Stilt fishing is an old tradition practised by around 500 fishing families in Galle, in southwestern-most Sri Lanka. These fishermen usually fish at sunset, noon and sunrise, with each one taking an elevated position and balancing about 2 metres above the water. The stilts are dug into the coral and bed of the sea. Stilt fishing started after the Second …

An investor or speculator who subscribes to a new issue, expecting the price of the stock to rise immediately upon the start of trading is known as a stag. The sole aim of a stag is to sell the shares soon after allotment to realise a quick profit.

Siddhas are liberated souls. They have reached the highest state, salvation, and have attained Moksha. They have eradicated all their karmas, and therefore do not accumulate any more new karmas, thus freeing themselves forever from the cycle of birth and death (Akshaya Sthiti). This state of freedom is called Moksha. They are experiencing ultimate, unobstructed bliss (Aksha Sukh) and are …

A Rajput is a member of one of the landowning patrilineal clans of central and northern India. Rajputs consider themselves descendants of one of the major ruling warrior groups of the Hindu Kshatriya Varna (social order) in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India. However this claim has been contested by various historians and scholars, from the medieval era to the …

A portmanteu of the words pajamas and Mujahideen, Pajamahadeen or Pajamahideen refer to bloggers who constantly check facts in traditional media. The word refers to news bloggers, their main goal being overthrowing the news establishment. ‘Mujahideen’ comes from an Arabic word referring to those who participate in jihad while bloggers are said to mostly work in their pajamas. It was …

Kitchen police are military service personnel whose services are deployed to assist the cook in the kitchen. They help the cook by cutting vegetables, cleaning the floor, washing the dishes, etc. Sometimes, regular combat personnel are also sent on kitchen duty as punishment for minor offences. This term has been used in the US since World War I.

Hypocritical celebrities or those who espouse a cause but don’t live by the principles they preach. The word hippy-crite particularly refers to those celebrities guilty of environmental hypocrisy. For instance, those who complain about pollution but nonetheless use products that pollute. Hippycrites also refer to wannabe hippies —those who claim they are hippies but don’t exactly lead such a lifestyle.

Echo Boomers are children of the Baby Boomer generation (seen as an echo of them, hence the name). They were born in late 1970s-1990. They are stereotyped as ethnically diverse children of the computer age, comfortable with digital communications, moderately conformist, untroubled by the generation gap. This group is large (three times that of the preceding Generation X). The group …

Newcomers who enter a territory seeking success are called carpetbaggers. This term originated from ambitious northerners in the US who flocked to the post-Civil War South, carrying their possessions in a handbag made of carpet material. They sought opportunities to help newly-enfranchized Black citizens run for political office, in return for various favours.

Carborexics are people who take eco-consciousness to the extreme, almost bordering on obsessive compulsive behaviour. Such people are also referred to as dark green carborexics because they constantly worry about their carbon footprint, which is the impact a person’s activities has on the environment. Some carborexics use their lawn as the toilet so that they don’t waste water by flushing. …