Gaalis in India’s Gullys

cropped-logo.jpgOne thing that’s commonly heard in every Indian nukkad and gully is gaalis!
The gaali users’ list seems to be endless… The harrowed auto rickshaw drivers trying to overtake others using a volley of A,B,C of gaalis in a tone that passersby stop by wondering what started the commotion. The shop owners using gaalis and reprimanding their co-workers in front of the customers. The street dwellers, calling out to their children using gaalis as if they don’t have names. The College friends racing each other on bikes shouting out gaalis as a cool way to greet each other. School kids heading back home in their school buses hearing their bus drivers or senior students use swears words which they eventually start using in their day to day conversations. Servants who are greeted with gaalis first thing in the morning for being late to work. The noisy neighbours trying to throw their weight around with ugly gaalis. The high-on-accent bosses stooping low with gaalis to show their superiority. The harrowed sales men trying to sell their products on mobile phones only to be backlashed at with gaalis. The angry husbands with bruised egos at workplace illtreating their wives and children with a volley of gaalis. The bus drivers plying non-stop on roads from morning to night, always wanting to be ahead of other vehicles- using a concoction of vernacular gaalis as their superiority over reckless amateur bikers riding first time on the roads. The group of boys outside their college gully waiting to show their prowess of their gaali filled vocabulary. The ever attention seeking bimbettes who greet each other with a “Hi, bitch how are you?” and take pride in using the “F” word in every sentence. The Advertising professionals savouring their cutting chai across the gully swearing at peers, clients and the workculture. The small scale restaurant managers snubbing their stewards, rebuking them and sometimes giving them gaalis over shattered crockeries. Sounds of wailings of women from across local shanties and hutments as a result of facing a volley of verbal abuses from their drunken husbands. The list is endless… so what’s common is the love of gaalis amongst most Indians who don’t even think twice before uttering curse words “MC” or “BC” –  ironically they give gaalis to their mothers and sisters and in that context abuse a beautiful blood relationship. Do they think for a second about the curse word being hinted at? It’s time to wake up and act responsibly in respecting our language and culture.

Gaali Free India is a humble attempt to make people realize that gaalis are a blot on the rich cultural and language heritage of India and an extremely negatively influencing factor on the emotional wellbeing of women and children at large.

It’s time to inspire others and as responsible citizens, work towards making India Gaali Free.

Learn more about this initiative on www.gaalifreeindia.org. Be a Gaali Free Ambassador! Pledge to never use gaalis in front of children, at work, in front of friends, at home or in your surroundings. Respect your language and pass on the rich language heritage to your posterity that’s devoid of the filth of gaalis! Over to you now! Do it for your children’s sake!

Let’s work towards incorporating Swachh Bhasha, Swachh Bharat as a way of life- for only when we clean our diction and vocabulary, will do our country good.

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