# Urdu: bald



## omlick

I heard this word in Bollywood movies when referring to bald people,  but could not find it in dictionary for some reason.  I think the word is spelled Taklaa टकला, ٹکلا?

This was one of the first words I learned when I started watching Hindi movies, so I am surprised I cannot seem to find it in my dictionaries, I am wondering if it is a slang word.  I just see गंजा in the dictonaries.


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## Faylasoof

Well Omlick, Taklaa टकला, ٹکلا I hear on TV & films but it isn't used in proper Urdu! Most dialogues in Bollywood movies are regarded as a form of colloquial Urdu-Hindi (KhaRii Bolii) - the middle register for both. 

We now have more "non-Urdu-_old_ Hindi words" than in the "oldies" – old films. 

It seems टकला is used in Modern Hindi. Here is an example I found on the net:

नोकरांना खाज सुटली, घर्म फुटला शेटजी
घोरतो लावून एसी मात्र टकला शेटजी!.  

But I’ll let others tell me where the word actually comes from. I mean which local dialect.

In Urdu (and “old Hindi”) we use these for <bald>:

چندلا चन्दला chandlā = bald-head
گنجا गंजा ganjā = bald-headed. (To make fun of a bald person one can also address him as <ganjoo! / o ganje!> – obviously NOT polite!!

[Baldness = گنج ganj ; but گنج from Farsi also used and means < zaxiirah ذخیرہ / maxzan مخزن  / xazaanah خزانہ  > = treasure / store. Ref. Hazratganj حضرت گنج , name of a market place in Lucknow.]

منڈا मुण्डा munDā = shaven – but also used for a bald person. _Not polite_ esp. when one says <o munde!>.


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## omlick

Faylasoof said:


> Well Omlick, Taklaa टकला, ٹکلا I hear on TV & films but it isn't used in proper Urdu! Most dialogues in Bollywood movies are regarded as a form of colloquial Urdu-Hindi (KhaRii Bolii) - the middle register for both.
> 
> We now have more "non-Urdu-_old_ Hindi words" than in the "oldies" – old films.
> 
> It seems टकला is used in Modern Hindi. Here is an example I found on the net:
> 
> नोकरांना खाज सुटली, घर्म फुटला शेटजी
> घोरतो लावून एसी मात्र टकला शेटजी!.
> 
> But I’ll let others tell me where the word actually comes from. I mean which local dialect.
> 
> In Urdu (and “old Hindi”) we use these for <bald>:
> 
> چندلا चन्दला chandlā = bald-head
> گنجا गंजा ganjā = bald-headed. (To make fun of a bald person one can also address him as <ganjoo! / o ganje!> – obviously NOT polite!!
> 
> [Baldness = گنج ganj ; but گنج from Farsi also used and means < zaxiirah ذخیرہ / maxzan مخزن / xazaanah خزانہ > = treasure / store. Ref. Hazratganj حضرت گنج , name of a market place in Lucknow.]
> 
> منڈا मुण्डा munDā = shaven – but also used for a bald person. _Not polite_ esp. when one says <o munde!>.


 
Oh Faylasoof that is so interesting that it s NOT a proper Urdu word!  I thought I saw it in my Hindi dictonary at one point, or at least of of them, but then for some reason that disappeared or it was never there!  

The Oxford Hindi-English dictionary (McGregor) generally does give the etymology of each word for the most part so too bad it is not in that one  

The way I learned Taklaa was acutally "Takloo jii"  from the movie "Duplicate."  They were calling this bald man "Takloo jii" and so I was looking for the word "Takluu" instead of Taklaa back then not knowing that it was modified for the "endearing" wayof saying it as I did not really know any Hindi in those days.  

Anyway, I can't seem to find the word "टकला" in any of my dictionaries.


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## omlick

Faylasoof said:


> Well Omlick, Taklaa टकला, ٹکلا I hear on TV & films but it isn't used in proper Urdu! Most dialogues in Bollywood movies are regarded as a form of colloquial Urdu-Hindi (KhaRii Bolii) - the middle register for both.
> 
> We now have more "non-Urdu-_old_ Hindi words" than in the "oldies" – old films.
> 
> It seems टकला is used in Modern Hindi. Here is an example I found on the net:
> 
> नोकरांना खाज सुटली, घर्म फुटला शेटजी
> घोरतो लावून एसी मात्र टकला शेटजी!.
> 
> But I’ll let others tell me where the word actually comes from. I mean which local dialect.


 
It is MaraThii, probably crept into the Hindi like a lot of words spoken in Mumbai get into it.


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## bakshink

Dear Faylasoof the example you have given is not Hindi but Marathi and I am sure Takla is a Marathi word and that's where from it has got in to Hindi movies. However we would like to hear from Subhash Kumar and Illuminatus. 
Munda is a Hindi word. Sar Moondna "to shave the head". Sar mundate ole paRRna is one popular idiom.
I think Ganja is one word used both in Hindi and Urdu.
There is another word "Roda" in Punjabi used for the bald and it may have come in Punjabi from Urdu or some Indo-Iranian languages, I am not sure.
However I think only Ganja refers to the baldness or Alopecia all other words stand for shaven head.


