<p>Reforming India’s vocabulary with one work of discontent at a time is the goal of social media page ‘The Gaali Project’. </p>.<p>Run by former colleagues Neha Thakur and Tamanna Mishra, it addresses misogynistic words and seeks to replace them with less sexist and more robust terms. </p>.<p>Bengaluru-based communications consultant Tamanna says, “In the last couple of years, we’ve been noticing that there is a lot of progressive content coming up, but the language they use is either stagnant or regressive.” She believes the anonymity of social media makes people believe they have a ‘free pass’ to abuse women and the minorities.</p>.<p>“The irony is that the same Indian languages already had words to express frustration and disagreement without sounding misogynistic,” she adds. </p>.<p>The duo started ‘The Gaali Project’ in September 2020 and its fan base is slowly building up. </p>.<p>Airbnb host Neha says, “We crowdsourced the content and passed around a Google Form. In the first month itself, we received more than 800 entries.” </p>.<p>The team spoke to native language speakers and researched the roots of the words suggested. </p>.<p>“For example, in Malayalam ‘pottan’ means ‘fool’ but the usage is misogynistic as it can be used to call someone a sissy,” explains Neha. She recommends the Gujarati word ‘gelsappa’ which simply means an idiot. The words collected for the project are posted on a Facebook page. </p>.<p>“Most of the creatives are done by Neha but we’ve recently started working with a few design interns,” says Tamanna. </p>.<p>The idea is to encourage people to swear but with love, she says.</p>.<p><strong>Healthy swear words</strong></p>.<p>Kannada: Kivi Mele Hoovo<br />Meaning: You really think I am that innocent?</p>.<p>Hindi: Patli gali se nikal le<br />Meaning: Get lost</p>.<p>Tamil: Aiyo mudiyala<br />Meaning: I can’t tolerate this anymore!</p>.<p>Malayalam: Krimi Kadi<br />Meaning: Itching caused by a worm, usually used in the context of jealousy</p>.<p>(Compiled by The Gaali Project)</p>
<p>Reforming India’s vocabulary with one work of discontent at a time is the goal of social media page ‘The Gaali Project’. </p>.<p>Run by former colleagues Neha Thakur and Tamanna Mishra, it addresses misogynistic words and seeks to replace them with less sexist and more robust terms. </p>.<p>Bengaluru-based communications consultant Tamanna says, “In the last couple of years, we’ve been noticing that there is a lot of progressive content coming up, but the language they use is either stagnant or regressive.” She believes the anonymity of social media makes people believe they have a ‘free pass’ to abuse women and the minorities.</p>.<p>“The irony is that the same Indian languages already had words to express frustration and disagreement without sounding misogynistic,” she adds. </p>.<p>The duo started ‘The Gaali Project’ in September 2020 and its fan base is slowly building up. </p>.<p>Airbnb host Neha says, “We crowdsourced the content and passed around a Google Form. In the first month itself, we received more than 800 entries.” </p>.<p>The team spoke to native language speakers and researched the roots of the words suggested. </p>.<p>“For example, in Malayalam ‘pottan’ means ‘fool’ but the usage is misogynistic as it can be used to call someone a sissy,” explains Neha. She recommends the Gujarati word ‘gelsappa’ which simply means an idiot. The words collected for the project are posted on a Facebook page. </p>.<p>“Most of the creatives are done by Neha but we’ve recently started working with a few design interns,” says Tamanna. </p>.<p>The idea is to encourage people to swear but with love, she says.</p>.<p><strong>Healthy swear words</strong></p>.<p>Kannada: Kivi Mele Hoovo<br />Meaning: You really think I am that innocent?</p>.<p>Hindi: Patli gali se nikal le<br />Meaning: Get lost</p>.<p>Tamil: Aiyo mudiyala<br />Meaning: I can’t tolerate this anymore!</p>.<p>Malayalam: Krimi Kadi<br />Meaning: Itching caused by a worm, usually used in the context of jealousy</p>.<p>(Compiled by The Gaali Project)</p>
