Sacred Games

by Vikram Chandra

  bibi A respectful term of address for a woman. Something like ‘Miss’.

  bidi Indian cigarette made out of tobacco rolled in a leaf. Bidis are very cheap, and are usually smoked by poor people, or those in rural areas.

  bigha A unit used to measure land. The actual size of the land indicated by the unit varies from region to region, from about a third of an acre to an acre.

  bissi Bissi is actually free food provided by the jail, and the term also applies to where it is prepared—the kitchen.

  BMC Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

  bola na ‘I told you…’

  Bole to voh edkum danger aadmi hai ‘He’s an absolutely dangerous man’.

  bolo ‘Tell’, or ‘talk’. In this context, the black-marketeer is asking people who want tickets at his price to speak up.

  BSES Brihanmumbai Suburban Electric Supply.

  budhau, budhdha An old man, an old coot—the word ‘budhau’ is a gently patronizing way to talk about someone. ‘Old timer’.

  bundal Bad, substandard.

  burfi A sweet dish made from thickened milk.

  carrom A board game, perhaps of subcontinental origin.

  CBI The Criminal Bureau of Investigation.

  chaas A refreshing drink made from buttermilk.

  chaavi Girlfriend.

  chabbis Literally, ‘twenty-six’. Bombay slang for a beautiful girl.

  chacha, chachu Uncle—father’s brother.

  Chainya Chainya A line from a song from the Hindi film Dil Se (‘From the Heart’, 1998): ‘The shadow, in the shadow…’

  chakkar Whirl.

  Chala jaata hoon kisi ki A line from a song from the Hindi film Mere Jeevan Sathi (‘My Lifelong Companion’, 1972): ‘I walk to the rhythm of a certain person…’

  chalo ‘Let’s go’. Another meaning is in the sense of ‘then’ in the sentence, ‘Okay, then, I will see you in Bombay’. So you could say, ‘All right, chalo, we’ll meet tomorrow morning’.

  cham-cham A sweet-dish made from cheese.

  champi Head-rub.

  channa Chickpeas.

  chappan-churi A wily prostitute. After a famous courtesan of Allahbad who survived fifty-six knife wounds inflicted by a lover. Literally, ‘fifty-six knife-marks’.

  charas Hashish.

  charbi Fat.

  charpai A traditional cot or bed. Sturdy cloth tape or rope is strung across a wooden frame to make the sleeping surface. Charpais are nowadays used by the poor, or in smaller towns and villages.

  chaser-panni A chaser-panni, or ‘kesarpanni’, is a small packet or wrapper which contains some powder—in this case the powder is ‘brown sugar’, heroin. On the streets, there are other phrases and words for chaser-panni: ‘Shakkar ki pudi’ (twist of sugar), ‘pudi’ (twist), powder, packet, and ‘namak’ (salt).

  chashmu ‘Chashma’ is Hindi for ‘spectacles’. So ‘chashmu’ is a mocking term for someone who wears spectacles, something like ‘four eyes’.

  chaska An obsessive liking for something, a taste for it.

  chatai A floor mat, made from fine bamboo or wicker.

  chaunka Kitchen.

  chawl Tenement building. The inhabitants of each floor share common toilets and bathrooms.

  cheez Thing.

  chela Follower, student. A guru has chelas.

  chikniya ‘Chikna’ is ‘smooth’, like a girl’s skin. So, to call a grown man ‘chikna’ or ‘chikniya’ is to say that he too pretty to be a man.

  chillar Loose change.

  chimta A pair of tongs.

  chingri macher curry A Bengali preparation of prawns.

