Stills from the series Linguistics. Pics coutesy/Jamun Collective

It transports you from pre-colonial times when thugee was rampant to Snoop Dogg's re-appropriated Thug Life tattoo, touching upon literature, music, cinema and everything in between; in an episode that traces the origins and journey of the word 'thug'. Keeping it current and relevant, words like 'mango' and 'corona' also have episodes of their own; the latter diving in as far as memes like "Go Corona", and drawing references from cult classics like Andaz Apna Apna. It's what one can only call a whacky ride, don't tell us we didn't warn you!

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Interestingly, the first episode is about the expression "aiyo", and among the most interesting ones in the six-part series. It speaks of the word originating from Yama, the God of death, its various uses over the years and its foray into the Oxford English Dictionary. In a brave new attempt, it also talks about its use as a trope for misrepresentation of the southern states of India in popular Hindi cinema. So, there's actor Mehmood using it liberally to remind us that his character is South Indian and Rani Mukerji punctuating a song that features a South Indian actor with it. It goes on to dispel myths about its utterance in certain contexts without ever losing the fun yet articulate tone.

The videos are made up of able illustrations, from adorned kings and notorious thugs to coronation garlands. The sharp editing lets it switch seamlessly between frames that have text, film stills and on occasion news footage. We also like that the narration is clear, not dramatic, but not without expression and wit. There is social commentary when the subject demands so, as in the case of the Haitian slavery origins of the word 'zombie' and humour otherwise.

The collective that began releasing these episodes right after the lockdown began, released its last one on May 6, promising to return with more words in the future. We can't wait to get our hands on upcoming ones and only hope the episodes are of longer duration.

You can learn where the word 'corona' originated

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