India has enriched English with dozens of words:
BAEL a spiny tree
BUSTEE, BUSTI a slum
BHANG a drug made from hemp
BINDI a decorative dot in the middle of the forehead
CRORE ten million
GAUR a large wild cow
GHERAO a form of industrial action
GUAR a gum-producing plant
JAI victory
MUSTH frenzied excitement among male elephants
PUNKA(H) a fan made of palm leaves
SWAMI a Hindu saint or religious teacher
And that’s before we start stuffing ourselves with BALTI, BHAJI, BIRIANI or BIRYANI, CHAPATI, DHANSAK, KORMA or QORMA, LASSI, MASALA, PAKORA, SAMOSA and TANDOORI.
Lots of these words are hooks; words which can be formed by adding one letter to the beginning or end of another word. Can you spot them?
A GHERAO, by the way, is a strike where the workers lock their bosses into their offices. I’ve had a few bosses I’d have liked to see in a gherao in my time.
By Barry Grossman
Barry is a leading UK Scrabble player and winner of several tournaments. He is the author of Scrabble for Beginners (Chambers), Need to Know Scrabble, Scrabble – Play to Win and The Little Book of Scrabble Trickster. He has also contributed to numerous other books on the subject of words and word-games, has been a series champion of Channel 4’s Countdown, and has written four comedy series for BBC Radio 4. He lives in Hertford.
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