BENGALURU: By-two coffee, sambhar dip, one-and-half on metre, bro!, chumma why are you coming?. These popular ‘Bengaluru phrases’ often make their way into colloquial conversations. But how did these terms come into being? Where are their origins?
How has it changed Bengaluru’s lifestyle?
These are some of the questions that this online session, What’s The Scene Bob?, organised by city-based museum Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) will answer. The event is being held in collaboration with the British Council as part of ‘Our Shared Cultural Heritage’ programme featuring city-based content creators, Shreyas Rao, Sonu Venugopal and Sriram Sullia.
The programme will decode commonly-used phrases, and identify the role they play in the city’s culture. It will also explore the origins of these phrases and whether it is specific to a particular age group. Venugopal, a stand-up comic and content creator, believes that migrants have had a great role to play in adding their own styles to conversations.
“Words like chumma come from Tamil Nadu, and ra comes from Telugu-speaking states. But they are widely used in conversations. When those from outside of Karnataka attempt to learn the local language, they try to infuse their own style which gives rise to a whole new lingo,” says Venugopal, adding that each area in Bengaluru has a distinct lingo. “People in and around Indiranagar and Koramangala use ‘bro’ and the language has a western touch to it, while in south Bengaluru, Basavanagudi and Jayanagar, words like macha are popular,” adds Venugopal.
On the other hand, Shreyas Rao, a stand-up comic, capitalises on the lingo following his observations at public places. “By-two coffee is one of my favourite phrases. Bengaluru has this unique style which people from other cities recognise. These terms are home-grown and people connect with them very well. Bengaluru is a place where people celebrate everything even if it is a joke on the linguistic slang,” says Rao.
What’s The Scene Bob? is taking place on October 9, 6pm.
Details: MAP website.