Dear Sam,
It has been my experience when visiting Sri Lanka and travelling by train or bus, or going to see matches (school or international), or waiting for a three wheeler or being anywhere in town, or watching tele dramas and especially when we entertain young people who are in UK for studies or for sports that you hear words and terms that you have no clue about. Some of the terms we used in our time still persist, but with subtle variations in how they are used.
I have attached a list of some examples which might prove useful to those of us who have not ‘been in touch’. Often, when I ask youngsters at a party or a dinner “මොකක්ද ඒ වචෙනෙ තේරුම?” (what was the meaning of that word?) the reply I get is” අයීයෝ අන්කල් ඒක අහල නැද්ද?” (why Uncle, have you not heard it before?).
If you feel this is worth going on the Batch Blog, please post it.
With best wishes,
CJ
PS: After the RU 64, Seelan and I started collecting a list of terms that were peculiar to Bloemites and other medicos, but it gradually petered out. Might be worth reviving it if people are happy to contribute. Some terms which I recall include:
Eg: ‘Neots’ – nothing, empty, don’t know. Punt -cigarette. ‘Don’t give it to the bugger, he will put it in the well’ – don’t give him a ‘pull’ from your punt because he will put his spit all over it, ‘Jackson’- chap who goes behind girls and puts a ‘heththu’ especially in a bus or in a crowd (wesak time), ‘fracture’ – tricking someone to buy you a meal or take a group of you for a film, ‘Saami bugger’ – very quiet and religious fellow who won’t join in the fun, ‘Bit’ – woman or girl, ‘Cod’ – nurse, Badu kaaraya – womaniser, ‘malignant circle’ – gathering of people in the lobby for a ‘con chat’, ‘ a Rasheed’ (named after Ameer Rasheed)_ – a man who can sell you your own bike.
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 
Dear CJ
I enjoyed reading your description of the words. I think others who know more words ( I am sure there are ) should contribute . Thanks CJ.
Praxy
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IT DOES BRING A LOT OF OLD MEMORIES FROM BLOM DAYS THANKS CJ
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Enjoyed reading through the old familiar words , and learned some new ones too!
A term that I still use is–” Periya Karrachal”–Too much of a hassle.
Thanks CJ-very well done.
eagled
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A good idea
Excellent theme CJ, you’ve started
I too will scratch my forgetful head
Some are, not for pleasant company
Will ‘Maru baduwak’ be censored?
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Dear Ariya
I don’t think there is anything to be censored as we are all adults… septuagenarians and doctors so I don’t think there is anything to be censored . “ just go with the flow” Praxy👍😊
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Thanks CJ. Brings back pleasant memories of days gone by. Like Ariya I might scratch my brain to remember more words.
Nisantha
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I may add to CJ’s list:
-What Vis = Whats happening / Whats new ;
-Ponniah = Gay fellow ;
-Camphor = good looking boy ;
-Sarakku = girl
-Murial = same as fracture mentioned by CJ.
-Neotson = a person with neots within the head.
-Bricks – Dropped a Brick = some one who spoke “broken English”.
I cannot remember any more at the moment.
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Hi Seelan — some folks used the term ” Dropped a Brick”– to let out a secret that one is not supposed to mention, same idea as ” To let the Cat out of the Bag”.
eagled.
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where did the word “KOSSACK” fits in
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The word Kossack is something unique reserved to honour our beloved one & only Arumainayagam – The most lovable person with built-in smiles.
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As far as I can remember the term Kossack (Cossack) came from a hat that he had (whether borrowed or lifted from somewhere) very similar to that worn by Russians in the winter. He was very ticklish and we used to tickle his (extremely) hairy body frequently. Even a light touch would set off a series of uncontrollable giggles and he would try to protect himself using this hat yelling “Adey, stop you bugger!! No, you bugger!! “.
Wijesinghe (Willie mama) was a great tickler.
Seelan is absolutely right about his lovable smile. The two white things about him were his beautiful white teeth and his pure white sarongs.
I will ask Cossack for his version the next time I ring him.
I am not certain if my version is true and correct or a delusional recollection.
All this happened in ‘Texas’ the name we gave our section on the first floor where we lived.
We could try to compile a catalogue of funny/memorable incidents that happened in Bloem. This might be useful in breaking up the cobwebs fuzzing our minds.
CJ
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Soleed BYT ( Very pretty girl) BYT Is beautiful young thing
Neoght flungs ( nothing doing )
COD is a very old terminology for nurses means ( convenience of doctor’s ) I don’t think lot of us knew it
RA
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