her face and behind her back, for her lack in proficiency in the English Language.

As fate has it, she lands in New York alone. An ugly incident at a café makes her secretly enrol in an English class. The rest of the film is her adventure with her classmates in a somewhat knock-off classroom of 'Mind Your Language' with a dedicated teacher in the vein of Mr Brown. Predictably, in the end, in the typical fashion of Bollywood, amidst the trials and tribulations with an Indian wedding in the backdrop, she impresses her family with self-confidence and an impromptu speech in English.

Sridevi, who is dubbed as the Indian Meryl Streep and the female Rajnikanth in Japan, makes a comeback to the silver screen after a 15-year hiatus in this morale-boosting flick. The rush to learn English, especially amongst girls, apparently skyrocketed after this film. This film was nominated for the Academy Award under the Best Foreign Language Film category.

In a scene in which the protagonist is hackled for her heavily accented pronunciation of the word 'jazz' which sounded like 'jhaaz', I was reminded of a moment with my daughter. Always a stickler for the idea that a foreign word should be pronounced like the native speakers do, she goes to great lengths to correct her family members' intonation. [Parmesson ~ paːmɪˈzan; Crème brûlée ~krɛM bruːˈleɪ]. In her mind, having more than one way to pronounce a word is a mortal sin.

The message in this offering can be a wake-up call to a certain population in this country who constantly wash dirty linen in public and blame all their social woes to their political leaders' action and inactions. We make the man we want to be. It may be easy for abled bodies like us to preach, but then, nothing in this world is nearly as impossible. People have climbed Everest with artificial limbs! Need I say more?

Memorable quote:

“When a man cooks, it’s an art. When a woman cooks, it’s just her duty.”

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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