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    No God in Sight

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      haraamzaadi the female variant of ‘haraamzaada’ or bastard

      havaldar guard

      hutt move

      jhatka to get jerked

      kameez a long shirt or tunic, worn by men and women

      kattha catechu; it is the red paste used in paans

      khuda-haafiz a term of farewell (literally, “may god be your guardian”)

      khutt-khutt fuck

      kurta long, loose shirt worn by women and men

      kya what

      lakh unit of measurement equalling 100,000

      lungi a cotton garment worn around the waist by men and women

      maar usko hit him

      madakcho a variant of ‘madarchod’ or mother-fucker

      mangalsutra a necklace of gold and black beads worn by Hindu women as a symbol of marriage

      masjid Arabic word for ‘mosque’

      maulvi Muslim preacher

      memsaab term of respect for female employer

      miya term of respect for a Muslim male

      Moharram variant of ‘Muharram’, the first month of the Islamic calendar

      morcha a protest march

      mottee fatso

      mowli-ali-madada term of greeting, literally ‘Oh Ali, assist!’

      muezzin a servant at the mosque who leads the call to Friday service and the five daily prayers

      Murgh-e-Aazam ‘murgh’ is the Urdu word for bird or chicken; ‘Murgh-e-Aazam’ is a variant of the Hindi film titled Mughal-e-Aazam

      namaaz the Muslim prayer offered five times a day

      namakool good-for-nothing

      namaste a form of greeting often accompanied with a slight bow with palms joined together

      paan an after-dinner mouth-freshener comprising various fillings wrapped in the leaves of the Betel pepper

      paani-puri an Indian snack consisting of dough balls filled with chick peas and spicy sauce

      paanwallah a paan seller

      paratha a flatbread, usually made with whole-wheat flour

      patni wife

      puja prayer

      Ram the dominant heroic figure from Hindu mythology, considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu

      Ramazan a variant of ‘Ramadan’, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar

      saab master

      saala rogue

      saali the female variant of ‘saala’ or rogue

      salaam-aaley-kum a greeting used by Muslims (literally, “may peace be with you”)

      shalwar loose pajama-like trousers worn by men and women

      sherwani a close-fitting coat-like garment worn by men

      shikari hunter

      shyaa an expression of dismissal

      sindoor a red powder applied by Hindu women to the parting of their hair as a sign of marriage

      sixer derogatory term referring to eunuchs

      tandoori a North Indian cuisine cooked in a cylindrical clay oven

      thoo-thoo an expression of disgust

      tonga a horse-drawn carriage

      Tuntun the screen-name of the late Uma Devi, an obese Hindi-film singer and comedienne

      Umaah the Muslim community

      UP Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India

      uttha lein? should we pick her up?

      ya-ali-madad a term of greeting, literally ‘Oh Ali, assist’

      yaar friend

      About the Author

      ALTAF TYREWALA lives in Bombay and Mumbai. He has worked as a cashier, a telemarketer, a clerk, and an instructional writer. This is his first novel.

      Copyright © 2006 Altaf Tyrewala

      First published in the United States by MacAdam/Cage Publishing

      Anchor Canada edition 2007

      All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisher—or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a license from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency—is an infringement of the copyright law.

      Anchor Canada and colophon are trademarks.

      Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication has been applied for.

      eISBN: 978-0-385-67332-7

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Published in Canada by Anchor Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited

      Visit Random House of Canada Limited’s website: www.randomhouse.ca

      v3.0

     

     

     



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