Chhota haazri or Chota hazri ( hi, छोटा हाज़िरी, from the Hindustani words for "small" and "presence") was a meal served in households and barracks, particularly in northern

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, shortly after dawn. In subsequent years, the tradition of such a meal has disappeared, but the phrase lives on in Anglo-Indian households, certain regiments of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, and in

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s —such as The Doon School,

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

Colonel Brown Cambridge School Colonel Brown Cambridge School is one of the oldest residential schools in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It is an English medium school affiliated to the Indian Council of School Certificate Examination (CICSE) board of Education. The school ...

, Mayo College,

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

Lawrence School, Sanawar The Lawrence School, Sanawar, is the oldest Co-Ed boarding school in the world near Solan city. Established in 1847, its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious and oldest schools in Asia. It is located in the ...

, Lawrence School, Lovedale and

St. Paul's School, Darjeeling St. Paul's School is an independent boarding school for boys in the town of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. It is known as "Eton of the East" because it is thought to follow the similar cultural and traditional values of Eton College. St. Paul' ...

, where it has come to refer to a cup of tea or hot milk with biscuits served early in the morning at around 6:00 a.m.

Historical use of the word

The Russian traveller and writer Princess Olga Alexandrovna Shcherbatova (1857-1944) mentions partaking of "''Chota Hazri''" while visiting Mumbai in January of 1891. She describes the meal, in Russian, as "the first morning tea, which in addition to biscuits and tea is always served with fruit: bananas, pineapples, etc." ("первый утренный чай, за которым кроме чая и бисквитов всегда подают и фрукты: бананы, апельсины и пр.") In 1912 explorer

Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

wrote the following during an expedition across the mountains of

Pashtunistan Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...

: In The Jim Corbett omnibus in the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag Jim Corbett wrote the following during the leopard hunt: In 1947, during the political integration of the Indian princely states, the word 'Chhota Hazri' was used as a pun to refer to a small princely state in an ironic way. 'Chota Hazri' was the name of a highly successful thoroughbred horse in British

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

around mid twentieth century.

References

;Bibliography
''Chhota Hazri Days: A Dosco's Yatra''
by Sanjiv Bathla, Rupa & Co., 2010 .

External links

St. Paul's School, Darjeeling Encyclopedia - Chota HazriChhotahazri
Indian cuisine Hindustani language Historical foods North Indian cuisine Indian English idioms {{india-cuisine-stub