గడించే వాడొకడు, గుణించేవాడొకడు

gadinche vadokadu, guninchevadokadu

Translation

One person earns, while another person counts (calculates).

Meaning

This expression is used to describe a situation where one person works hard to earn wealth or resources, while another person (often someone lazy or opportunistic) takes charge of managing, spending, or calculating that wealth without having contributed to the effort. It highlights the disparity between the laborer and the beneficiary.

Related Phrases

One person builds the temple, another person places the lamp in the niche.

This proverb describes a situation where one person puts in the hard work and resources to establish something significant, while another person takes over the easier, daily maintenance or claims the credit/benefits. It is used to highlight the disparity between the founder and the beneficiary.

One earns, while another calculates.

This proverb describes a situation where one person works hard to earn wealth or resources, while someone else (often an idle person or an inheritor) spends, manages, or simply keeps track of that wealth. It is used to highlight the contrast between the person doing the labor and the person enjoying or controlling the benefits.

For the one who eats bran, there is another to lift his mustache.

This proverb describes a situation where an impoverished person who can barely afford to eat low-quality food (bran) hires or has an assistant to perform a trivial task (lifting his mustache) to maintain a false sense of status. It is used to mock people who show off or maintain unnecessary vanities they cannot afford, or to describe having useless assistants for simple tasks.

One person plants the tree, another person enjoys the fruit.

This proverb refers to situations where the person who performs the hard work or takes the initiative is not the one who eventually reaps the benefits or rewards. It is often used to describe generational efforts, inherited wealth, or situations where one's labor benefits someone else entirely.

One who earns is one person, the one who enjoys it is another.

This expression refers to situations where the fruits of one person's hard work, labor, or wealth are enjoyed by someone else who did not put in the effort. It is often used to describe inheritance, unfair distribution of benefits, or when someone works tirelessly for the sake of others who take it for granted.

Does a person drinking porridge need someone else to lift his mustache?

This proverb is used to criticize unnecessary extravagance or dependency. It points out the absurdity of a person who is barely surviving on simple food (porridge) yet employs or expects an assistant for a trivial task like lifting their mustache. It highlights situations where someone has limited means but maintains high pretensions or employs unnecessary help for tasks they should do themselves.

One person to lift the mustache for the one drinking porridge.

This proverb is used to mock someone who requires assistance for even the simplest tasks, or to describe a situation where an unnecessary helper is appointed for an insignificant job. It highlights laziness or a display of false prestige where a person wants others to serve them even for basic survival needs.

Does a person who licks mouths need someone to lift his mustache?

This proverb is used to criticize someone who performs a low, disgusting, or degrading task and yet expects others to serve them or maintain their dignity. It highlights the irony of a person who has already lost their self-respect or status by their actions, but still expects royal treatment or assistance in minor matters.

One who hides behind a pillar, one who goes like that, and one who goes and never returns.

This is a traditional riddle (podupu katha) describing the process of a human birth and death. It refers to the father (pillar), the child (coming into the world), and the soul or life breath (which never returns once it leaves). It is used to describe the cycle of life and the transience of human existence.

One person dreams of millions, while another counts the stitches.

This expression describes a situation where there is a massive gap in perspective or scale between two people. While one person is thinking about grand, ambitious goals (millions), the other is obsessively focused on trivial, minute details (stitches). It is used to highlight a lack of coordination or a mismatch in priorities within a task or partnership.