  Chinki Chinese.

  chirote A fried sweet-dish made from white flour and sugar.

  chodo To fuck.

  chodu Somebody who is fucked.

  choklete Chocolate. Code used by the G-Company for dollars.

  chokra Literally, ‘boy’. Used often for street kids.

  chole-bature Spicy chickpeas and a bread made from white flour. A Punjabi dish.

  cholis A choli is an Indian blouse, usually worn with a sari or a ghagra (skirt).

  choola Stove.

  chotta, chotti Small, little.

  chowk A crossroads.

  chowki Post, station.

  chowkidar Watchman.

  chunni A long scarf worn by women, usually with a salwar-kameez, or with a ghagra-choli.

  churi Knife. Can also be used for someone who is sharp, sly. And is used as slang for a beautiful girl by the G-Company.

  chut-chattoing Cunt-licking.

  chutiya Fucker. ‘Chut’ is ‘cunt’. ‘Chutiya’ is often used as an epithet for somebody stupid. To say, ‘He is a real chutiya’ is like saying, ‘He is a real moron’.

  chutmaari Fucked-up. Somebody who is an absolute ass.

  CM ‘Chief Minister’. A chief minister is the highest elected official in a state in India.

  crores A unit in the traditional Indian numbering system, equivalent to ten million.

  daana, daane Literally, a daana is a grain or nodule. Used sometimes in a vulgar way for clitoris. Also, in the plural, Bombay slang for bullets.

  dabba-ispies Children’s game—hide and seek, or ‘I spy’. Hence ‘ispies’.

  dada Tough guy, hoodlum.

  dada-pardada Ancestral. Literally, ‘Grandfather-great-grandfather’.

  dak bungalow A traveller’s rest house.

  dakoo Bandit.

  darshan Literally, a sighting of something, to be able to see someone or something face-to-face. In a religious context, darshan signifies a ‘seeing’ that is touched by the divine. Pilgrims will travel thousands of miles for a darshan of a goddess in a temple, or of a guru. It is in the seeing of the guru, and in being seen by the guru, that the blessing is conveyed.

  DCP Deputy Commissioner of Police.

  dehati Somebody from the rural areas, a country bumpkin.

  desi From the Sanskrit ‘des’, which means ‘home’ or ‘nation’. Is used to describe anything that is Indian-made, traditional, home-made.

  DG Director General (of police).

  dhaba A very inexpensive, unpretentious restaurant, often built on the side of a road or a highway and frequented by truck-drivers and travellers.

  dhanda Trade, work.

  Dhanwantri The physician of the gods, and the creator of Ayurveda—he teaches it to Susrutha, the father of Ayurvedic surgery.

  Diwali The ‘festival of lights’, which in north India is celebrated as the Hindu new year. All over India, the festival signifies the victory of good over evil. People wear new clothes, share sweets, decorate their homes with diyas or lamps, and set off firecrackers. Gambling—especially card-playing—is also part of the tradition.

  diya A diya is a traditional lamp—usually, a cotton wick floats in ghee or oil. The body of the lamp is made of clay or metal.

  dudh-ki-tanki ‘Tank (or reservoir) of milk’. Used as a descriptive term for large breasts.

  dum Force, strength.

  dushman Literally, ‘enemy’. In the Indian army, the word is often used among officers and men when they talk about the foe. ‘The dushman is positioned along that ridge’.

  ekdum Absolutely.

  elaichi Cardamom.

  FA ‘FA’ stands for ‘First Arts’. Passing the First Arts examination used to allow candidates to enter a university. (This system and nomenclature are no longer used.)

  faltu Without use or purpose, extra, good for nothing.

  Flush ‘Flush’ is another name for the Indian card game of teen patti (‘three cards’).

  gaadi Literally, ‘car’ or ‘vehicle’. Therefore, something you ride.

  gaand Ass, as in posterior.

  gaandu Ass-fucker. Often used as a synonym for ‘idiot’.

  gadda Mattress.

  gadhav Gadhav is ‘donkey’—a fairly friendly term of abuse in Marathi. You might say this to your best friend if he does something stupid.

  gali Lane, alley.

  gana
, ganas A category of divine beings who serve Lord Shiva, and his son, Ganesha.

  gandugiri Being a gaandu, doing something which constitutes gaanduness. That is, doing something idiotic.

