BPSC Mains Essay paper consists of 3 sections for 100 marks each where the candidate has to write an essay from each section.
Section III consistes of Bihali Idoms and proverbs
Social Behaviour, Family & Community
- अकेले मियाँ रोवें की कबर खानें।
Explanation: Literally: “Will the lone husband cry or dig the grave?” - अपनी गली में त एगो कुत्ता शेर होला। / अपनी दुआरे, कुतवो बरिआरे।
Explanation: “Even a local dog is a lion in its own lane.” People feel confident or brave in their own familiar environment. Also speaks to local prestige and overestimation of local status. - अपनी दही के केहु खट नाहीं कहेला।
Explanation: “No one calls their own curd sour.” People are biased in favor of their own possessions or family—subjective attachment and defensiveness of one’s possessions/children/work. - आपन इज्जत अपनी हाथे में हअ।
Explanation: “Your honor is in your own hands.” Self-responsibility for dignity and reputation; emphasizes individual agency and ethics. - घर में दिया बारी के, मंदिर में दिया बारल जाला।
Explanation: “Light the lamp at home before the temple.” Priority to one’s immediate duties and responsibilities before grand gestures. Means: take care of basic responsibilities first. - बिनु घरनी, घर भूत के डेरा। / बिनु घरनी, घर भूत के डेरा।
Explanation: “Without a woman, a house feels like a ghost’s abode.” Cultural recognition of women’s central role in making a home functional and meaningful. - हम चराईं दिल्ली, हमरा के चरावे घर के बिल्ली।
Explanation: “We fooled Delhi, but the house cat is trying to fool me” - बेटा अउरी लोटा बाहर चमकेला।
Explanation: “A son and a pot shine only outside.” External appearance vs internal reality: honor is often visible only in public. Commonly used to say children gain honor outside the home. - घटिया के चीज के गाँव में बढ़-चढ़ के बतावला (उखड़े बार नाहीं अउरी बरियार खाँव नाव)।
Explanation: People often boast or claim importance despite little substance—“mud-showing” or hollow swagger..
Category B — Morality, Ethics & Hypocrisy
- आन्हर कुकुर बतासे भोंके।
Explanation: “A blind dog barks even at a breeze” — people raise alarms or criticize without knowledge. It pinpoints loud, ignorant criticism. - घाट-घाट का पानी पी के होखल बड़का संत.
Explanation: Those who experice water of multiple cities they aquire sainthood - साँच के आँच नाहीं लागेला।
Explanation: “Truth does not get harmed by fire.” Truth endures; a proverb about moral courage and ultimate vindication. - चाल करेले सिधरिया अउरी रोहुआ की सीरे बितेला (गलती कोई और, पकड़ा कोई और)।
Explanation: Someone makes the move but someone else bears the cost—scapegoating and injustice. - कुकुरे के पोंछी केतनो घी लगाव उ टेड़े के टेड़े रही।
Explanation: “No matter how much ghee you apply to a dog’s tail, it will remain crooked.” Nature doesn’t change; inherent traits persist. - सूप त सूप चलनियो हँसे जवने में छपन गो छेद।
Explanation: “those with more holes laugh at others with hole.” - साँचे कहले साथ छुटेला।
Explanation: “If you speak the truth, you lose friends.” Truth-telling can isolate one; social cost of honesty.
Category C — Governance, Justice & Leadership
- घोड़ा की पिछाड़ी अउरी हाकिम की अगाड़ी कबो नाहीं जाए के चाहीं।
Explanation: “Never walk behind a horse nor ahead of an official.” Respect hierarchies and avoid challenging positions that bring danger or awkwardness. It also captures the need to be mindful of authority. - हाथी चले बाजार, कुकुर भौंके हजार।
Explanation: “When an elephant goes to market, thousands of dogs bark.” Focus on the serious work rather than noisy critics. Leaders should remain focused. - लात के देवता बाती से ना माने। / लाती का देवता / लात के देवता बाती से नाहीं मानलें।
Explanation: “A deity of kicks (force) won’t be persuaded by words” — sometimes force or strong action is the only thing that works. This proverb is used to justify strong measures when persuasion fails. - कहला से धोबी गदहा पर ना चढ़े।
Explanation: “You can’t make a washer sit on a donkey by telling him.” Some people act only by their own will, not by persuasion. - बनले के साथी सब केहू ह अउरी बिगड़ले के केहू ना।
Explanation: “When one prospers, many friends; when one falls, nobody stays.” Commentary on fair-weather friends and the fickleness of social support. - करब केतनो लाखी उपाई, बिधि के लिखल बाँव न जाई।
Explanation: “No matter how many remedies you try, what is ordained by fate will happen.” Folk belief in destiny. - बाबन बुधि (बाभन बुधी).
