Adda Ca Dabra

"We are not expected to produce something out of an adda.” - Aditi Ghosh, head of the linguistics department at the University of Kolkata

What’s it adda-about?

Adda is more than grabbing a coffee and rubbing elbows with your mates. Deep in East India in the state of West Bengal, is the capital city of Kolkata, which you may know of because Mother Teresa, also known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, lived, worked, and passed away there.

Wait, I’m confused. Is it Kolkata or Calcutta?

Well, both are correct. Kolkata is the reclaimed original name in Bengali. Calcutta is the British-christened name given to the capital city. Tomato, tomahto for some while for others it is a topic to adda about, because Kolkata, which is the name I will use throughout this article, is the acknowledged birthplace of adda.

But, what is this adda?

Adda roughly translates to “hangout,” but it is far greater than this casual interpretation. Tania Banerjee, writer for BBC Travel, describes adda as “an informal group conversation that's long, fluid, and relaxed in nature.”

Professor Ghosh from the University of Kolkata explains that when "adda-ing" the purpose is not to produce something like we may be used to from grand rounds, board meetings, or hack-a-thons. Nor is adda a time to quickly catch up and report on how the kids are doing or what new hobby you are undertaking. Adda is a gathering to warm up the brain by discussing ideas and events that relate to the people who gather in one way or another.

Bengali gift of the gab

Bengalis are known to be social butterflies and come in at a close second to the Irish in their “gift of the gab.” Engaging in adda is not necessarily a weekly calendar invite, rather it is an essential part of everyday life, just as brushing one’s teeth or checking one’s email. In some adda experiences politics, literature, and science are the topics of discussion for the first fifteen minutes followed by an intermission of gossip and jokes and wrapped up with a debate of twenty different viewpoints. Other adda sketches may have only one theme yet still multiple different argumentive points from multiple loud and strong Kolkatan voices.

Economist and philosopher Amartya Sen stated in The Times of India that “all Indians are argumentative. If we weren’t, India wouldn’t be the biggest and most vocal democracy in the world, because democracy is just another word for argument.” In an essay, he goes on to explain that in India there is a tradition of questioning the truth of ideas via a discussion. The beauty of adda is that it is not violent or extremely one-sided. No big marketing or paid commercials are needed to announce an adda. They can be spontaneous, small or large, out in the open air at a park, the side of the street, or a tea stall.

Adda ca dabra

Spontaneity. That may be the single differentiator between adda and other meet-ups, gatherings, coffee breaks, etc. Adda dives into controversy, outlandish claims, and banter on the fly. It is like a freestyle spicy rap battle where at the end there is, well, never an end, and the rhythm continues the next time around.

I am beginning to like this adda. I've always wanted to be more spontaneous, you know, not feel the need to plan every little thing.

American?

Yea, how did you know?

Just a hunch...