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Nuggets of Sholay: Two - Kala Akshar Bhains Barabar

Nuggets of Sholay #2 – Kala Akshar Bhains Barabar | Sholay Proverbs Explained

Nuggets of Sholay #2 – Kala Akshar Bhains Barabar (काला अक्षर भैंस बराबर)

So, I'm not going in any particular order of the muhavras (proverbs) in Sholay, but the second one that caught my attention is this gem.

To be technically right, the usage in the movie is "kale" instead of "kala", and it appears near the end of the film (at 2h 26m). The scene unfolds when the gaonwalas have allegedly killed Jai and Veeru and sent their bodies to Gabbar as proof.

Five dakus gather around. One dismounts his horse and finds a letter strapped to Veeru. He says, “Arre, yeh kya hai? Chitthi?” To which another daku replies, “Kale Akshar Bhains Barabar. Chitthi nahin to kya hai? Padh!”

Here’s where it gets interesting. The proverb literally means “Black letters and black buffalo are the same.” It describes an illiterate person for whom written words are as meaningless as a buffalo. So, if the mounted daku was implying that his companion was illiterate, why did he then ask him to read the letter? Irony, or oversight?

According to Quora, the phrase translates to: “An illiterate person equates black letters with black buffalo,” referring to how someone uneducated perceives written words as unintelligible markings.

But in this case, the proverb collapses on itself — the supposedly illiterate daku reads the letter! Perhaps a script goof, or a deliberate joke. Either way, it’s a fun nugget of cinematic trivia.

Kala Akshar Bhains Barabar poster

Samjhe ke nahin? If you enjoyed this nugget, comment below. If you didn’t, lament below. Either way, aadab and namaste!

Continue the series:

Part of the Nuggets of Sholay series by Sachit Murthy — decoding proverbs, idioms, and trivia from Sholay.

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