River of Gods (75 page)

"Lull . . ."

He whips his finger to his lips, no, hush, don't speak. Thomas Lull
gets stiffly to his feet. For the first time Lisa Durnau sees the old
man he will be, the lonely man he wishes to become. Where he goes
this time, not even the Tablet can see.

"L. Durnau."

"Kathmandu, then. Or Thailand."

"Somewhere."

He offers a hand and she knows that after she takes it she will never
see him again.

"Lull, I can't thank you."

"You don't have to. You would have seen it."

She takes the hand.

"Good-bye, Thomas Lull."

Thomas Lull dips his head in a small bow.

"L. Durnau. All partings should, I think, be sudden."

The musicians ratchet up a gear, the crowd gives a vast, incoherent
sigh and leans towards the five platforms where the priests offer
puja.

Flames whirl up from the Brahmins' aarti lamps, momentarily dazzling
Lisa Durnau. When her vision clears, Lull is gone.

Out on the water, a flaw of wind, a current catches the garland of
marigolds and turns it and carries it out into the dark river.

AARTI: Hindu ceremony of offering light to a deity.
ADIVASI: ancient Indian tribal cultures, beneath the caste system.
ANGREEZ: Hindi-isation of "English"

APSARA: celestial nymph, often a bracket support in a
temple, originally tree spirits.

ARAHB: Hindi number equal to 10
⁹
.
Indians have useful names for very large numbers.

ARDHA MANDAPA: entrance porch, leading into the mandapa,
or colonnaded hall of a temple.

BABA: term of endearment. BABU: civil servant or
bureaucrat.

BADMASH: a nasty and brutish little hood. With attitude.
BAHADUR: proud, self-important, pompous. BAKHTI: the path of
devotion.

BANSURI: North Indian six- or seven-hole bamboo flute.

BARADARI: Pakistani/Pashtun affiliation group somewhere
between a clan, a gang, and a Massive.

BASTI: settlement or slum, also (confusingly) a Jain
temple complex.

BEGUM: term of respect to a Muslim married lady.

BEHEN CHOWD: sister-fucker, most common Hindi term of
abuse.

BHAI: suffix after a proper name, indicating respectful
closeness.

BHAVAN: house—usually one of some distinction.

BHEESTY: domestic servant in charge of water supply.

BIBI: Hindi term for a married woman.

BIDI: a native Indian cigarette, tapered towards the
tip. Deathsticks, if ever there were. BIG DADA: low hood; literally
means "big arm." Strong arm boy.

BINDI: forehead mark indicating caste, though it can be
worn decoratively. The tilak is the religious equivalent.

BRAHMIN: the highest of the four main castes; the
priestly caste, so holy not even the gods could harm them. (See also
varna.)
In context, also the genetically
modified children of the rich.

BRINJAL: eggplant.

BULBUL: common, titlike bird with black head and white
cheeks and a famously sweet song.

BURQA: traditional public attire of a Muslim woman,
anything from a thin headscarf to a full marquee.

CHAKRA: energy node in the human body. There are seven:
from the pubis to the crown of the head.

CHARBAGH: water garden, of Islamic design, divided into
quarters.

CHARPOY: rope-strung, low bed frame, very popular in
rural India for lolling on to observe the passing world.

CHHATRI: small decorative Mughal pavilion in the form of
a cupola on open pillars.

CHITAL: most common species of Indian deer, with a
spotted hide. Also known as the Buddha's deer: his last incarnation
before becoming human was a Chital.

CHO CHWEET: common term of endearment.

CHOLI: short-sleeved, tight undershirt worn by women
under a sari.

CHOWKIDAR: a nightwatchman.

CHUUTYA: "cunthole" in Hindi slang.

CRORE: 10
⁷
.

CUTCHA: opposite of pukka.

DACOIT: armed gangsters/robbers. Still widely used. DAL:
lentils, the staple of rural India.

DALIT: the lowest caste. Literally "the Oppressed,"
they were formerly known as Untouchables.

DARSHAN: the auspicious glance of a temple deity, or a
rich and powerful person. DARWAZ: entrance gate to a mosque.

