Wallah

Wallah, -walla, -wala, or -vala (-wali fem.), is a suffix used in a number of Indo-Aryan languages, like Hindi/Urdu, Gujarati, Bengali or Marathi. It forms an adjectival compound from a noun or an agent noun from a verb. For example; it may indicate a person involved in some kind of activity, where they come from or what they wear (Topiwala).

Example uses
Examples of such uses include:


 * Dabbawala, lunch box deliverer
 * Chaiwala, a boy or young man who serves tea
 * Dishwalla, satellite TV installer, from "dish" for parabolic antenna
 * Rickshawala, a rickshaw driver
 * Punkawallah, the servant who keeps the punkah or fan going on hot nights
 * Lep wallah, a cotton carder
 * Kabadiwalla, a waste picker or scrap dealer
 * Puncture wala or puncher wala, a tyre repairer

In British military jargon of the first half of the 20th century, a "base wallah" is someone employed at a military base, or with a job far behind the front lines. There were a number of other words of this type, such as "camel wallah" and "machine-gun wallah", and more in the Notes and Queries cited. "Base wallah" had a derogatory reference for a person who is seldom seen at the front lines during major attacks, pretending to be sick.

In the short story "Sanjeev and Robotwallah", by Ian McDonald, has a there is a character named General Robotwallah in the 2010 novel For the Win by Cory Doctorow. "Robotwallah" refers to the pilot of a mecha.

Other uses
Wala or Vala was also used in Parsi and Dawodi Bohra surnames, suggesting the profession or a place name. For example:
 * Amroliwala
 * Daruwalla, seller of daru or Persian for 'wine'
 * Mithaiwala, sweetseller
 * Furniturewala

Wala is also used to indicate a specific object or thing among several:
 * chota wala, 'the small one'
 * dusra wala, 'the second one'
 * agla wala, 'the next one'

These uses of wala should not be confused with the ⁧وَٱللّٰه⁩.