# Hindi/Urdu: blind leading the cock-eyed?



## lcfatima

Someone said this expression to me and I got the gist of the meaning but I cannot remember the exact words she used. Something about the blind leading the cock-eyed, along the lines of our English "The blind leading the blind." Do you know the expression?


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## Illuminatus

The only similar expression I can recall right now is, _Andho.n mein kaana raaja._

That is, amongst blind people, even the one-eyed is king.


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## lcfatima

Oh yes, that was it! Thanks!

So a kaaNa is a one-eyed person, not a cock-eyed person?


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## Illuminatus

Yeah

A small mistake in my first post.

In Hindi, it is kaana (simple n). Some dialects make it retroflex. 

This phrase is often used when someone not really competent leads because he is mildly better than others.


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## panjabigator

It's a wonderful saying!!  Thanks for sharing it.


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## BP.

Icf, you're actually spelling the word _kaana_ as in Punjabi I think. Its sans retroflex in Hindi+Urdu. Definitely in the latter.


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## Faylasoof

Dostaan-e-giraamii,

For this proverb:

ا*ندھوں میں كانا راجہ \ راجا*
(andho.n mei.n kaanaa rajah)

[Its literal meaning is as Illumin says above. But as we use it, it is more like some one lacking ability or being mediocre feels big and great because he /she is surrounded by others who are even more mediocre than him / her. Hence the comparison between a one-eyed, who feels like a raajaa / rajah, and the blind.]

The more accurate English equivalent of this Hindi-Urdu proverb is:

*<To be a big fish in a small pond>.*



While for the English proverb *< Blind leading the blind* >,I think the closest Urdu-Hindi equivalent is:

*اندھا باٹے رِیوُڑیاں \ كھُٹیاں*

(andhaa baaTe reuRyaa.n / khuTyaa.n)

[A blind man distributing < reuRyaa.n / khuTyaa.n >, a kind of small sweet made with sesame seeds; meaning:  An incapable person taking charge.]


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## MarcB

In English we say "In the world of the blind the one-eyed is king".


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## bakshink

Dear All
Cockeyed is Bhainga and Squint-eyed is Ainchaktana or Ainchatana in Hindi. Bhainga and Teera I think mean the same in Punjabi and I don't know of and don't think either there is any word in Punjabi to differentiate between the Cockeyed and squint-eyed

I don't think Kaana is spoken differently in Punjabi and Hindi

The idiom Faylasoof is referring to is also in Punjabi- Anna wande reyorrian. muRR muRR apnayaan. noon.  Translated literally Blind man distributing Reyorrees (Reyori / Rewari in hindi is a kind of a sugar candy with a coating of seasame seeds)- giving to his kins over and over again. And the idiom means unabashed nepotism


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## lcfatima

Okay thanks. I frequently have problems here with my server and posting, so I wanted to actually ask if there is a word for a "cock-eyed" person as well, and also thank Illum. for clarifying the meaning. So thanks for beating me too it.

Can someone write bhainga is devnagri or Urdu so that I can know the exact pronunctiation?

BP: I was repeating Illum's pre-edit spelling, I have no idea of that "N" is used for kaana in Punjabi or not.


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## bakshink

Dear Icfatima,

I am here in China and I don't know how to configure computer for typing in Unicode, I think I need Windows Xp Cd which is at home. However I am attaching here a pdf for Word Bhainga written in Hindi. Hope you can open and see it,

Best Regards,
Navneet Bakshi


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## lcfatima

China? Okay, thanks, I appreciate that.


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## omlick

"The Blind Leading the Blind" means that no one knows what the hell they are doing.  So a situation where you use this is when everyone is incompetent and everything is getting screwed up. It is sort of what is happening these days with the government trying to fix the economy and no one knows really what they are doing.  It is all bakvaas.

I am not sure if there is an urdu/hindi proverb for this situation.  I could not find it in my list of idioms/proverbs

I would say something like "in logo.n me.n se ek bhii nahii.n jaantaa ki vah kyaa kar rahaa hai.


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## Illuminatus

Speaking of such proverbs, have you heard of _Andher nagari chaupat raaja?

_Basically used to say that the situation is anarchic.


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## lcfatima

Illuminatus, I can't understand that expression can you please break it down?


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## panjabigator

I'm not too sure if I follow it either, though I have heard it before.  Let's see if I can work it out...  

अंधेर-dark
नगरी- village
चौपट- ruined
राजा-king

Ok, that's as far as I can get


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## Illuminatus

It comes from a story of the same name.

There was a stupid king, in whose land, all things had the same price. The kingdom was called Andher Nagri (darkness here refers not to physical darkness but that due to the king's stupidity) 
The song went:

Andher nagri chaupat raja, Taka ser bhaji, Taka ser khaja.

Ser is an old unit of weight. taka is an old currency unit.

This phrase is used when you want to talk about a situation of anarchy or chaos


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## bakshink

And khaja in the above phrase is old ( possibly archaic) word for Kaju in hindi which is Cashew in English


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## lcfatima

Interesting. Thanks for the breakdown and background.


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