DESI: Indianness as perceived by the overseas
community—a nostalgic, affectionate sense of India. In UK Asian
youth parlance, means the same as pukka: real, genuine.

DEVA/DEVI: god/goddess. Also a common name. DHABA:
roadside/streetside eating establishment.

DHARAMSHALA: guest accommodations for pilgrims,
students, and travellers. DHOBI: laundry, usually on a flat
dhobi-rock by the side of a river or a well. DHOL: a type of drum.

DHOTI: long loincloth, less common in cities, as worn by
Gandhi.

DHURI: woven cotton rug.

DIKPALAS: guardian figures on a temple roof.

DIWAN: open-pillared Mughal audience hall.

DIYA: floating candle set in the river Ganga as an
offering.

DUPATTA: long scarf traditionally worn with the shalwar
kameez, or trouser suit.

DVARAPALA: gateway guardian deity at Hindu temple
doorways: literally doorkeeper.

FIRENGl: foreigner, one of several Hindi words
appropriated by
Star Trek.
(See also
jemadar.)

GAJRA: the ubiquitous marigold garland, a good auspice.

GALI: an alleyway.

GANJA: exactly as in Jamaican.

GARBHAGRIHA: inner womb sanctum of a Hindu temple.
GHAZAL: Islamic song of love, usually in Urdu. GODOWN: workshop,
warehouse, often impromptu.

GOL GUPPAS: Indian street food: stuffed wheat balls.
Better than they sound. GOPIS: milkmaid companions of the Lord
Krishna. They liked his flute playing. GORA: contemptuous expression
for a white person. GUNDA: a common street thug. GUPSHUP: vaguely
scurrilous gossip.

GYANA CHAKSHU: the third eye of Siva, literally the "eye
of wisdom" that penetrates illusion.

HAVELI: traditional courtyard house of the better off,
usually Muslim.

HIJRA: literally "eunuch."

HINDUTVA: the essential spirit of Indianness as being
essentially Hindu: religious nationalism.

HOWDAH: large, often ceremoniously dressed saddle for an
elephant. IFTAR: meal that breaks the Ramadan dawn-to-dusk fast.
IWAN: Sufi dancing hall.

IZZAT: military term for respect, esprit de corps. JAI:
"glory" or "victory!"

JANUM: term of endearment usually used of males. Means
"sweet." JATI: the system of subcastes within the four main
castes of
varna
.
JAWAN: Indian soldier or paramilitary policeman.

JELLABA: long, light cotton robe worn extensively and
comfortably by Muslim men from Morocco to Malaysia.

JEMADAR: Indian noncommissioned military officer.
JHAROKA: projecting window or balcony. JIVA: the immortal essence of
a living being. JOHAD: a semicircular dam for run-off water.

KADAI: Indian cooking pan, shaped rather like a wok with
two handles. KALAMKARI: dyed and painted highly decorative fabrics
from Andhra Pradesh. KARSEVAK: Hindu fundamentalist pilgrim/activist.
KATHAK: a North Indian dance.

KETTUVALLAM: a Keralese houseboat, about seventy feet
long. Originally used to transport rice.

KHIDMUTGAR: chief steward in a household, almost a
butler. LAKH: 10
⁵
.

LANGUR: also known as Hanuman's monkey. Monkeys are
therefore sacred in India. LARRI-GALLA: a workshop among housing.
LASSI: cool yogurt-based drink.

LAVDA: penis, prick.

LINGA: phallus as a sacred object, usually in the shape
of a rounded stone. MACHAAN: an observation platform in a tree for
big-game hunting. MADAR CHOWD: same as behen chowd, only this time
it's your mother. MADRASSA: Islamic school where Arabic and theology
are raught. MALI: a gardener.

MELA: a gathering of people: anything from a big family
get-together to the Kumbh Mela.

MEVLEVI: Turkish sufi order, originators of the
"whirling dervish" dance.

MOKSHA: release from the cycle of death and
reincarnation. Those who die by the Ganga achieve moksha, thus
encouraging the peculiarly Indian institution of "death-tourism."

MUDRA: hand gesture in Indian classical dance, conveying
great subtlety of meaning.

MUSNUD: Mughal throne, a simple large slab of marble
upholstered with cushions.

