An Unrestored Woman (25 page)
Read An Unrestored Woman Online
Authors: Shobha Rao
chota:
small or younger
chowkidar:
security guard
chunni:
a long piece of cloth that hangs over the shoulders to cover a woman's chest, usually worn over a long tunic or shalwar
dal:
a common lentil stew
darajin:
seamstress
dhoti:
traditional men's garment wrapped around the waist and legs, knotted at the waist
Ganesh:
elephant-headed god in Hinduism
Ganga
or
Ganges:
a trans-boundary river that flows through India and Bangladesh, considered sacred by Hindus
ghee:
clarified butter
Gomti:
a tributary of the Ganges River that flows through Uttar Pradesh
goonda:
hired thug
gulabi:
pink
gur:
a brown, unrefined sugar
Hooghly:
a distributary of the Ganges River that flows through West Bengal
ji:
added to show respect at the end of a name, can be used alone but is most often a suffix
jilebi:
a chewy sweet made from deep-fried batter soaked in sugar syrup
kaffir:
derogatory term for a black African
katwa:
derogatory term for a Muslim man
kheer:
rice pudding
khusra:
eunuch
kumkum:
red powder used to adorn the images of deities; also used for the red dot placed in the center of the forehead, generally indicating a married or marriageable woman
kurta:
traditional form of upper garment worn by men and women
kya baat hai?:
What is the matter?
Laddu
or
laddoo:
ball-shaped sweets, usually made from flour, coconut, or semolina
lassi:
a yogurt-based drink, served sweet or salty
lehenga:
a long flowing skirt worn by young women and girls
lungi:
a kind of sarong worn by men in parts of South Asia
machher jhol:
Bengali spicy fish stew
malik:
tribal chieftain or local aristocrat
mangal sutra:
a sacred necklace that a groom ties around a bride's neck; it is rarely taken off
memsahib
or
memsab:
term used in colonial times to refer to a upper-class white woman; now used to refer to any upper-class woman
moorkh:
idiot
nahi:
no
nakaam:
worthless or useless
nanaji:
maternal grandfather
nimbu pani:
lemonade
pagal:
crazy person
paisa:
unit of currency, equal to 1/100 of a rupee
pakora:
a snack food made by dipping various vegetables in chickpea flour batter and frying them in oil
palloo:
the free end of the sari, usually draped over the shoulder
paneer:
a fresh cheese common in South Asian cuisine
papad:
a thin, fried disc made of lentils, generally, and served as an accompaniment to a meal
paratha:
a layered flatbread, sometimes stuffed with vegetables or meat
pulao:
a rice dish, similar to pilaf
punkah:
fan; in colonial times, it was affixed to the ceiling and pulled by hand
puri:
deep-fried bread made of wheat flour
randi:
prostitute
Ravi:
trans-boundary river flowing through northwest India and eastern Pakistan, eventually draining into the Indus River in Pakistan
rossogolla:
dessert made of white spongy cheese balls suspended in sugar syrup
roti:
flatbread made from wheat flour
rupee:
unit of currency
Sabarmati:
a river in Gujurat, in western India
sadhu:
Hindu mystic, sage
safaiwala:
laborer
sahib:
term used in colonial times to refer to an upper-class white man; now used to refer to any upper-class man
samosa:
fried pastry filled with spiced potato or meat
sari:
traditional dress that is wrapped around the waist and draped over the shoulder
sasurji:
father-in-law
shalwar kameez:
traditional dress featuring a long tunic over loose-fitting pants
subzi:
curry
tehsil:
a unit of government in India and Pakistan equal to a county
topee:
hat
uptan:
paste made out of natural ingredients, often turmeric and rosewater, applied to the bride's face and body as part of the pre-wedding beautification ritual
wallah:
used as a suffix, indicating the activity in which the person is engaged
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I am deeply indebted to Ritu Menon and Kamla Bhasin's
Borders and Boundaries: Women in India's Partition
. My gratitude to Sandra Dijkstra and Elise Capron for their unstinting belief in me, along with Michael Krasny, for that first flight. My utmost thanks to my editor, Amy Einhorn, for making this journey possible. Caroline Bleeke has been a thoughtful guide and editor. I am also grateful to Liz Keenan and Marlena Bittner, and everyone at Flatiron Books, for their support and encouragement.
My sincerest thanks to dear friends and early readers of this collection: Jared Roehrig, Nate Waggoner, Joel Young, Matt Heitland, and to my teachers, Peter Orner and Nona Caspers, along with the entire Creative Writing Department at San Francisco State University. Over the years, Joy Viveros has been a rare and luminous friend and mentor. I am also grateful to the Elizabeth George Foundation, Nimrod International Journal, and of course to Chris Abani. Thank you for believing in me. As for Hedgebrook, Amy Wheeler and all the people who make that beautiful place possible, my time spent there was truly the beginning of all things.
Over the years, innumerable friends have lent their support and many kindnesses. Among them, Maya Vasudevan, Zakia Afrin, Melissa Passafiume, Adam Bad Wound, Emily Doskow, Luan Stauss, Vandana Sharma, Ian Valvona, and Natalie Nevard. Tom Doskow has been an invaluable friend. Donald Tibbs, Deborah Costela, and Philip Schultz have buoyed me in times of storm. I would also like to thank Leigh Ann Morlock. Sierra Golden has been a trusted reader and friend. And, of course, my heartfelt thank-you to Meredith May. I was never alone in the darkest of woods.
My gratitude, also, to my family: Sridevi, Venkat, Siriveena, and Samanthaka Nandam. As well as Bhagya and Ramarao Inguva. And finally, this book could not have been written without Srinivas: I asked for a small, lighted corner of the worldâyou gave me a blazing universe.
Â
Shobha Rao
moved to the United States from India at the age of seven. She is the winner of the 2014 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction, awarded by Nimrod International Journal. She has been a resident at Hedgebrook and is the recipient of an Elizabeth George Foundation fellowship. Her story “Kavitha and Mustafa” was chosen by T. C. Boyle for inclusion in
The
Best American Short Stories 2015
. She lives in San Francisco.
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C
ONTENTS
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
AN UNRESTORED WOMAN.
Copyright © 2016 by Shobha Rao. All rights reserved. For information, address Flatiron Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
The following stories have been or will be published. Previously published stories may appear in a slightly different form in this book.
“Kavitha and Mustafa,”
Nimrod International Journal
(volume 58, winter 2014)
“The Imperial Police,”
Wasafiri
(UK, forthcoming)
“Unleashed,”
Water~Stone Review
(August 2014)
“An Unrestored Woman,”
PMS poemmemoirstory
(issue 13, spring 2014)
“The Road to Mirpur Khas,”
Tincture
(Australia, issue 2, winter 2013)
“The Lost Ribbon,”
The Missing Slate
(Pakistan, April 2013) and
The Four Quarters Magazine
(India, August 2013)
Cover design by Karen Horton
Cover art: woman © Bjorn Holland / Getty Images; floral pattern © Helen Lane / Shutterstock
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the print edition is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-07382-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-07383-9 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250073839
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
[email protected]
.
First Edition: March 2016
Reading Group Guide available at:
us.macmillan.com/reading-group-gold