Madras lingo on transportation
A traffic island becomes a roundtana, while Emden, the name of a German cruiser that bombed Madras in 1914, came to mean a bully or devious adversary. Tankuvar Arundudum — meaning you lose control of a situation — comes from tankuvaru, a Telugu term referring to a small piece of leather used to fasten the saddle to a horse. These are just some words and phrases used in and around Madras, which trace their origins to modes of transportation
· 8/25/2026, 8:51:35 AM· 2 min read
A traffic island becomes a roundtana, while Emden, the name of a German cruiser that bombed Madras in 1914, came to mean a bully or devious adversary. Tankuvar Arundudum — meaning you lose control of a situation — comes from tankuvaru, a Telugu term referring to a small piece of leather used to fasten the saddle to a horse. These are just some words and phrases used in and around Madras, which trace their origins to modes of transportation
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