Wallah

This article is about the use in Indo-Aryan languages. For the use in Arabic, see the Wiktionary entry wallah.

Wallah, -walla, -wala, or -vala (-wali fem.), is a suffix used in a number of Indo-Aryan languages, like Hindi/Urdu, Gujarati, Bengali or Marathi. It forms an adjectival compound from a noun or an agent noun from a verb.^[1] For example; it may indicate a person involved in some kind of activity, where they come from, or what they wear (topiwala), i.e., habitué.^[2][3]

Example uses

Examples of such uses include:

• Dabbawala, lunch box deliverer
• Dhobiwallah, laundry worker
• Chaiwala, a boy or young man who serves tea
• Dishwalla, satellite TV installer, from "dish" for parabolic antenna
• Rickshawala, a rickshaw driver
• Punkawallah, the servant who keeps the punkah or fan going on hot nights
• Lep wallah, a cotton carder
• Kabadiwalla, a waste picker or scrap dealer^[4][5]
• Puncture wala or puncher wala, a tyre repairer

In British military jargon of the first half of the 20th century, a "base wallah" is someone employed at a military base, or with a job far behind the front lines.^[6] There were a number of other words of this type, such as "camel wallah" and "machine-gun wallah", and more.^[7] "Base wallah" had a derogatory reference for a person who is seldom seen at the front lines during major attacks, pretending to be sick.^[8]

There is a short story "Sanjeev and Robotwallah", by Ian McDonald. There is a character named General Robotwallah in the 2010 novel For the Win by Cory Doctorow. "Robotwallah" refers to the pilot of a mecha.

Other uses

Wala or Vala was also used in Parsi and Dawodi Bohra surnames, suggesting the derivation from a profession or a place name. For example:

• Amroliwala
  • Matthew Amroliwala
• Daruwalla
• Mithaiwala, sweetseller^[9]
  • Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala
• Furniturewala:
  • Aalia Furniturewala

Wala is also used to indicate a specific object or thing among several:

• chota wala, 'the small one'
• dusra wala, 'the second one'
• agla wala, 'the next one'

These uses of wala should not be confused with the Arabic: ⁧وَٱللّٰه⁩, romanized: wal-lāh, lit. 'by God'.^[10]

References

1. R. S. McGregor, ed. (1997). The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 915. ISBN 978-0-19-864339-5.
2. Clements, J. Clancy (1996). The Genesis of a Language: The formation and development of Korlai Portuguese. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 139–. ISBN 978-90-272-7618-6.
3. Barz, Richard Keith; Siegel, Jeff (1988). Language Transplanted: The Development of Overseas Hindi. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-3-447-02872-1.
4. "Indian firm's digital solution for urban waste pickers". www.itu.int. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
5. "Kabadiwalla Connect | The Buckminster Fuller Institute". www.bfi.org. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
6. Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London, p.18.
7. Notes and Queries, 1922, p. 378
8. Notes and Queries, 1922, p. 343
9. Anand (February 5, 2006). "Reflections of a language-wala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
10. The dictionary definition of wallah at Wiktionary