Book Read Free

Lament on the Death of a Master of Arts… and Other Stories

Page 10

by Mulk Raj Anand

King

  Sahib

  A polite form of address for an educated, cultured man.

  Salam alaikum

  Arabic language greeting in Muslim cultures, meaning ‘Peace be upon you.’

  Sale/Saale

  Literally, wife’s brother. Also an abuse implying that the speaker has slept with the sister of one addressed.

  Sari/Saree

  A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from the Indian sub-continent.

  Sarkar

  Literally, the government. It also refers to a person in a position of authority, especially one who owns land worked by tenant farmers.

  Shalwar/Salwar

  A pair of light, loose pleated trousers tapering to a close fit around the ankles, worn by men/women mostly in North India and Pakistan.

  Suras

  A chapter or section of the Koran.

  Tehmet/Tehmad

  An unstitched length of cloth usually worn knotted at the waist by men in the Indian sub-continent.

  Tonga-wallah

  ‘Wallah’ translated literally means ‘man’ and the prefix tonga (horse carriage) indicates occupation. Tonga-wallah would roughly translate as tonga-man or tonga-driver.

  Topee/Topi

  A hat or a cap.

  Vilayat

  England

  Wa alaykum

  as-Salam

  Response to Salam alaikum (peace be upon you) meaning ‘And on you be peace!’

  Wuzu

  The act of cleaning oneself before namaaz.

 

 

 


‹ Prev