Proverb – India

  • “Ud Jag Musafeer bhor bhai ab rain kaha jo sovat he Jab chidia chug gai khet tub pachtowe kaia horat hai”
  • Get up early so that you don’t waste your time sleeping because then the sparrows will get to your crops before you do.

My good friend from when I lived in Illinois is very religious and involved with the Hindu community.  Both of her parents grew up in India and later moved to the United States.  She told me of this proverb that her parents often say to her.  The proverb is telling people that sleeping is a waste of time.  There is a lot of work to be done, and if the work is not finished it will be ruined.

It is well known that the Indian community has very high expectations for there children.  The immigrant parents who made something of themselves, and are now able to send their children to good schools, expect that their children succeed as well.  The children are expected to me doctors, lawyers or engineers.  The entire time that I was friends with Ridhi, her parents were very strict.  She always had to do extremely well in school; and A minus was not good enough for her parents.  After school she played lots of sports and in each sport she was required to succeed.

Therefore, it is clear why Ridhi heard this proverb many times from her parents when she was lazy and did not want to get out of bed, or wanted to watch TV all day.  Her parents had faced prejudices in their early experiences of getting jobs, so they felt their children would have the same difficulties.  In other words, if their children did not get the job done, it would be filled by someone else, the sparrows.  It is important to notice that in the proverb the sparrow is chosen.  The sparrow is not an intellectual or well liked bird, it is a pest.  Therefore, the proverb notes that the job will be done by someone else, but moreover, someone less qualified.

In conclusion, this is a proverb that every person she hear.  It is very true.  Success does not come to people who “sleep in”, it comes to those who work for it and earn it.