Pakistani nicknames

First among commentators S suggested a section for Pakistani nicknames. Best idea i heard since yesterday, so here it is.

Nicknames for Girls:

Gurya (means doll) - This was my moms nickname as a kid in her family. It stuck. I have always heard her being referred to as Gurya, be it from her parents, her siblings and cousins, and then our cousins, all have called her Gurya baji, Gurya khala or something similar.

Dolly – Interestingly, my moms younger sister was nicknamed Dolly. Another take on the Doll theme, or lack of imagination when it comes to choosing nicknames?

Others that come to mind are Sweety, Moti,

Nicknames for Boys:

Sometimes nicknames are derived from emasculating the person’s name. In the case of my brother Murtaza, his name became Murti. It has stuck to this day. He doesn’t mind.

In school he played soccer. His fancy footwork allowed him to evade most challengers. And the boys on the football/soccer field started calling him Choee Moee. Its the local name of a plant that wilts when touched, and he ran from the opposing players like death.

Our youngest brother got nicknamed Guddu, means a male doll. There is a serious doll fetish in our family, I know. This was back in the days when action figures hadn’t been introduced in Pakistan. So the name was decidedly uncool. Asad hated his nick, but it had already stuck before his opinion could be voiced. Only now at 25 has he been able to earn enough respect to kill his nick.

One of my mom’s younger brothers was born while my grandfather was posted as a Pakistan army officer in East Pakistan. That being the land of the Bengalis, the newborn was nicknamed Bangali, or Bangla Bhai. As with most nicks it stuck and that mamoo( mothers’ brother) is called bangali by all his siblings and cousins. Us, the kids dare not though.

The youngest among that family of eight children got nicked Tony. Don’t know why. But all of us call him Tony mamoo.

I never really had a nickname and, now that I think about it, I am feeling kind of left out. For a while there, mom was calling me Al Bundy but, despite my best attempts to sell it, the rest of the clan didn’t warm up to it.

other nicks that come to the mind: Babloo, Pappu, Chotu (small), Jugnu (fire fly), Bunty, Motoo (fatty), ..

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