Person who angers easily

For the past two days I have been graced with the presence of my older brother.

Some of you may know him, at least those intimate enough to virtually "follow" me on this blog, so you needn't any introduction but for those who don't, one could sum him up as one who aims to live a life of service, whether in non-profits or other organizations it's generally based on the idea of how one can be of service to others and not how one can be served by others. Very chic, I agree.

In about one month's time, we (family) shall bid him farewell as he goes off to Ladakh, the "land of high passes" a northern province of India, bordering Tibet, I mean Xijang, I mean Tibet to the east and Pakistan to the west. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in India. The people are of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent, and the Indian governement has tried to encourage tourism there for the last 30 years. (The most popular sport is currently ice hockey, as ice nautrally abounds). My brother has signed up to farm sustainably with the good Ladakhi people, which does sound like fun, as most things do when one is not forced to do them every day.

Motivated by the novelty of farming in remote mountain villages where internets and blogs are but a memory (or a days' journey on yak), my brother has already begun to learn the rudiments of the Ladakhi language, aka Western Archaic Tibetan. He, ever so cool the cucumber, shared this wonderful piece of information about the language, that made me believe merited at least one blog entry: there are no swear words.

I, for one, am astonished. When I think of the few languages I know and the multitude of salty and crass things I know how to say (including the panoply of vulgar expressions in Mexican taught to me by my friend Lili) I wonder how an entire language, whether we like to call it archaic or not, can survive without those interjections generally uttered in anger. There is, of course, one exception, and an ironic one at that. The only "bad" word in Ladakhi is: "person who angers easily."

This gave us fodder for laughter for at least several mintues.

"You are just a person who angers easily!" said in anger, of course. Then it becomes an Abbot and Costello routine.

"No, you just said that in anger. You must be a person who angers easily!"

"How dare you call me a person who angers easily! You anger much more easily than I do!"

Dare to compare: "You are not only a person who angers easily, you are the son of a person who angers easily!"


This idea made us laugh so hard I nearly stepped in authentic Parisian dog doo on the sidewalk. And the reason it made us laugh is only because it's true: we are both the children of someone who angers easily and the thought was just too funny for words. I mean, if someone angers easily and you use this Ladakhi insult, it's more an observation than a critique. But isn't that what one hates? To be told the truth about ourselves?

I wonder when they cuss at each other during an ice hockey game what it sounds like...