Explanation: “Brahmin wit” — implying cleverness or cunning tied to learned classes. Sometimes used ironically to denote slyness. - सब धन बाईसे पसेरी.
Explanation: “All wealth is equal” — final equality or satire on uniformity among corrupt.
Category D — Agrarian Wisdom, Seasons & Work
- आगे के खेती आगे-आगे, पछिला खेती भागे जागे / आगे के खेती आगे-आगे, पीछे के खेती भागे जागे।
Explanation: Planting at the correct time ensures good results; late or untimely cultivation depends on luck. Agricultural proverb about timing and seasons. - खेत खाय गदहा, मारल जाय जोलहा.
Explanation: “The donkey eats the field, the peasant gets punished.” Farm laborers/servants causing damage while the owner suffers. More generally, injustice in which the wrong person is penalized. - खेत, बेटी, गाभिन गाय — जे ना देखे ओकर जाय।
Explanation: “Fields, daughters, and pregnant cows need supervision or they go astray.” Emphasizes need for watchfulness on valuable resources. - धन के बढ़ल अछा हS, मन के बढ़ल नाहीं।
Explanation: “Increase in money is good, but increase in mind (ego) is not.” Material growth is fine but moral/ethical growth is vital.
Essay tip: Use in balanced development essays—economic growth must be matched by ethical maturity and social responsibility. - धान गिरे बढ़ भाग, गेहूँ गिरे दुरभाग।
Explanation: “If paddy falls, it means a good yield; if wheat falls, it means a bad yield.” Agricultural observation about crop behavior and implications. - खेतियार गइने घर दाएँ-बाएँ हर।
Explanation: When the worker/owner leaves, others slack off. Indicates tendency for shirking in absence of supervision. - खड़ी खेती, गाभिन गाय — तब जान जब मुँह में जाय।
Explanation: One can’t trust a crop/pregnant cow until harvest/birth is realized — uncertainty persists. Folk caution about premature optimism. - धन के बढ़ल अच्छा ह, मन के बढ़ल नाहीं।
Explanation: Money growth is fine but ego/inflation of mind is not. (Reprise) - गइल भैंस पानी में।
Explanation: “Loss occurred” — a local shorthand for damage or loss. - माघ के टूटल मरद अउरी भादो के टूटल बरध कबो नाहीं जुटेलें।
Explanation: (Seasonal-health observation) Men broken in Magh, bulls in Bhadon—once health is lost in certain seasons it doesn’t return. Folk observation about seasonal vulnerability. - नव नगद ना तेरह उधार.
Explanation: “If no new cash, take thirteen on credit” — speaks to reciprocity and informal credit norms. - गाइ बाँधी के राखल जाले साड़ नाहीं।
Explanation: “A cow is tied, a bull isn’t” — suggesting greater control over - गाइ ओसर अउरी भैंस दोसर।
Explanation: “A cow at first calving and the buffalo at second are best” — empirical livestock wisdom. - मुरुगा ना रही त बिहाने नाहीं होई
Explanation: “If rooster doesn’t crow, doesnt mean morning won’t come” —
Category E — Folly, Greed & Waste
- नव के लकड़ी, नब्बे खरच. / नौ के लकड़ी, नब्बे खर्च।
Explanation: “New wood costs nine, (contradiction) ninety are spent.” Sign of wasteful expenditure on the new, foolish spending. - नवकि में नव के पुरनकी में ठाढ़े — नये-नये को इज्जत देना।
Explanation: Newcomers get respect—people often flatter novelty. - एक हाथ के ककरी अउरी नौ हाथ के बिआ।
Explanation: Tall tales or exaggeration; making small matters sound huge. - करजा के खाइल अउरी पुअरा के तापल बराबरे हS.