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## Faylasoof

Dear Bakshink,
Yes it is Marathi! Anyway, I'm not going to lose any hair over this! ... and at least we got to know where _Taklaa_ came from! 


bakshink said:


> Munda is a Hindi word. Sar Moondna "to shave the head". ..
> ...I think Ganja is one word used both in Hindi and Urdu.



Not just _ganj__ā_! As I say above, common to both Urdu and Hindi are:
 چندلا चन्दला _chandlā_ = bald-head / baldness 
_chandlaa honaa_ /_ ho jaanaa_ = to get bald.
_
us shaxs ke chandl__ā ho rahā hai_!
That person (man) is getting bald!
 
 گنجا गंजा ganjā = bald-headed. Similarly, _ganj_ = baldness.
_ganj hon__ā__ / ho j__ā__n__ā_ = to get bald
_ganj__ā __hon__ā_ / _ho j__ānā_ = to be / become bald

[This  گنج _ganj_ is different from the گنج from Farsi! The latter is also in the Urdu lexicon]

 منڈا मुण्डा _munD__ā_ = shaven – but also used by us for a bald person in jest! _Rude _esp. when one says <o munde!>.



> There is another word "Roda" in Punjabi used for the bald and it may have come in Punjabi from Urdu or some Indo-Iranian languages, I am not sure.



It is not from Urdu!



> However I think only Ganja refers to the baldness or Alopecia all other words stand for shaven head.



Not just _ganj__ā_ (bald person) / _ganj_ (baldness), but also _chandl__ā_ is used and in Urdu we prefer it - means _ganj_.
 
_us shaxs ke chandl__ā__ hai! _
That person (man) is bald!

We much prefer this to the following:

_us shaxs ke ganj hai = woh shaxs ganj__ā hai = That person (man) is bald_

These would be considered at best _extremely_ informal or at worst rude. In fact, they are both very bald remarks!

There are other ways to be informal or rude in this respect when we, for example, say:

_terii / tumh__ārii to chandiyā dekh__āi de rahii hai!_
Your bald head / scalp is showing! 

There is also:
چندیا صاف ہونا / ہو جانا 
_chandiy__ā Sāf honā / ho jānā_  = to be / become bald.

 یہ كیا غضب و ستم تقدیر نے ہے دكھا یا
 ہریالی ہوی رواں اور ہوی صاف چندیا

yeh ky_ā ghazab o sitam taqdiir ne hai dikh__āy__ā
hary__ālii  hui raw__ā.n  aur hui  s__āf chandi__yā _

I think I've said enough!

PS: Alopecia has different types. The common _male pattern balness_ is called _androgenic alopecia_, but there are also alopecia _areata_ or _universalis_ or _totalis_.


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## panjabigator

Greetings,

Has anyone ever heard the word <ṭinḍ> for "bald"?  Any relation to <ṭindā>, the sabzi?


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## drkpp

Faylasoof said:


> नोकरांना खाज सुटली, घर्म फुटला शेटजी
> घोरतो लावून एसी मात्र टकला शेटजी!.


These are Marathi sentences NOT Hindi 
though the word is used with the same meaning.
In Marathi, it is a common word for Bald.

Source:http://freetranslationblog.blogspot.com


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## Faylasoof

drkpp said:


> These are Marathi sentences NOT Hindi
> though the word is used with the same meaning.
> In Marathi, it is a common word for Bald.
> ..........


 
Yes! We sorted this out almost at once!



Faylasoof said:


> Dear Bakshink,
> Yes it is Marathi! Anyway, I'm not going to lose any hair over this! ... and at least we got to know where _Taklaa_ came from!
> .......


 
Of course we don't ever use it in Urdu.


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## Birdcall

Takluu is the only word for bald which I've heard in Mumbai. Though I believe ganjaa is the most standard word, neither of my parents (who grew up in Mumbai) understood that word when I used it.


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## panjabigator

panjabigator said:


> Greetings,
> 
> Has anyone ever heard the word <ṭinḍ> for "bald"?  Any relation to <ṭindā>, the sabzi?



Just repeating the query. Any thoughts?


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## Qureshpor

panjabigator said:


> Just repeating the query. Any thoughts?




"TinD" is a noun meaning "shaven head" and "TinDal" is one with a shaven head. It has nothing to do with the vegetable, as far as I know.

(Believe it or not, "TinD" is also a water bucket forming part of a chain in the Persian wheel)


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## bakshink

Hello Panjabigator- Tind is bald in Punjabi and may find it's origin in "Tinda" the vegetable which looks like a balled head or may be it's the other way around.

Navneet


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## Qureshpor

bakshink said:


> Hello Panjabigator- Tind is bald in Punjabi and may find it's origin in "Tinda" the vegetable which looks like a bald head or may be it's the other way around.
> 
> Navneet




Navneet Jii. Would you not say "TinD" means "baldness"? And, apart from "TiiNDaa" there are a number of other vegetables that resemble a bald head, don't you think?


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## Faylasoof

panjabigator said:


> Greetings,
> 
> Has anyone ever heard the word <_*ṭinḍ*_> for "bald"?  Any relation to <ṭindā>, the sabzi?


 I heard this regularly from my Punjabi friends when in Karachi. Actually many Urduphones started using _*ṭinḍ *_= bald, in addition to _ganjaa / ganjuu / mundaa_ !


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