  Ganga Jamuna This is the title of a Hindi film released in 1961. The film is about two brothers; the older brother, Ganga, is framed for a crime by a landowner. He becomes a bandit, but educates his younger brother, Jamuna, in the city. Jamuna becomes a police officer. At the end of the film, Ganga is killed by Jamuna.

  ganwar An uncouth person, a bumpkin.

  Gar ek baar pyaar kiya to baar baar karma… Couplets like this are often painted on the back of trucks, taxis, and auto-rickshaws:

  If you’ve loved me once, love me

  again and again. If I am late, wait for me.

  Gata rahe mera dil…Tu hi meri manzil A line from a song from the Hindi film Guide (1965): ‘My heart sings, and you are my only destination…’

  Geet gaata hoon main Line from a song from the Hindi film Lal Paththar (‘Red Stones’, 1971): ‘I sing songs…’ The full line is, ‘I sing songs, I hum them…’

  ghanta A big bell. A small bell would be ‘ghanti’. In Gaitonde’s gang, they use ‘ghanta’ as synonymous with ‘screwed up’ or ‘messed up’—instead of the usual ‘fachchad’. In Bombay slang, ‘ghanta’ also means ‘dick’.

  gharala paya rashtrala baya This is a traditional Marathi saying: ‘As the foundation is to a house, women are to the nation’. So the implication is that women should be firm, pure, virtuous.

  ghavan A spicy snack made from rice flour.

  ghoda Literally ‘horse’. In the underworld, it is one of the terms for ‘pistol’.

  ghodi Mare.

  ghotala A mess. In the newspapers, the word is also used as a term for ‘scandal’.

  godown A warehouse.

  Godrej A brand name for a steel cupboard. The company that manufactures these cupboards is part of the famous and very large Godrej Group.

  golis ‘Goli’ is derived from ‘gol’, round. A goli is something small and round, so ‘golis’ are testicles. The other word used for testicles is ‘gotis’, as in marbles.

  gotra Clan or lineage within the Hindu community. Gotras are generally exogamous, with some specific exceptions.

  grahastha A householder, someone who is engaged in the second stage of Hindu life, grahastha-ashrama.

  Gudi-Padwa In Maharashra, the day of the new year, which is a celebration of the coming of springtime and the harvest.

  Gujju behn Literally, ‘Gujarati sister’. Gujaratis often use ‘behn’—sister—as a respectful form of address, so ‘Gujju behn’ has become a slightly mocking way to refer to someone who is typically Gujarati.

  gullel A small hand-held catapult, of the sort used by young boys.

  gur Jaggery—an unrefined brown sugar made from palm sap.

  Guru Gobind Singh The last of the Sikh gurus.

  hamara pata ‘Our address’. The use of the plural here is formal, not literal.

  haraamkhor Somebody who lives on illicit earnings; a thief; an embezzler.

  Harmandir Sahib The Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest of holies for the Sikh people. Sikh pilgrims from all over the world travel to the Golden Temple to bathe in the lake that surrounds the temple and to listen to readings from the scriptures. The dip in the waters is known as ‘dukh bhanjan’, and is believed to banish illness and sorrow.

  hathiyar weapon

  He, chand taaron ne suna…These lines are from the Hindi film Tere Ghar ke Saamne (‘In Front of your House’, 1963): ‘Oh, the moon and stars heard it, these beautiful landscapes heard it, even passersby heard the song of my pain’. See also Tu kahan yeh bataa.

  hera-pheri Trickery, crafty deception.

  hijra Eunuch.

  hum ‘We’.

  IB Intelligence Bureau—the domestic intelligence agency of the Indian government. It is said to be the world’s oldest intelligence agency.