Explanation: “Eating on credit and warming straw are equivalent” — debt-driven consumption is as futile as warming straw. Advises against unnecessary debt. - लाद दऽ लदवा दऽ, घरे ले पहुँचवा दऽ.
Explanation: “Load up and send it home” — greed, obsession with accumulation. - अक्किल गईल घास चरे
Explanation: Literally “wit gone grazing grass.” Means someone has lost the ability to think — acting mindlessly. - आखिर संख बाजल बाकिर बाबाजी के पदा के
Explanation: “The conch finally sounded, but only after great effort by the priest.” Too much effort needed - इस्क अउरी मुस्क छिपवले से नाहीं छीपेला (इश्क अउरी मुस्क)
Explanation: “Love and musk cannot be hidden” — certain truths will surface. - इहे छउड़ी इहे गाँव, पूछे छउड़ी कवन गाँव
Explanation: Pretending ignorance of your own place—feigning innocence. - उखड़े बार नाहीं अउरी बरियार खाँव नाव
Explanation: “can’t even uproot a hair but a brave name” — fake valor; appearance without substance. - काहे अंधरा के जगले अउरी का ओकरी सुतले
Explanation: “What difference between a blind person’s waking and sleeping?” — something pointless or ineffective. - का कहीं कुछ कही ना जाता अउरी कहले बिना रही ना जाता
Explanation: “One cannot remain silent nor keep saying things” — exasperation; situation intolerable. - केरा (केला), केकड़ा, बिछू, बाँस इ चारो की जमले नाश
Explanation: “These four will cause ruin” — traditional warning about certain combinations that bring trouble. - कानी बिना रहलो न जाये, कानी के देख के अंखियो पेराए
Explanation: “One cannot either see or live without seeing” - आपन पेट त सुअरियो पाली लेले।
Explanation: “Even a pig can feed its belly” — anyone can look after their own needs; no praise in self-preservation.
Essay tip: Use to critique self-centered policy behavior; emphasize solidarity and public-spiritedness. - आन की धन पर तीन टिकुली / आन की धन पर तेल बुकुवा / आन के दाना हींक लगाके खाना
Explanation: Series about living off others’ wealth and enjoying it without contribution. - नव नगद ना तेरह उधार
Explanation: If there is no new cash, buy on credit — informal credit norms and indebtedness.
Essay tip: Use for essays on rural indebtedness, microfinance pitfalls, and need for regulated credit. - अबर के मेहरारू गाँवभरी के भउजाई
Explanation: The weak woman becomes everyone’s mockery—social exploitation of vulnerable people. - मन मोरा चंचल, जिअरा उदास
Explanation: Restless mind and sad heart — human frailty and desire. - गइल जवानी फिर ना लौटी
Explanation: Youth irrecoverable — invest early.
Essay tip: Use to support spending on education, skilling and youth employment schemes. - साँपे के काटल रसियो देखी के डेराला
Explanation: “Once bitten, twice shy” style proverb — trauma affects future behaviour.. - मारे छोहन छाती फाटे अउरी आँसू के ठेकाने नाहीं
Explanation: Grappling with deep emotion—used to describe intense grief or feigned sorrow.
Category F — Fate, Luck & Human Condition
- भाग वाला के भूत हर जोतेला.
Explanation: “Fortune follows the lucky.” Good luck makes tasks easier—some people have persistent fortune. - कर्म फूटे त फटे बेवाय.
Explanation: “When fate is broken, even the rope will snap” — when misfortune is on someone, everything goes wrong. - गइल जवानी फिर ना लौटी, चाहें घी, मलीदा खा.
Explanation: “Youth gone never returns — eat ghee or crumbs.” A reflection on the irretrievability of youth/time, urging prudent use of one’s prime. - एक हाथ के ककरी अउरी नौ हाथ के बिआ। (reprise)
Explanation: Making small things appear large.
