The Sleeping Dictionary (2 page)

Calcutta—
West Bengal’s capital city, which, until the building of New Delhi in 1911, was known as the crown city of the British Empire and the administrative capital of British India. Now it is known by the Bengali name Kolkata.

caste—
a social level that a Hindu is born into; Brahmins at the top and Untouchables or Harjians at the bottom

chacha—
a term for an uncle or respected close elder, used by younger people toward Muslim elders; a chacha’s wife is a chachi.

chai—
tea. A chai-wallah is a tea-vendor.

channa dal—
dried chickpeas

chapatti—
unleavened round bread

chappals—
sandals

Chhattri Sangha—
a women’s students association founded in Calcutta

cholar dal—
Bengali split chickpea dal flavored with coconut and sugar

chowkidar—
a watchman; similar to a darwan but more likely to be employed by an office or business

coolie—
a boy or man who carries things; still commonly used at train stations

dacoit—
bandit usually operating in the countryside

dada—
warm form of address meaning older brother. Also, a first name plus the -da suffix means the same thing.

dadu—
paternal grandfather

dai—
a midwife

dal—
lentils cooked into a thick soup

Darjeeling—
hill town in Bengal’s North, near foothills of the Himalayas; also a type of tea

darwan—
a watchman; similar to chowkidar but usually employed by families to guard their homes

darzi—
tailor

dharma—
moral law combined with spiritual discipline specific to one’s life

didi—
big sister; used literally or for close female friend

Digha—
a seaside town in South Bengal, near Orissa

dhobi—
a washerman

dhoti—
a length of cloth that primarily North Indian men wrap and drape to cover their hips and legs

Dom—
a low-ranking caste whose exclusive duties are the handling and disposal of corpses

dhonekhali—
regional Bengali cotton textile, especially known for stripes and checks

Durga—
the much-loved warrior goddess who is worshipped in Bengal in a weeklong puja followed by Diwali (Kali-puja in Bengal)

ghat—
area of river close to shore that is used for bathing, washing clothes, and drawing drinking water

ghee—
clarified butter used in cooking

goonda—
like a dacoit but more likely to be organized criminals operating in cities

hartal—
a work stoppage or strike

Hindi—
most widely understood language in North India, in the past referred to as Hindustani. Its roots are a combination of the Sanskrit and Urdu languages

ICS—
Indian Civil Service; an elite corps of administrators usually born and trained in Britain

imam—
religious leader in Islam

INA—
Indian National Army; an Indian-led force built from Japanese prisoners of war during World War II who fought alongside the Japanese in the hopes of gaining India’s freedom from Britain.

Indian Army—
the military force serving under the British rulers of India that, by World War II, included Indian as well as British commanding officers.

Ingrej—
an English person or people

Jagannath—
a reincarnated form of Shiva, god of destruction. The most famous Jagannath temple in India is in the state of Orissa.

jamdani—
a type of Bengal handloomed sari known for gossamer weave and fine embroidery. There are many kinds of jamdani saris including a dhakai, from the Dhaka area of East Bengal, extremely fine and chosen for parties and special occasions.

jamidar—
landowner. His wife is a jamidarni. In other parts of India, he would be called a zamindar.

jao—
command to go

jelebi—
fried lentil flour sweet

Kali—
fierce goddess who is very popular in Bengal

Kayastha—
the record-keeping caste of Hindus, usually judged third highest in Bengal

khadi—
homespun cotton cloth made famous from Mahatma Gandhi’s home-spinning campaign

Kharagpur—
a railway-dominated town in south-central West Bengal (called Khargpur by Europeans)

Krishna—
Hindu god of love, also the charioteer of Arjun in Mahabharata

kedgeree—
a mixture of rice, dal, and spices often served at Anglo-Indian breakfasts

kurta—
a pajama tunic with drawstring waist trousers; worn in the past primarily by Muslim men

Lakshmi—
Hindu goddess of wealth and abundance

lathi—
stick weapon

luchi—
puffed fried wheat bread

ma—
a term to address one’s mother or a very young girl

mali—
a gardener

mashima—
aunt, especially a senior aunt, also children’s nurse; means mother’s sister or very senior female servant (can be shortened to mashi)

masho—
a mashima’s husband, a warm form of address for older men

maund—
an equivalent of 82.6 pounds, often used to describe weight of a large sack of rice

memsaheb—
a term of address for a gentlewoman. (In parts of India outside of Bengal,
saheb
is spelled
sahib
.)

