Waghaira: Etymology, Usage, Waghaira Waghaira!

hai aap ke ho.nTo.n pe jo muskaan vaGaira
qurbaan ga.e us pe dil o jaan vaGaira

ANWAR MASOOD

Words often conceal more than they convey. Today, we’ll be unpicking, unpacking, and more, a word we use countless times every day, but are only getting to know now.

Waghaira, our very own etcetera, is a word we use here, there, and everywhere. It’s also notably used when we want to just rush out of a conversation, as in, “Arey hum ne bahut dekhe hain shayar waghera”

Beyond the word’s dialectical use, the word also doubles up into ‘Waghaira-Waghaira’, carrying connotations such as miscellaneous (information), sundries, and less-relevant bits. For instance, ‘Daraaz mein kya kuchh na tha, rasiden, khutuut, qalam, waghaira-waghaira’.

If you want more, here’s a great case in point:

yahii soch kar iktifaa chaar par kar ga.e shaiKH-jii
mile.ngii vahaa.n un ko huur aur pariyaa.n vaGaira vaGaira

AKBAR HYDERABADI

Now, we don’t need to teach you how to use this word in a phrase; we’ve all mastered our local idioms. What we can shed light on, however, is its etymology and a very unique expression from our language that stems from this word.

So first, what is Waghaira as a word? It’s essentially a compound word made of three units: Wa meaning and, Ghair meaning other, and Ha/Hu indicating so forth. Literally, it means ‘and other things’. Also, its Sanskrit counterpart, Ityaadi, does a great job of conveying the same idea, translating into ‘this and others’. 

Let’s move on to that one very unique expression that might be a product of, how do I say, Waghaira-ization?! 

Ever used phrases like: “Kahnaa-Wahnaa”, “Tukke-Wukke”, “Sunanaa-Wunanna”, etc.? 
Notice that this intensifier-like verb/noun suffix almost always begins with a ‘Wa’ sound, this is a direct result of the word Waghera passively at play. We’ve even extended it into English, say, ‘Late-Wate’, ‘Tension-Venshion’, so on and so forth!

Let’s understand this with an example:

“Sunana-Wunana hai nahin, ab tukke-wukke bhiDaate raho bas!”

Here, Tukke-Wukke can literally, and quite perfectly, translate into the English language as ‘guesswork and all’. This little ‘and all’, is exactly what these intentionally misspelled words beginning with ‘Wa’ interpret as. And on top of that, it also ties back to Waghaira in Urdu, and etcetera in English!

With that it’s a wrap! If you know more insights about this interesting little word, feel free to share your thoughts, drop them in the comment box, enlighten us, etcetera, and etcetera!