Essay tip: Use to show media/political exaggeration and need for evidence-based claims. - गढि़या के मनवले डांगर नाहीं मरेला।
Explanation: “Even if you appease, the stubborn beast won’t die” — some problems persist despite efforts.
Essay tip: Use in governance to explain why occasional remedies fail; need structural reform. - करिया बाभन गोर चमार।
Explanation: “Black Brahmin and fair-skinned cobbler” — pointing out absurd contradictions; used to mock hypocrisy or identity confusion.
Essay tip: Use carefully to discuss complex social identities and how simplistic labels fail policy targeting. - ऊँची दुकान फिस्का पकवान — ऊँची दुकान फीका पकवान.
Explanation: Big show, poor substance.
Essay tip: Use when criticizing token projects or vanity infrastructure lacking utility. - अकला गईल घास चरे।
Explanation: “Intellect gone, grazing grass” — losing capacity to think/reflect; folly.
Essay tip: Use to emphasize the need for critical thinking in education reform. - गइल जवानी फिर ना लौटी। (reprise)
Explanation: Youth does not return; invest it wisely.
Essay tip: Argue for investment in youth education, skilling, and health. - भूखे भजन ना होई गोपाला।
Explanation: Spiritual activity or productivity cannot happen on an empty stomach. Basic needs first.
Essay tip: Use as a human-centered policy thesis: ensure basic consumption before higher-order outcomes are expected. - रोजो कुँआ खोदS अउरी रोजो पानी पीअS।
Explanation: “Dig a well daily and drink daily” — live in present, don’t obsess about future possibilities. Advice on pragmatism.
Essay tip: Use in context of behavioral insights: short-termism vs long-term planning; design nudges that balance both. - रोग के जड़ खांसी।
Explanation: “Cough is the root of many illnesses.” Public-health wisdom about primary infections leading to bigger problems. - सौ पापे बाघ मरेला।
Explanation: “A hundred sins kill the tiger” — even the mighty die eventually; excess leads to downfall.
Essay tip: Use in governance to comment that sustained corruption/excess leads to eventual collapse—need for institutional safeguards. - गइल माघ दिन उनतीस बाकी
Explanation: Time passes quickly—literal observation about months but basically “time flies.”
Essay tip: Use in essays on urgency in policy implementation (climate action urgency). - अभागा गइने ससुरारी अउरी उहवों माँड़े-भात।
Explanation: “The unlucky person goes to in-laws and gets bad food too” — total misfortune.
Essay tip: Use compellingly in social safety net arguments. - भगवान के घर में देर बा, अंधेर नाहीं।
Explanation: “God’s house may be late but not dark” — justice delayed but not denied.
Essay tip: Use as hope motif in judicial reform essays advocating patience plus reform. - सौ पापे बाघ मरेला
Explanation: Even the mighty fall by repeated sins — limit of power and impunity.
Essay tip: Use for anti-corruption case that sustained wrongdoing erodes strength; need for deterrence. - पहेले दिन पहुना, दूसरे दिन ठेहुना, तीसरे दिन केहुना
Explanation: Long stay at relatives reduces honor; hospitality norms are time-bound.
Essay tip: Use to examine social norms around hospitality and migration/urban-rural dynamics.
Category G — Practical Wisdom & Advice
- मन चंगा त कठवती में गंगा।
Explanation: “If the mind is pure, even a humble spot is like the Ganga.” Emphasizes inner purity over external trappings.
Essay tip: Use in moral education discussions—value ethics and internal reform in governance (culture of integrity rather than just laws). - खाली बाती से काम नाहीं चलेला।
Explanation: “Only talk doesn’t do work.” Practical action beats empty talk. - पेटवे सब कुछ करावेला.
Explanation: “Hunger makes one do anything.” Necessity drives actions that might be unsavory; the power of basic needs.
Essay tip: Use to emphasize anti-poverty measures—food security is foundational; without it, ethical choices disintegrate. - आखिर संख बाजल बाकिर बाबाजी के पदा के।
Explanation: “Finally the conch sounded but for the priest’s benefit” — work gets done but primarily for a specific person’s benefit. Suggests elite capture of collective action.
