أغر؟´«أ½

Today's People and Places provides good listening practice, as we hear all about an important Hindu festival that takes place every year in January or February.

Remember you can find out more about some of the language from this week's programme below. If you would like to find out more about the festival of Thaipusam, follow the link at the bottom of the page.

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Vocabulary from the programme

of Indian origin
To have a person's or a thing's roots or beginnings in India. If you say you are of Indian origin, it can mean that you were born in India but here, Uma means that her ancestors were from India.

e.g.
My family is of Japanese origin.
The word is of Scandinavian origin.

NOTE: we often use the word 'origin' in the plural, with the same meaning.

e.g.
The word's origins are Scandinavian.

sixth generation
a generation is a group of people around the same age - so the children of a family are 'the younger generation'.

If people say that they are 'sixth generation', they are describing themselves in terms of something that happened six generations in the past (i.e. to their great great great grandparents).

This is often used to talk about one's family origins, to show how long your family has lived in a country.

e.g.
I'm a third generation Brit. (so my grandparents were not British)
We're all second generation. (all of our parents immigrated to this country)

a sin
a thought or action which a religion considers bad

In formal English, you repent sins (admit you have done them and say you regret them). Some religions ask you to do penance (do something to demonstrate your regret). After this, you are absolved of your sin (your sin is forgiven by God).

Uma avoids this formal language. Instead, she talks about 'letting go of your sins'. This emphasises the freedom that repenting their sins and doing penance can bring to devotees.

to abstain
to not do something (usually something enjoyable)

e.g.
For lent this year, I'm abstaining from chocolate.
Before marriage, I think one should abstain from sex.

a devotee
someone very religious, or someone who admires greatly a particular person or idea

e.g.
She's a Hindu devotee.
He's a great devotee of John Maynard Keynes.

to pierce
to put a sharp object through something (here, someone's skin)

a trance
a mental state in which you are not fully aware of everything that is happening, but you can still hear and understand people. It's said that during Thaipusam, people can pierce themselves without feeling pain.

e.g.
They work themselves into a trance before piercing themselves.
He fell into a trance.

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Extras




(includes a radio programme)