NAGA SADHU: the naked sadhu, who goes sky-clad to show
his disdain for the world of illusions.

NAQQAR KHANA: ceremonial gatehouse with turret for
drummer and musicians to welcome guests.

NAUTCH: traditional semiformal dance party for the
entertainment of gentlemen.

PAAN: a near-ubiquitous confection of spices, nuts, and
a mild narcotic wrapped in a betel leaf. Makes your gums red, a bit
of a giveaway.

PALLAV: the section of a sari worn over the shoulder,
usually richly decorated.

PANDAL: marquee or stage made of cloth and bamboo.

PARIKRAMA: Clockwise sunwise circuit of a Hindu or
Buddhist sacred site.

PHATPHAT: motor rickshaw, ubiquitous and terrifying.

PRASAD: sacred food, food offering.

PUJA: prayer and offerings to deities.

PURDAH: the segregation of the sexes in traditional
Islam and Hinduism. PURI: deep-fried puffed bread, often stuffed.
Delicious if appallingly calorific. QAWWALS: Islamic songs of praise,
as opposed to
ghazals,
songs of love.

RATH YATRA: divine temple/chariot, the vehicle of Rama,
the centrepiece of the Orissa
jagannath
(juggernaut) celebration.

ROTI: Indian fried flatbread.

SADHU: Hindu ascetic, holy man. (For woman, see
sadhvi.)
SADHVI: female
sadhu
. Hindu nun who has renounced worldly
things. SAMADHI: the meditative state of undifferentiated
"Beingness." SANGAM: spit of sand where sacred rivers meet.
SANYASI (PLURAL: SANYASSINS): priest(s).

SATHIN: informal village social worker (literally
"friend"): usually female, often doubles as midwife.

SATI: the (now illegal) custom of widows burning
themselves on their husbands' funeral pyres. Sati stories crop up
several times a year even today, usually in rural Rajasthan.

SATTA: originally illegal betting on commodity prices,
generally extended into any kind of dodgy bookies.

SEMA: the dervishes' mystical whirling dance. SEPOY: old
Raj term for native infantry.

SHAADI: wedding preceremony. Also India's biggest online
matrimonial agency. SHAMYANA: a decorated awning over the front of a
building. SHATABDI: Indian high-speed express train.

SHERWANI: long, richly decorated frock coat usually worn
by Islamic men. SHIKARA: main spire on a North Indian temple.
SMASANAKALI: that aspect of Kali that rules over the funeral ghats.
SOWAR: Indian elite cavalry.

SUBADAR: Indian military commissioned officer roughly
equivalent in rank to captain.

SUDDHAVASA: one of several intermediate heavens in
Mountain Buddhism, literally "Abode of the Pure."

SUNDARBAN: the tiger-haunted jungles of the
Ganga/Brahmaputra delta. In context, equally wild and dangerous
data-havens for breeding unlicensed software.

SURA: verse of the Holy Koran.

SURYA NAMASKAR: the salutation of the sun, a sequence of
yoga asanas performed at dawn to greet the sunrise.

SWABHIMAN: self-respect, both personal and national.

SWAMI: Hindu honorific similar to "master,"
implying mastery of body and soul. TAMASHA: festive excitement.

TANDAVA NRITYA: Shiva's cosmic dance of destruction—and
regeneration. THALI: a metal dish, also a selection of different
foods on one compartmentalized dish. TILAK: sacred mark of the
forehead. Siva and Vishnu have different ones. TIRTHA: a divine ford,
or a crossing place between the mortal and the divine worlds.
TRIMURTI: the Hindu "trinity" of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva.

TRISHUL: sacred trident of Siva, carried by devotees.
Often made from empty ghee or Red Bull cans.

VAHANA: the animal "vehicle" of each god:
Brahma the goose, Durga the tiger, Ganesha the rat.

VAJRA: the divine thunderbolt of Indra, ancient Aryan
Vedic god of rain and thunder—in many ways analogous to the
Scandinavian Thor.

VARNA: the divinely ordained system of caste, the main
groups being Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, conforming
roughly to priests, warriors, traders/farmers, and servants. Beneath
them all come the
Dalits
.