Essay tip: Use to highlight capture of public resources by elites; argue for community participation and transparency. - मईरे, मन मोरा बसे इयरवा के पास (example: मन मोरा चंचल) — variations about mind and feelings.
Explanation: Many proverbs describe the fickle, restless mind—indicating emotional states.
Essay tip: Use in essays about governance psychology: policymakers’ emotional biases affect decisions; emphasize behavioral insights to craft better policy. - काग के कहले कान लेगइल तs आपन कान टोवबs आकि कौआ की पीछे दउड़बs।
Explanation: On rumours: don’t chase the crow—verify reality not rumours.
Essay tip: Use to argue for evidence-based policymaking and against rumour-driven reactions (e.g., during pandemics). - कनवा के देखि के अँखियो फूटे अउरी कनवा बिना रहलो न जाए।
Explanation: Hating someone intensely yet being unable to live without them—complex social dependence.
Essay tip: Use to highlight social complexity in family ties and policy design that assumes simplicity. - नया-नया दुलहिन के नया-नया चाल।
Explanation: New bride’s new ways—early enthusiasm and novelty.
Essay tip: Use as metaphor for new policies or reforms and risk of novelty over substance; argue for consolidation. - कोरा में लइका अउरी गाँवभरी ढ़िढोरा।
Explanation: A child on the lap, the whole village makes a search — collective gossipy behavior. - हाथे में पैसा रहेला तब बुधियो काम करेले।
Explanation: When money is in hand, even the wise act—illustrates role of incentives.
Essay tip: Use as a lead-in to discuss financial incentives in public service delivery (e.g., conditional cash transfers). - दूधारू गाय के लातो सहल जाला।
Explanation: If a cow gives milk, its kicks are tolerated—people tolerate certain harms if there is benefit.
Essay tip: Use to analyze tolerance for corrupt officials if they deliver benefits; argue for balanced accountability. - अँखिये ना तs क्या बताइब (variants on blindness/ignorance proverbs)
Explanation: Many local proverbs emphasise the folly of ignorance.
Essay tip: Use to underline education and awareness as foundations of social progress. - एक बोलावे तेरह धावे.
Explanation: “Call once and thirteen come” — describes the urgency or greed of some (e.g., Brahmins described as eager for food/gifts).
Essay tip: Use to discuss clientelism—how patronage networks respond to benefits. - उधर न निकरब, इधर न निकरब (variants meaning “neither here nor there”)
Explanation: Being indecisive or stuck between options.
Essay tip: Use to argue for decisive policy and clear implementation frameworks. - निनहर के सारा बाटे (variants on helplessness of the unlucky)
Explanation: Many proverbs lament helplessness—something that goes beyond individual control.
Essay tip: Use to make a compassionate case for social safety nets. - काई दा तू फुर्र फुर्र (local jest variants)
Explanation: Jesting, mocking sayings exemplifying local humor.
Essay tip: Use as cultural flourish in essays to demonstrate living familiarity with local contexts—don’t overuse. - बीछी के मंतरिए ना जाने अउरी साँपे की बिल में हाथ डाले।
Explanation: “One who doesn’t know a scorpion’s charm sticks hand into a snake’s hole” — ignorance leading to danger.
Essay tip: Use in public awareness campaigns: emphasize importance of training, education, and risk communication. - नाईं चिन त नाया कीन।
Explanation: “If you don’t know it, buy new” — better new than counterfeit/unknown. Advocates caution in dealing with unknowns.
Essay tip: Use in consumer protection or procurement fairness essays—prefer authenticated goods/services. - मन मोरा बसे इयरवा के पास (emotional proverb reprise)
Explanation: Restless mind finds solace near friends—on human relationships.
Essay tip: Humanize an essay about public service motivation and mental health support systems for civil servants. - बईठले ले बेगारी भला
Explanation: “Better idle than beggared” — avoids extremes of idleness vs humiliation. Often suggests dignity.
Essay tip: Link to livelihood programs (MGNREGA) that preserve dignity of labor while preventing destitution. - नौ के लकड़ी, नब्बे खरच
Explanation: A proverb on irrational overspending. - खिचड़ी खात के नीक लागे अउरी बटुली माजत के पेट फाटे
Explanation: “Khichdi tastes good, but when you clean pots it’s tiring.” Enjoyment and the unseen effort. - खाली बाती — action required (short tag)
Explanation & tip: Use as a repeated refrain to press for results orientation in governance.
Category H — Irony, Mockery & Social Critique
- जेकर बनरिया उहे नचावे, दूसर नचावे त काटे धावे.
Explanation: “He who owns the instrument plays it; if others play, he cuts/punishes them.” Ownership allows control and abuse of power. - कुत्ता काटे अनजान के अउरी बनिया काटे पहचान के।
Explanation: “A dog bites the stranger; a merchant cheats the one he knows.” The familiar can exploit you more because of trust.
Essay tip: Use when discussing informal credit systems and the exploitation risk in patron–client relationships. - कफन में जेब ना, दफन में भेव.
Explanation: “No pocket in the shroud; in the grave one’s worth is different.” Death equalizes wealth — material wealth irrelevant in the end. - लाठी की मार भुला जाला लेकिन बाती के नाहीं।
Explanation: “One forgets a beating but not the sting of words.” Words cause deeper wounds than physical punishment. - साँपे के काटल रसियो देखी के डेराला.
Explanation: “One who was bitten by a snake fears to even look at a rope” — trauma consequences and risk aversion. - ए कुकुर तू काहें दूबर, दू घर के आवाजाई।
Explanation: “O dog, you are not useless, you belong to two houses” — people who belong nowhere. - ए जबाना में पइसवे भगवान बाs।
Explanation: “In this age money is God” — cynicism about materialism. - लाठी कपारे भेंट नाहीं अउरी बाप-बाप चिल्ला
Explanation: “If stick doesn’t work, the father shouts” — spectacle to compensate for lack of action.
Essay tip: Use to criticise showy enforcement that lacks substantive remedy. - बनला के सभे इयार, बिगड़ला के केहू ना
Explanation: “When successful many friends; when in trouble none.”
Essay tip: Use to discuss social capital dynamics and recommend community-based insurance.
Category I — Proverbs About Learning & Knowledge
- अंडा सिखावे बच्चा के, बच्चा करु चेंव-चेंव.
Explanation: Teaching the ignorant to teach the wise — the absurdity of misguided teaching.
Essay tip: Use to discuss poor teacher training or top-down initiatives that lack content competence. Argue for capacity building. - कोदो देके नइखीं पढ़ले।
Explanation: “No amount of small pay (millet) will make one read” — someone won’t learn just by little bait; also implies skill and interest matter.
Essay tip: Use to argue for meaningful incentives and quality of teaching rather than token stipends. - आधा माघे कंबर काँधे
Explanation: Half the month of Magh (mid-winter) the blanket is on the shoulder — seasonal notes. Means conditions change.
Essay tip: Use to discuss adaptation to seasonal vulnerabilities (health/energy policy). - अंडा सिखावे बच्चा के, ए बच्चा तू चेंव-चेंव करअ
Explanation: Teaching the ignorant to teach — absurdity of misguided instruction. (Reprise)
Essay tip: Useful case for education quality, not just access. - कोदो देके नइखीं पढ़ले
Explanation: “One wasn’t made literate by offering only millet” — material incentives alone don’t build skills.
Essay tip: Apply to conditional cash transfers vs. quality investments in schooling. - गुरु गुड़ रह गइलन, चेला चीनी हो गइले
Explanation: Disciples surpassing teachers (mentor loses relevance) — sometimes mentors get left behind.
Essay tip: Use in HR and capacity building: continuous training needed for all levels. - काठ के हड़िया चढ़े न दूजो बार
Explanation: “You can’t mount a wooden saddle twice” — one-time exploitability.
Essay tip: Use in resource exploitation context — sustainable use is one-time if abused.
