I love this. This appeals to me on a deeper level than I can express in words.
gouranga: A word that appears on moterway bridges in north west UK. It's only purpose to annoy drivers who are left with a nagging curiosity for the rest of their day until the next day when it ceases to become important ever again.
A nonsense word that only serves to make people wonder! Gee, I've never heard of that idea fnord before.
[Via Mindy, who gets all the good spam. Nyah.]
i think i can shed some light...
the signs on motorway bridges originated (in so far as i'm aware) in leeds, west yorkshire, (north of england).
in the city centre, a group of hare krishnas approach people to recruit and fundraise, exhorting their accostees to "Say Gouranga and have a nice day".
i have no idea why. but there you have it...
Posted by: citygirrrl | October 07, 2004 at 09:43 AM
Ah ha! Thanks for the info! So Gouranga is the name of a deity? Perhaps she's the goddess of beleagered tourists. :-)
Posted by: pam | October 07, 2004 at 09:48 AM
Heeeeeeeeeee! Fnord. Made me choke.
Posted by: Mindy | October 07, 2004 at 11:43 AM
ahhhh
that would explain the phrase "call out gouranga, be happy" ive seen plastered all over liverpool, and manchester, and lancaster, and....birmingham (explain that one, i saw "gouranga" on the side of a railway bridge here!)
Posted by: arnie | October 25, 2004 at 07:33 AM
gouranga is the word for universal peace and happynes and such
Posted by: DrOwl | November 12, 2004 at 04:17 PM
Yeah, the guranga thing was weird, i kept seeing
the changing circle everywhere for a bit, tracked it down to a band by that name, found a website as well http://www.thechangingcircle.co.uk
they keep popping up everywhere, think theyre from sheffield.
Posted by: Jim Wade | February 09, 2005 at 01:57 PM
yeah i saw some of those posters around stoke on trent and alsager... really annoyed me... i was wondering what the hell they were all day... so much so i typed in the word on google to find out. meh i need to get out more.
Posted by: me | April 07, 2005 at 02:33 PM
I still do not understand bout this gouranga..
T____T
Posted by: mitzi | April 20, 2005 at 02:59 AM
They're on bridges in Nottinghamshire too. That "nagging curiosity" is what brought me to this page!
Posted by: Sofia | May 06, 2005 at 01:26 AM
I was led to understand that it is was ancient text written by a monk who had turned worldly after years of abstinence. After meditating for three years without food or water decided that the only thought in his head was that he wanted a girlfriend. He journeyed to the Mahatmaiwannagetoffmyface night club and danced the night away finally attracting a young lady who was impressed by his dervish head flip. Later that night they levitated back to his yurt, chanted " I'm too sexy for my robes " and undressed. The young lady all of a sudden gave out a shriek shouting that her mother, sister come deep mentor soul friend had told her never to trust a guy with dodgy grundies, whistled for her yak and she was gone. The ex-monk was devasted and hung himself from a bridge, which is a much quicker way of reaching the divine than many years of not doing drink drugs and rock an roll so cleansing oneself of being a common human being.(come on you must have done one if not all of the vices just mentioned. Even you monk types; tell the truth now). Anyway the grand Phoo Bear of the monk's monastary decided to tell the story through a coded mystical word which as a dedication, should for ever be plastered to all bridges anywhere beyond the watford gap, although the Grand Phoo Bear liked his colourd grundies and didn't think himself dodgy at all. Anyway apparently the young monk's last words were "Gouranga(ancient saying) God orange undies really are no good afterall".
So there you have it.
Posted by: Jon | July 06, 2005 at 02:05 PM