SARI—Long strip of unstitched cloth serving as a garment for Indian women
SAT SRI AKAL—Traditional Sikh greeting, roughly translated “God is the Ultimate Truth.”
SHUKRIYA—“Thank you.”
SIKH—A follower of Sikhism
SIPAHI—A policeman constable or military officer
TABLA—Traditional percussion instrument, consisting of two hand drums
TANDOOR—A traditional clay oven, often heated by a wood fire
TAWA—Large flat skillet used for cooking
TIFFIN—Light lunch
VAJA—Hindi word for a harmonium
VANARA—Shapeshifting creatures featured in the Ramayana, an ancient epic poem widely known throughout India.
VICEROY—A royal official who runs a colony or country on behalf of a king or queen. Mountbatten was the last viceroy of India.
WALLAH—Hindi word that can mean a maker of something or deliverer of something
JENNIFER BRADBURY’S debut novel, Shift, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults pick and a School Library Journal Best Book for Young Adults. She is also the author of Wrapped. A former English teacher and one day Jeopardy! champ, she’s lived in India, but now lives in Burlington, Washington, with her family.
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
Watch videos, get extras, and read exclusives at
TEEN.SimonandSchuster.com
ALSO BY
JENNIFER BRADBURY
SHIFT
WRAPPED
ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Bradbury
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Atheneum logo is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
The text for this book is set in Janson Text LT.
Jacket photograph by Brandon Tabiolo/Getty Images
First Edition
Bradbury, Jennifer.
A moment comes / Jennifer Bradbury. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: As the partition of India nears in 1947 bringing violence even to Jalandhar, Tariq, a Muslim, finds himself caught between his forbidden interest in Anupreet, a Sikh girl, and Margaret, a British girl whose affection for him might help with his dream of studying at Oxford.
[1. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 2. Toleration—Fiction. 3. Household employees—Fiction. 4. Family life—India—Fiction. 5. Muslims—Fiction. 6. Sikhs—Fiction. 7. India—History—Partition, 1947—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B71643Mom 2013
[Fic]—dc23 2012028331
Contents
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Tariq
Chapter 2: Anupreet
Chapter 3: Tariq
Chapter 4: Margaret
Chapter 5: Tariq
Chapter 6: Anupreet
Chapter 7: Margaret
Chapter 8: Tariq
Chapter 9: Anupreet
Chapter 10: Margaret
Chapter 11: Tariq
Chapter 12: Anupreet
Chapter 13: Margaret
Chapter 14: Tariq
Chapter 15: Anupreet
Chapter 16: Margaret
Chapter 17: Tariq
Chapter 18: Anupreet
Chapter 19: Margaret
Chapter 20: Tariq
Chapter 21: Anupreet
Chapter 22: Margaret
Chapter 23: Tariq
Chapter 24: Anupreet
Chapter 25: Margaret
Author’s Note
Glossary
About Jennifer Bradbury