Chhota haazri

Chhota haazri or Chota hazri (Hindi: छोटा हाज़िरी, from the Hindustani words for "small" and "presence") was a meal served in households and barracks, particularly in northern British India, shortly after dawn.

In subsequent years, the tradition of such a meal has disappeared, but the phrase lives on in Anglo-Indian households, certain regiments of the Indian Army, and in public schools —such as The Doon School, Dehradun, Colonel Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun , Mayo College, Ajmer, Lawrence School, Sanawar, Lawrence School, Lovedale and St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, where it has come to refer to a cup of tea with a biscuit served at 6:00 a.m.[1]

Historical use of the word

In 1912 explorer Aurel Stein wrote the following during an expedition across the mountains of Pashtunistan:

...  11.30 p.m. I was up again to start the next days work, and after a hasty Chota Hazri which my cook was determined to treat as a supper, I was ready to set my detachments in motion.[2]

In 1947, during the political integration of the Indian princely states, the word 'Chhota Hazri' was used as a pun to refer to a small princely state in an ironic way.

...  First, a small headline, 'Mr V. P. Menon Visits State of Chhota Hazri';
Then, in the Governor-General's daily Court Circular, a brief notice, 'H. H. the Maharajah of Chhota Hazri has arrived';
And soon, a banner headline, 'CHHOTA HAZRI MERGED'.[3]

'Chota Hazri' was the name of a highly successful thoroughbred horse in British Horse racing around mid twentieth century.[4]

References
  1. The Ruling Caste:Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj by David Gilmour. Farrar, Strous and Giroux, London [2006] ISBN 0-374-28354-0
  2. Ruins of desert Cathay : personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China by Stein, Aurel, Sir, 1862-1943; Archaeological Survey of India
  3. Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy. HarperCollins, 2007; pg. 43
  4. "Sporthorse Data - Chota Hazri". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
Bibliography


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