aage naath ...

[Frances Pritchett]

On Wed, 21 Jan 1998, RAH wrote:

> Mr. Jay Thakar's reply is slightly off.
>
> aage -- in front
> naath -- nose rope
> na -- not
> piiche -- behind
> pagahaa -- tail rope, or tether
>
> When the nose rope is on, the ox is led around and is not tied down "at
> home".
>
> My handy-dandy _saahityik muhaavaraa-lokokti ko"s_, by Harivamsh Ray Sharma,
> defines this proverb as:
>
> "sa.msaar me.m akelaa honaa" to be alone in the world, and as:
> "koii sagaa-sambandhii na honaa" to have no friend or relation
>
> Then he gives an example from Renu.
>
> sevaa me.m,
> Bob Hueckstedt
>

Although I feel the temerity of disagreeing with an official proverb
dictionary, I suggest a slightly more colloquial reading would be

"(Neither) a nose-ring in front, nor a tail-rope behind."

The initial "na" in neither-nor constructions is VERY commonly omitted-- I
can think of countless other examples in proverbs (e.g., jaan na pahcaan
baRii biibii salaam), poetry, and common speech.  (Whereas in an if-then
or when-then construction, the "to" is almost never omitted.)

And this reading very well corresponds to the meaning suggested by the
dictionary. It's at least another possibility, I would say...