mishti doi—
baked yogurt pudding

Murshidabad—
a town in Bengal known for producing natural tussar silk saris with broad red borders favored by middle-aged, married women

namaskar—
the Bengali version of the namaste greeting; said aloud and signified by folded hands

Napit—
the barbering and nail-clipping caste

nawab—
royal ruler, also called a maharajah in other areas

neem—
tree with fragrant soft twigs used for cleaning teeth

paan—
betel leaves that are wrapped around a filling and chewed after meals to freshen breath and serve as a psychoactive stimulant

paisa—
one-penny coin. At the time of the story, four paise to one anna, sixty-four paise to a rupee.

pakora—
spicy, savory fried snack

pallu—
end section of sari that hangs over the shoulder or covers hair

pandit—
Hindu priest; also a respectful prefix used for great leaders, such as Pandit Nehru

papadum—
chickpea flour cracker bread

Parsi—
a follower of Zoroastrian faith, refugees from Islamic Iran

phuchka—
a street-food snack, miniature puffed breads stuffed with spiced vegetables

phuluri—
Bengali vegetable fritters. Elsewhere they are called pakoras

pillau—
a Bengali rice dish with Persian roots

puja—
the act of worship, or religious holiday

punkah—
ceiling fan

purdah—
the custom of keeping women indoors away from others’ gaze, practiced by Muslims and some Hindus

quisling—
a World War II–era word for traitor; inspired by the surname of the Norwegian official who assisted the Nazis in Norway

rickshaw—
a two-wheeled cart that is pulled by a human running or riding a bicycle

rupee—
the Indian unit of currency. During the time period of the book, forty rupees equaled one US dollar.

saheb—
a term of address for a gentleman, high-ranking Indian or English

salwar kameez—
a long tunic with drawstring waist trousers worn primarily by Muslim women at the time of this story. Later on, this dress was adopted by Indian women of other religions.

sari—
a wrapped eight-yard-length of cloth that is a traditional Indian woman’s dress

shingara—
a Bengali vegetable- or meat-stuffed pastry similar to a samosa

Shiva—
the god of destruction, husband to Durga

shondesh—
a Bengali milk-based sweet

Sikh—
a follower of Sikhism, India’s third major religion

sleeping dictionary—
the metaphor used by the Dutch and British colonialists to describe girlfriends who also taught them languages and customs

Sudra—
a person belonging to one of the lower castes believed to have sprung from Lord Brahma’s legs

sweeper—
a person from the caste of floor washers, toilet cleaners, and night-soil removers

tiffin—
packed lunch eaten away from home, served from a tiffin box, a circular set of stacked tins with a carrying handle

tika—
pigmented substance applied to forehead as symbol of Hindu blessing, usually red vermillion powder

Thakurma—
paternal grandmother

tonga—
a horse-drawn two-wheeled carriage with a shaded seat for passengers behind the driver’s platform

topee or sola sopee—
hard-brimmed pith helmet

Urdu—
language spoken by Muslims in South Asia with ties to the Persian language

Vedas—
the four religious texts of Hinduism

Vishnu—
Hindu god of protection

wallah—
a person who sells something, like a newspaper-wallah, corn-wallah, etc.

wog—
disparaging term used by colonials to refer to Asians, especially those suspected of intellectual or social ambitions

zari—
gold thread embroidery for a textile

FRAGMENT OF A LETTER FOUND BY THE ARJUN CLEANING AGENCY IN 1947 AT 22 MIDDLETON STREET

Middleton Street, Calcutta

. . . concerning a long-running rumor that I know to be fact: your hiring of a native female as your assistant. Several colleagues have already called into question her background. The young lady may speak four languages; that is not unusual in this land of polyglots. As Mr. Pal has explained, it is highly unlikely that any upper-caste Indian would permit his daughter to work. Another on staff has ascertained that the boarding school from which your assistant claims to have matriculated does not have any record of past enrollment.

The women of Calcutta are alluring. It is easy for a man to lose his head. I recommend that you terminate this employee if, in fact, she has been hired for pay. And . . .

BOOK ONE

JOHLPUR