Category J — Miscellaneous Practical Sayings
- ना चलनी में पानी आइ ना मूंजी के बरहा बराई।
Explanation: “Neither water will pass through the sieve nor will the pith of reed take shape” — impossible task.
Essay tip: Good to describe policy impossibilities; be realistic in promises. - पेट कबो नाहीं भरेला.
Explanation: “The stomach never gets full” — human greed and insatiability. - मन मोरा चंचल, जिअरा उदास.
Explanation: “My mind is restless, heart sad.” Emotional proverb about restlessness and longing.
Essay tip: Use as a humanizing line in personal-philosophical essays on public service motivation and stress. - आसमाने में थूकबS त मुँहवे पर आई।
Explanation: Doing something against nature will boomerang on you.
Essay tip: Use in ethics/anti-corruption—misdeeds return to harm the doer. - ओस के चटला से पिआस ना मिटे
Explanation: “Licking dew won’t quench thirst” — half measures won’t solve big problems.
Essay tip: Use to argue for scale in public investments. - ना खेले देइबी, खेलिए बिगाड़बी
Explanation: “If I don’t play, I won’t let others play — I’ll ruin the game” — obstructionist behavior.
Essay tip: Use to describe obstructionist politics; recommend institutional dispute-resolution. - कान में (कानी के कच्चा)
Explanation: Naïve, easily fooled person.
Essay tip: Use to push for financial literacy & consumer protection. - देही ना दासा गाड़ी तेलवासा
Explanation: “If body lacks beauty, still will dress with oil” — critique of vanity compensation.
Essay tip: Use for cultural critiques and consumer behaviour analysis. - रोजो कुँआ खोदS अउरी रोजो पानी पीअS (reprise)
Tip: Pragmatism vs speculation—policy focus on day-to-day solid progress.
Family, Gender & Social Norms (परिवार, लिंग और सामाजिक प्रथा)
- बिनु घरनी, घर भूत के डेरा। (reprise)
Explanation: House without woman is like a ghost-house — women central to a household’s life.
Essay tip: Use to highlight women’s invisible work and argue for policy recognition (care economy, unpaid work measurement). - आन की धन पर तेल बुकुआ।
Explanation: “Enjoying someone else’s wealth” — living off others’ resources with pleasure.
Essay tip: Use to discuss dependency and exploitative patterns (e.g., middlemen capturing smallholder gains) and recommend reforms to return value to producers. - गइयो हाँ अउरी भैंसियो हाँ।
Explanation: Saying for uncritical agreement—affirming both right and wrong. Points to thoughtless conformity.
Essay tip: Apply to conformity in governance: caution against yes-men culture; advocate for dissent and accountability. - बेटा के भुजा अउरी दमादे के जाउर।
Explanation: Son is offered simple favor (kurmura), son-in-law is given rich treat — shows favoritism to in-laws over sons in some contexts.
Essay tip: Use in essays on kinship dynamics and how social norms shape resource distribution in families. - भाई बहिन संबंध: जेकर बहिन अंदर ओकर भाई सिकन्दर।
Explanation: Brother enjoys freedom at sister’s house (close kin privilege).
Essay tip: Use when discussing kinship-led social support networks, and how they influence migration, care, and obligations. - घर फूटे जवार लूटे।
Explanation: When a house breaks (family quarrel), outsiders loot—internal discord invites external exploitation.
Essay tip: Use to stress the importance of social cohesion for community resilience and governance stability. - बुढ़वा भतार पर पाँची गो टिकुली।
Explanation: Old husband given five tikka — doing unnecessary ornaments/favors to an old spouse—implies misapplied efforts.
Essay tip: Use as an example that policies should match needs (age-appropriate benefits) rather than tradition-based allocations. - बेटी के बेटा कवने काम, खइहें इहँवा चेटइहें गाँव।
Explanation: Daughter’s son is of little use—he will eat here and go back to his village—comment on migration and patrilocal norms.
Essay tip: Use in gendered migration discussions; argue for policies that care for daughters and recognize the value they bring to natal households. - बाप ओझा अउरी माई डाइन
Explanation: Father as healer, mother as witch — paradoxical view of parents (ironic).
