Nhal’li-dhul’li ostori ani xenn kaddul’li dorthori

An awful portrait, don’t you think? But it isn’t quite as revolting as you might think. In those days, cow-dung floors were the norm, and “cow-dunging” a floor was like painting a wall: the floor would be prepared by scraping off some of the old dried and worn-out cow-dung and then “polished” with a fresh layer of cow-dung. The smell of the fresh cow-dung would be somewhat unpleasant but was never quite as offensive and certainly not as unhygienic as it may seem. The odour lasted as long as the floor was wet and black, and once it dried and turned fully grey, it would look freshened up and be considered clean and bright like a painted wall.

But imagine a respectable lady who takes a bath and then walks straight onto a freshly cow-dunged floor. Unlike most other proverbs, which purport to present an insight into nature, specially human nature, or offer gems of wisdom and advice, this one is more of an idiomatic expression portraying the juxtaposition of two elements that stand in stark contrast to each other.

It is interesting to note, though, that Fr. A. Pereira interprets this proverb quite differently. According to him, the proverb suggests that a floor polished with fresh cow-dung is comparable to a clean bathed lady — which is somewhat contrary to our interpretation given above.

Notice how the Konkani word “ostori” (meaning woman) has evolved from stri, setting a pattern for the konkanization of Sanskrit words.

Meanings:
nhal’li

= bathed, fem.
dhul’li = washed, fem.
ostori = woman, fem.
xenn = cowdung, neut.
xenn kaddunk = to smear cowdung on a floor
dorthori = floor