Baigan ka bharta may be famous in southeast Asia for its taste, but Hyderabadi ‘baigan’ is evergreen for its usage. Its green or blue shades never matter so far it kicks off many nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Deccani Urdu.
I hope you remember versatile usage of “achcha” in Hindi, funnily expressed by actor Aamir Khan as an alien character in his PK movie last year.
Let me show you importance and usage of ‘baigan’ in Hyderabad. Beware, don’t mess up with the ‘baigan’ unless you fully understand its various local usages.
As far as I know, there’s no competitor word to ‘baigan’ even in local language when it comes to expressing many feelings.
Usages of Baigan in Hyderabad
If you happen to see any serious fight or a scuffle, then never miss to hear this dialogue: “baigan ki meri, kisku dhamkara re… abbi batatau tera”.
When a student in Hyderabad fails despite hard work (hardly worked?), an obvious expression you would get to hear is: “baigan mein milgaya ustaad, pinde ki meri”.
Well, if a Hyderabadi lad is anxious he would declare: baigan kya hota ki ustaad…dimagich kaam nai karra. On the other hand, an angry youngster will challenge an old guy saying: “baigan ke baataan nakko karo chicha…bade hai bolke lite deru.”
Assume a tense situation, where you can foresee a problem ahead or you feel nervous. In this situation, a Hyderabadi will say: “haalat baigan mein miljari ustaad sochetu...kya hota ki apna to”.
There could be various ways to express feeling of love. Imagine what will happen when ‘baigan’ comes in between of love. Simply, a new flavor of expressing love: “baigan pyaar hogaya mama”.
Similarly, when a naughty Hyderabad had to express pride, he would say: “baigan ko bolo jao…apan kiske baap ki bhi nai sunte”. Whereas, a victorious proclamation will sound: “baigan pakdo…apan jeet gaye“.
If someone shows tantrums, or taunts then just say: “baigan ke pozaan nakko maaro…patli galli pakdo, niklo yaha se”. Though Hyderabadis don’t feel sad often, if at all they feel so, then you will hear this: “baigan hamesha mere satich aisa kayku hota ki yaaro…pinde ki meri”.
More importantly, Hyderabadi ‘baigan’ replaces many bad words in local language. For instance, “baigan ke baal”, “baigan pakdoo”, baigan ke baatan, and baigan ke kaama.