What do you think?
Rate this book
Entry from Backside Only: Hazaar Fundas of Indian-English
Historical and contemporary evaluation of Indian English, attention to ads, graffiti, literary writings, journalism. delightful and insightful, excellent on Indian cultural traditions
- GenresIndiaLanguageNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
5 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 17, 2011
A guy who can infuse research with a compelling creative nonfiction style: Sudhir Venkatesh. A guy who can't: Binoo K. John. Attempted cheekiness fail.
March 17, 2018
A breezy but flippant walk through aspects of Indian English. As many have pointed out it's pretty light on insight and rigour, despite some chunky citations.
Lots of examples (with a nice range from press across the centuries), but John never entirely gives us a pinned down answer to what actually makes Indian English what it is. A love of obscure words, yes. A fondness for front loaded, complex sentence structures, yes. Whimsical rhyming ('Don't be silly Lily', etc; 'shilly shally'). I'm an outside observer and I knew about Hobson-Jobson. I didn't come away feeling I'd learned much new.
Or, in my stab at Indian English:
Insight and rigour in this book there was a disappointing quantity, authur (sic) is too busy dizzy with ostentatiously (sic) quotage of crore and crore lines of other distinguished penmen and sexyhot ladies. But book was FUN!!!
Lots of examples (with a nice range from press across the centuries), but John never entirely gives us a pinned down answer to what actually makes Indian English what it is. A love of obscure words, yes. A fondness for front loaded, complex sentence structures, yes. Whimsical rhyming ('Don't be silly Lily', etc; 'shilly shally'). I'm an outside observer and I knew about Hobson-Jobson. I didn't come away feeling I'd learned much new.
Or, in my stab at Indian English:
Insight and rigour in this book there was a disappointing quantity, authur (sic) is too busy dizzy with ostentatiously (sic) quotage of crore and crore lines of other distinguished penmen and sexyhot ladies. But book was FUN!!!
April 24, 2025
The premise is full of promise — a witty exploration of Indian-English, a dialect that carries within it the imprints of history, colonisation, creativity, and everyday resilience. It’s a subject ripe with linguistic quirks and cultural insights, and I was genuinely looking forward to diving into it.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t live up to the potential. The book often mistakes incorrect or clumsy English for the rich, layered evolution of Indian-English — conflating error with identity. In its attempts at humour, it frequently overreaches, coming off more strained than sharp, and at times even veering toward a caricature of the very people and language it seeks to examine.
There’s a fine line between affectionate observation and patronising ridicule — a line that this book struggles to walk. Too often it tips into cheap laughs at the expense of nuance, reducing a vibrant linguistic ecosystem into a punchline. The sporadic insertion of obscure quotes and tangential references further distracts from any serious narrative that might have anchored the work.
What could have been an insightful, affectionate exploration of post-colonial expression ends up feeling fragmented, and, at times, dismissive. It misses the opportunity to reflect on how languages grow, how cultures adapt, and how the so-called “imperfect” can be a space of creativity and authenticity.
A missed opportunity, and a disappointing read — especially for those of us who were hoping for something both thoughtful and fun.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t live up to the potential. The book often mistakes incorrect or clumsy English for the rich, layered evolution of Indian-English — conflating error with identity. In its attempts at humour, it frequently overreaches, coming off more strained than sharp, and at times even veering toward a caricature of the very people and language it seeks to examine.
There’s a fine line between affectionate observation and patronising ridicule — a line that this book struggles to walk. Too often it tips into cheap laughs at the expense of nuance, reducing a vibrant linguistic ecosystem into a punchline. The sporadic insertion of obscure quotes and tangential references further distracts from any serious narrative that might have anchored the work.
What could have been an insightful, affectionate exploration of post-colonial expression ends up feeling fragmented, and, at times, dismissive. It misses the opportunity to reflect on how languages grow, how cultures adapt, and how the so-called “imperfect” can be a space of creativity and authenticity.
A missed opportunity, and a disappointing read — especially for those of us who were hoping for something both thoughtful and fun.
October 25, 2023
Was looking forward to get some insights that were unknown. Other than extensively reproducing the writings from some of the worst first Indian- English writers and the use of Hinglish in movies and ads the book doesn't have anything if value to offer.
A waste of time.
A waste of time.
June 11, 2014
I did not find this book particularly engaging. This wasn't a history or fundamentals of Indian-English. It was random snippets of examples and random facts. There was no organization, so that was what made it uninteresting. I picked this up because I studied linguistics and find non-standard or regional English fascinating. I want to find a better book on the topic with a more engaging style.
There were a few interesting facts and humorous examples sprinkled throughout the book. It definitely needs cutting and cohesion. A consistent journalistic style and consistent integration of quotes would help. It was indeed quote heavy.
There were a few interesting facts and humorous examples sprinkled throughout the book. It definitely needs cutting and cohesion. A consistent journalistic style and consistent integration of quotes would help. It was indeed quote heavy.
October 16, 2013
More Trimming Required!
Author's desperate attempt to compete with the "Modern Writers", Well done! for the efforts. But, not succeeded in achieving the objective :(
There were many parts of the book which shows evidences, proofs from very very very old newspaper ad's which were my favorite areas of attraction. But, unnecessarily there are boring exaggerations with more journalistic style.
Could've been much much better.! Below expectation.
Author's desperate attempt to compete with the "Modern Writers", Well done! for the efforts. But, not succeeded in achieving the objective :(
There were many parts of the book which shows evidences, proofs from very very very old newspaper ad's which were my favorite areas of attraction. But, unnecessarily there are boring exaggerations with more journalistic style.
Could've been much much better.! Below expectation.
April 23, 2012
A heavy study about the way Indians have been using English.Filled with some interesting indian newspaper ads from 40's. A compelling read is a letter written during India's independence struggle by a little boy addressed to Gandhi.Some funny,interesting bits.Thats all.
August 3, 2012
Not all that great, and better for people who are already familiar with Indian English who will probably be entertained more than I was. More a selection of examples of Indian English than a really insightful history of it or list of etymologies.
October 22, 2009
Meh... the only people to whom I'd recommend this book are those who are specifically researching Indian English. This short book is exceedingly "quote heavy."
April 20, 2011
hilarious, entertaining and informative..! L-O-V-E-D it..!!
June 28, 2012
Binoo sir,Thanks.
can't dare to write more,he may pick this review in his next book ;)
Well hazaar fundas of Indian-English truly exists.
can't dare to write more,he may pick this review in his next book ;)
Well hazaar fundas of Indian-English truly exists.
August 7, 2012
Quite a heavy read this!
Read
November 15, 2016Wonderfully hilarious book. For those who like to read the historical evolution of hinglish and other variants of the English language.
April 12, 2013
It's pretty normal. The title Hazaar fundaas of english, is misleading. However, many valuable points are disccused in detail.Stuff professional writers should not miss.
July 16, 2013
• Hilarious examples of Indian-English communication
• Easy to read
• Appears a drag (at times)
• Not a scholarly work
• Easy to read
• Appears a drag (at times)
• Not a scholarly work
October 7, 2013
On evolution of language
Read
November 25, 2014Excellent read & real good research, especially on the classified ads before 1900s
September 1, 2015
Boring...really bad writing and that too on English...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews