mashi: mother’s sister
mesho: mother’s sister’s husband
maya: in Hindu philosophy, the illusory material world
mela: fair; exhibition
mitbar: a young boy accompanying the bridegroom as his supposed substitute or double
mora: low stool made of cane and bamboo
Mutiny: the uprising of 1857, termed the ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ and ‘Sipahi Revolt’ by British and Indian historians respectively.
nabina: young woman who follows modern ways
namavali: a wrap with the deity’s name inscribed on it
Nandokumar: Raja Nando Kumar, faujdar of Hooghli during the Palashi battle and diwan of Mir Jafar, was hanged for forgery in 1775 at the instigation of Warren Hastings
Narada: a sage who fomented discord among gods and men
Narayan: another name for Vishnu, or Krishna
Narayani Sena: when Krishna (Narayan) asked the Kauravas in the Mahabharata to choose either him or his troops, the Narayani Sena, they chose the troops
ojha: exorcist; one who cures snake bites and other fatal wounds by ritual means
palki: palanquin
panchayat: village council with five or more members
Pandavas: the descendants of kind Pandu in the Mahabharata
Parashar: ancient law-giver in the Hindu tradition
pathshala: primary school
patra: prospective bridegroom
Phalgun: eleventh month of the Bengali calendar, from mid-February to mid-March
pinri: low wooden seat
pishi: father’s sister
poite: sacred thread; ritual of wearing the sacred thread for the first time
prachina: woman who follows traditional, old-fashioned modes
Prajapati: god of marriage
Prakriti: Nature; the female principle
prasad: food blessed by a deity or spiritual guide
puja: worship; prayer
punya: the virtue that accrues from meritorious deeds
Radha-Krishna: Krishna and his consort Radha are the subject of much romantic lore
ragini: a musical mode in the Indian classical tradition
Rahu: a demon beheaded for trying to drink nectar with the gods, believed to cause eclipses when he attempts to devour the sun and moon; considered a malign planet
Rama: son of Dasharatha, hero of the Ramayana
Ramaprasad: Ram Prasad Sen (1720–71), who composed devotional songs in praise of goddess Kali and other forms of Shakti
Rig Veda: the first of the four Vedas, the ancient spiritual hymns that created the first stage of Hindu mythology
rowshan-chowki: orchestra of shehnai and other instruments
sab lal ho jayega: Hindi phrase meaning ‘everything will turn red’. Gora is alluding to British rule in India, for British troops wore red uniforms and the territories under their direct control were coloured red in contemporary maps of India
Sagara: The 60,000 sons of King Sagara were cursed by sage Kapila, and saved only when Bhagirath brought the river Ganga down from Vishnu’s feet onto this earth
saji: round, high-rimmed wicker-basket
sal: tree valued for its timber
samhita: ancient Hindu law-book
sandesh: sweet made of cottage cheese
sanyasi: ascetic
segun: teak
sej: oil lamp with a glass shade
shakti mantra: the occult worship of goddesses Kali-Durga-Shakti as embodiments of divine energy
shalgram: sacred stone supposed to represent Vishnu, worshipped by the Vaishnavas
sharat: early autumn, the months Bhadra and Ashwin in the Bengali calendar
shastra: Hindu scriptures
Shiva: third god of the Hindu triad
shivalinga: phallic image worshipped as Shiva
shubhodrishti: wedding ritual where bride and bridegroom first look at each other
Shudra: fourth or lowest of the Hindu castes
Sirajuddaula: Nawab of Bengal, defeated by the British at the Battle of Palashi in 1757
Sita: daughter of Janak and wife of Rama in the Ramayana
Sravan: fourth month of the Bengali calendar, mid-July to mid-August
stotra: hymn of praise
supari: betel nut
swadesh: one’s own land
swadeshi: of one’s own country; phase of Indian National Movement favouring indigeneous elements and boycott of foreign goods
taan: combination of notes in a classical melody
taktaposh: a plain rectangular bedstead
tandava: a frenzied dance of destruction
tehsildar: officer in charge of revenue collection in a demarcated area called a tehsil
Tantrik: follower of the doctrine of the Tantras of Shaktas
thakur: a Hindu deity; an idol; a Brahman; a Brahman cook
thala: a metal dish
tilak: a Hindu sectarian mark on the forehead, usually of sandal paste or sacred clay
togor: a small white flower
tol: village school for teaching Sanskrit
Triveni: sacred confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati at Allahabad
tussar: coarse silk made from silkworm cocoons
vaishnava: follower of Sri Chaitanya; member of a modern Hindu sect devoted to the deity Vishnu
Vedanta: monistic school of Hindu philosophy that became popular after the Vedic period; their teachings are summarized in the treatise called the first Brahmasutra
veena: musical instrument, usually with seven strings
yajna: sacrificial rite
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First published by Penguin Books India 2009
Translation copyright © Radha Chakravarty 2009
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ISBN: 978-01-4306-583-8
This digital edition published in 2012.
e-ISBN: 978-81-8475-728-6
INTRODUCTION
1 Banaphul, Rabindra-Smriti 72-4, cited in Majumdar 298, translated by Anisuzzaman (personal interview). See also Tagore’s letter. ‘[genesis of] Gora’ to W.W. Pearson, 1922, ‘Letters to W.W. Pearson’, Visva-Bharati Quarterly (Aug.-Oct. 1943), 179, cited in Dutta and Robinson 1995, 154 and E. P. Thompson, Alen Homage 147.
2 Tagore, Gitanjali, verse 108, Rabindra Rachanabali 2 (Santiniketan: Govt. of West Bengal, 1961), trans. Sisir Kumar Das (Das 151).
3 See Pal 1993, 149.
4 Tagore to Pearson, 1922, Visva-Bharati Quarterly 9:2 [Aug.-Oct. 1943] 178-9, cited in Dutta and Robinson 2005, 310.
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