Essay tip: Use to examine contradictory folk beliefs about parental roles and the need for health literacy. - बेटा के भुजा अउरी दमादे के जाउर
Explanation: Preferential treatment to damad (in-law) vs own offspring — highlights complex family hierarchies.
Essay tip: Use when discussing kinship-based resource allocation and implications for social welfare. - बकरि के माई कबले खर जिउतिया मनाई
Explanation: “How long will a goat’s mother observe ritual?” – things will happen as meant; fatalism.
Essay tip: Use to reflect on fatalistic attitudes that deter proactive behaviour—policy implication: social-behaviour change communication. - बढ़ रहती बतिअवले अउरी छोट जाती लतिअवले
Explanation: Respectful speech works; violence works on the uncultured.
Essay tip: Promote soft skills in leadership; stress moral education. - बेटा अउरी लोटा बाहरे चमकेला
Explanation: The son shines outside — migration and remittance prestige.
Essay tip: Use in migration essays: remittances’ role in rural uplift and social mobility.
Category: Ethics, Hypocrisy & Character (नैतिकता, दोहरा मानक)
- साँच के आँच नाहीं लागेला। (reprise)
Explanation: Truth survives trials.
Essay tip: Use as a thesis sentence in an integrity-themed answer: sustained truth and institutional transparency. - जो गुड़ खाई उ कान छेदाई।
Explanation: “Who eats jaggery will have pierced ears” — ill deeds produce their own consequences (or guilty will suffer).
Essay tip: Use to show that illegal gains eventually exact a social/personal price—argument for strict enforcement. - घाट-घाट का पानी पी के होखल बड़का संत. (reprise)
Explanation: Hypocrisy of sanctimony with small gains — people claiming saintliness.
Essay tip: Use to critique moral posturing in public life. - काल्ह के गुन, कल का कहे? (local variants)
Explanation: Past deeds determine future standing—legacy matters.
Essay tip: Use to argue for ethical legacy in public policy: institutions built by prior actors influence current outcomes. - आपन इज्जत अपनी हाथे में हअ।
Explanation: Dignity is self-made; personal responsibility for reputation.
Essay tip: Good opening line for essays on ethics of public service — individuals must uphold integrity. - इजती इजते पर मरेला।
Explanation: “A respectable person dies for reputation” — people sacrifice a lot for honor.
Essay tip: Use to discuss social pressure & honor culture; relate to gender norms and rights. - इहे छउड़ी इहे गाँव — जानबूझ के अनजान बनना
Explanation: Pretending ignorance deliberately to evade responsibility.
Essay tip: Use to discuss bureaucratic evasion—procedural shirking; suggest citizen grievance platforms. - साँच के आँच नाहीं लागेला
Explanation: Truth withstands trials — recurring motif (useful as principle).
Essay tip: Tie to judicial independence & robust accountability mechanisms. - इडिल-मिडिल के छोड़ आस, धर खुरपा गढ़ घास।
Explanation: “If study doesn’t suit, pick a practical job” — practical vocational choice over useless persistence.
Essay tip: Use to stress vocational training, skill development and value of alternative education paths. - घाट-घाट का पानी पी के होखल बड़का संत
Explanation: One who takes advantage everywhere and pretends saintliness.
Essay tip: Use to critique performative virtue in public life; call for transparency. - जीअत पर छूँछ भात, मरले पर दूध-भात
Explanation: “Alive: plain food; dead: sweet porridge” — people are honored only after death.
Essay tip: Use for essays on posthumous honors, tokenism and need for meaningful support in lifetime (pensions, healthcare). - घीव के लड्डू, टेढो भला
Explanation: “A lumpy sweet is still good” — anything obtained is appreciated regardless of quality. Often used to justify accepting small favors.
Essay tip: Use to discuss patronage politics — small favors buy political loyalty; propose transparency in welfare. - घीव देख बाभन नरियात
Explanation: “At sight of ghee, a Brahmin shouts” — people exaggerate joy when their desire is met.
Essay tip: Use to discuss incentive-induced behaviour; design policies minimizing rent-seeking.