  Iftekar A well-known character actor who often played a police officer in Hindi films.

  inter Short for ‘intermediate’. Refers to the intermediate examination, which was taken after secondary and higher secondary education (eleven or twelve years).

  jab tak hai jaan jaan-e jahaan Part of a line from a song from the famous film Sholay (‘Embers’, 1975). ‘Until I have life, O life of the world…’ The rest of the line is, ‘…I will dance’.

  Jai ‘Victory to…’

  janampatri Birthchart, usually drawn up by an astrologer. The more traditional ones are long scrolls of paper covered with charts and symbols, and can be quite beautiful. Nowadays they are often produced on a computer.

  jhadoo Broom.

  jhadoo-katka Sweeping and mopping.

  jhalli ‘Crazy girl’—can be used affectionately.

  jhanjhat Bother, nuisance.

  jhatak-matak Fireworks and movement, flash and slinkiness. Often used to refer to a woman who is flashy and sexy.

  jhav Fuck.

  jhopadpatti A settlement of huts, a slum.

  ji A suffix denoting respect for the person being addressed.

  jite raho ‘Live long’.

  Kahin beetein na ye raatein… These lines are from a song from the Hindi film Guide (1965): ‘May these nights never end, may these days never end…’

  Kalias Black people in general, either African or African American. ‘Kala’ is Hindi for ‘black’, so ‘kalia’ (singular) is a derivation. This is slang, and it is quite derogatory.

  kanche, kanchas A kancha is a marble.

  kanjoos Miser.

  karamchari This is a general term for clerk or office worker. It’s often used as a designation for workers in government offices—which means that the general public dreads dealing with karamcharis.

  karhai A cast-iron pan that is often used for frying. Looks something like a Chinese wok.

  karo A verb—to do something.

  kartiya An affectionate Marathi term for ‘crazy guy’. You’d use it with a friend or a relative.

  kasht karein ‘Please take the trouble to…’ A very formal way of asking someone to do something.

  Kaun Banega Crorepati? Literally, ‘Who Will Become a Multimillionaire?’ This is the hugely successful quiz show that millions watch all over India.

  Ke kitni muhabbat hai tumse, to paas aake to dekho A line from a song from the Hindi film Kasoor (‘Crime’, 2001): ‘To know how much I love you, come close and look’.

  keeda Literally, ‘worm’. Used colloquially to mean an inexplicable stubbornness about something, a deeply-held quirk tending toward obsession.

  kelvan This is one of the wedding rituals in Maharashtra: the bride’s last meal as a maiden in her parents’ house.

  khabari Informer. ‘Khabar’ is ‘news’.

  khadda Literally, ‘hole’ or ‘pit’. Used sometimes as vulgar slang for the vagina.

  khata-khat Fast, efficient. This is perhaps an onomatopoeia for the sound a machine makes.

  khatara A decrepit wreck.

  khattia A ‘khattia’ or ‘khat’ is a simple bed.

  khichdi A simple rice dish into which you can toss whatever is available. So the word is used for anything that’s mixed up, has disparate ingredients.

  khilte hain gul yahaan, khilake bikharane ko, milte hain dil yahaan, milke bichhadne ko A line from a song from the Hindi film Sharmilee (‘The Shy One’, 1971): ‘Flowers bloom here, only to fall. Hearts meet here, only to be sundered’.

  khima Ground meat dish, usually prepared with mutton. Can be quite spicy.

  khiskela Crazy, off. Literally, ‘moved’ or ‘shifted’. So someone whose brain has shifted, is not in its right place, is ‘khiskela’.

  kholi A room. So someone who lives in a kholi probably lives in a one-room house.

  khwaab ho tum ya koi haqiiqat, kaun ho tum batalaao A line from a song from the Hindi film Teen Deviyaan (‘Three Ladies’, 1965): ‘Are you a dream or reality? Tell me who you are’.

  kshatriya One of the fo
ur varnas of the Hindu caste system. The kshatriyas were warriors, and regarded as one of the higher castes.