This post is inspired by Jim’s post A few of my favourite blogs. Do please read the comments section to understand why he inspired me.
Ranjan and I share a friend in Rodney, affectionately called Rod by us. He is an Australian and has been to India on construction assignments, and is currently in Bengal on one such assignment.
I reproduce below an exchange with him on FaceBook.
Rodney John Parkerposted toRanjan Rajgopaul
Ranjan my mate
What is the meaning of chulta hey
02 August at 19:06 via Facebook Mobile · LikeUnlike · · See friendship
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Ranjan Rajgopaul likes this.
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Ranjan Rajgopaul http://www.answers.com/topic/chalta-hai
chalta hai
www.answers.com
chalta hai phrase 1 a it will suffice; it will do b anything goes! 2 ( as modifier ): chalta-hai attitude Our age-old chalta-hai
02 August at 21:22 · LikeUnlike
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Ramana Rajgopaul Rod, the nearest that I can think of is “shit happens”
Okay, for the uninitiated, Chalta Hai is a frame of mind and often is expressed orally to convey acceptance of a situation. Harper Collins Hinglish dictionary has this to say about it.
chalta hai
phrase
1
a it will suffice; it will do
b anything goes!
2 (as modifier): chalta-hai attitude
Our age-old chalta-hai attitude will have to be entirely dispensed with. Many organisations are ridden with the malaise of excuses for non-performance (Business Today)
In Hindi chalta hai literally means ‘it goes’ and is often used as shorthand for a certain careless approach to life and flexible attitude to rules which many Indians think characterizes their country’s collective psyche. Opinion there is sharply divided as to whether this supposed ‘chalta hai’ mindset is a charming idiosyncracy that makes India the diverse and exciting place it is, or a cultural millstone that keeps the nation from performing to its potential on the world stage.
Poor Rod must be going bonkers with his work mates with this attitude and climbing the wall whenever someone says this to him.
If you ask my opinion about that mindset, I will say “Chalta hai.”