Of Marriageable Age (73 page)

Amma
— Tamil: mother

Appa
— Tamil: father

Arathi
— the slow waving of a sacred flame during worship

Asramam
— Tamil: ashram, spiritual centre, hermitage

Bhakti
— spiritual love, devotion to God

Brahmin
— member of the priestly caste in Hinduism

Dhal puri
— flat bread filled with split-peas

Dhobi
— Washerman, washerwoman

Dravidian
— dark-skinned original inhabitant of South India

Dvaita
— Duality. Dvaitists worship a Personal God separate from the worshipper — see
Advaita.

Fakir
— religious mendicant

Iddly
— rice cake of South India

Jaggary
— dumpy brown sugar

Kama
— eroticism, sensual desire

Kolam
— elaborate chalk or powder pattern before the threshold of a house or temple

Ksatriya
— member of the warrior caste in Hinduism

Kum-kum
— red powder worn on forehead

Kurta
pyjamas — knee-length shirt or tunic worn over cotton drawstring trousers

Lingam
— upright stone pillar representing Shiva or the Absolute

Lungi
— wide cloth wrapped about the hips, typical men's wear in South India

Mantra
— a sacred formula used as an incantation

Mitthai
— a crisply fried sweet bread

Mudra
— positions of hands and fingers in Indian dance, each with a specific meaning

Patti
— Tamil: grandmother

Pradakshina
— walking clockwise in a circle around a temple or a shine Puja — ritualistic worship

Rajasic
— tendency outwards into activity; desire, aggression, ambition

Rudrakshra
beads — rosary of beads dedicated to Shiva, used in the repetition of mantras

Sambar
— spicy South Indian dish eaten with rice

Sannyasin
— one who in quest of God has renounced home, property, caste and all worldly attachments and desires. Wears an ochre-coloured robe.

Sattvic
— tendency inwards towards light; spirituality, purity, bliss

Shalwar kameez
— women's wear consisting of knee-length dress over wide trousers

Sharpai
— simple bed consisting of wooden framework and strapped surface

Shehnai
— musical instrument like an oboe, often played at weddings in North India

Sruti
— scriptural text, musical term

Tamasic
— tendency into matter; darkness, sloth, ignorance

Tamby
— Tamil: “little brother”, “little boy”

Tapasvi
— person performing religious abstinence, austerities

Thatha
— Tamil: grandfather

Tinnai
— raised platform or front porch of a South Indian home

Vibhuti
— sacred ash