That Which Runs Is a Car

Chalti ka naam gaadi. What runs is called a car. The saying is the title of a comedy of 1958, directed by Satyen Bose and starring Kishore Kumar. The brothers in the film run a car repair garage. The opening credits introduce one of the stars: “‘Champion’ car, model 1928.”

The Rekhta dictionary explains the saying in Hindi: jab tak kaam theek hai tab tak ka hi naam hai. Roughly, a thing has its name only as long as the work is fine.

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