October 21, 2004

Alur Dosh

Alur Dosh is a colourful Bengali phrase that translates as 'the fault of the testicles'. (The literal meaning of alu is potato, but it is also a slang term for the testicle). If you've been thinking with your dick, or you've done something stupid because you were driven crazy by lust, shrug it off by saying 'alur dosh'. Just blame it on your balls.

Or at least that's how a Bengali friend explained it to me. That's the meaning implied in this post to soc.culture.bengali , which refers to Priyanka Vadehra's Bengali stalker:
Although the action of the cops were very unjust, seems that the Mitra dude has a big "alur dosh"..
I've also come across the Bengali slang term aloobaaz, used for a flirt or a randy guy. Must derive from the same meaning of alu.

I'm sure there are other connotations to the phrase though. Looking for citations, I came across this forum where alur dosh is defined as a 'flaw in the character'.

I guess you could see it that way. Though I wonder, is this an oblique way of referring to impotence/homosexuality, implying it's all a matter of faulty equipment? Over at soc.culture.bangladesh, an American visitor's queries about how to join the local gay scene receive the blunt response, 'Go to Chittagong and use the word "Gandu" or say that you have "ALUR-DOSH", ok!!!'

1 comment:

Haridaspal said...

'Alur Dosh' does have some homosexual connotations, depending on the context.

Do you know that Bongs have an English expression for a person having 'alur dosh'? It is PhD!

It stands for Potato highly Defective.